A Christian Philosophy of Man

Man’s Many Splendored Personality

Philosophy should not flatter, nor exaggerate

Genesis (1:24-28) It is no flatter nor exaggerated praise for man to say.

Psalms- Man is the appointed lord of the earth. Man is the apex or summit of earthly creation

Psalm 8 of Holy Scripture

“What is man that thou art mindful of him? Or the son of man that thou visiteth him? Thou hast made him a little less than the angels, thou hast crowned him with glory and splendor, thou hast set him over the works of Thy hands; thou hast subjected all things under his feet”

According to the Holy Writ:

Man, following his redemption by the Savior from eternal bondage, now shares in the infinite merits of his Redeemer and has become not only the inheritor of the new earth but also the heir of the heavenly kingdom.

However that the different stars representing the different aspects of human nature (MAN) are not of equal category or value

-for instance, the moral aspects is much higher in the hierarchy of values than the physical, the political and social.

MAN

The Crown

Of

Creation

relig

iou

s

spiritu

al

rational

physicalsoci

al

polit

ic

al

emotional

moral

It should be noted further that each stars does not only represent a single value but constellation of values.

THE GIFTS OF MAN ORDERED FOR THE PERFECTION OF MAN AND SOCIETY

Jewels of human personality are not meant by Donor and Creator, merely as ornaments of man for vain display, say, before the other lower creatures, to feed man’s pride and vanity

Man’s most holy purpose:

To serve for the betterment and perfection not only for the individual man but for all humanity of which he is inseparably a member

These talents and faculties given to man are intended by Infinitely Wise Creator and Benefactor of the universe not to be buried and hidden deep mines or kept locked up in treasure vaults by man’s folly

The scriptures warn and stress that the Divine Auditor:

Will demand a strict accounting on last day.

A final inventory of how faithfully man has applied and employed his talents and powers.

On the day of final reckoning:

God will judge man according to his work not on his gifts, possessions and position.

Man’s supreme purpose and destiny:

Happiness- not only of himself but all human beings.

Great encyclicals (the Rerum Novarum, 19 and mater et magistra, 199)

“Whoever has received from the divine Bounty a large share of blessings, whether they be external or corporal, or gifts of the mind has received them for the purpose of using them for perfection his own nature, and at the same time that he may employ them as the minister of God’s providence, for the benefit of others.”

THE DIGNITY AND DESTINY OF MAN

Human Dignity

The exalted position man holds in the hierarchy of earthly creation as the only rational and responsible being on earth, and his appointment by the creator to be the lord of the earth and everything thereon.

As the heir of the heavenly kingdom- being the recipient of all the fruits and awards of his redemption by Christ

It is possible for man, owing his free nature, to choose the kind of life he would lead

Man must also show and prove himself worthy of dignity to which nature and nature’s God has ordained and elevated him.

Dignus

means worthy

Dignity

means worthiness

Human perfection, the distinction is also appropriate, for our purpose.

Metaphysically, everything is affected according to its own degree of perfection, in as much as everything is good, has goodness or perfection in it, and is therefore, valuable and desirable

Human nature, for instance, is perfect in the sense that all things required for the exigencies of human nature are realized I it.

The Fallacy of the Existentialist View

To the existentialist there is no such a thing as the inborn original nature of man; everything is made or acquired by man and for man.

Comment:

Man must first have an essence or nature before he can add anything to it essence precedes existence. Agere sequitur esse. This

is the universally accepted truth or maxim that everything acts in accordance with its essence or nature.

MAN’S DESTINY

Dignity, according to the Divine Plan, is not pre-tailored, ready made, and donated to man like baptismal royal robe at birth once and for all. It must be maintained, worked for and deserved by constant good works.

Dignity without dignification is worthless; dignification without dignity is baseless.