Where does the term "Theology of the Body" come from? What does it mean?

Blessed John Paul II's series, "Theology of the Body," given between 1979 and 1984 as General Audiences, remains an often misunderstood gift from our beloved Pontiff. Just the title makes some people cringe, whether in dismay or frustration. Where does it come from? Is it legitimate?

The term was first used by Pope John Paul II on September 12, 1979. He acknowledged that "the expression "theology of the body" just now used deserves a more exact explanation, but we shall leave that for another occasion." Leave it he did, as he elaborated on the meaning off and on for years.

Far be it from me to argue with a genius like Pope John Paul II, however, it does seem odd that there should be a theology of the body. After all, theology is the study of God, right? Not the body. Besides, for some people this amounts to a theology of sex. If you read the text, there is no room in truth or fact for such considerations. Theology of the body is a true theology  because, in the words of the  Holy Father, "Right from the beginning, the theology of the body is bound up with the creation of man in the image of God."

Neither is it merely godly anthropology. There is a difference between the two precisely because the theology of the body does not merely see a historical human being, but rather a person created in the Image of God. It does not see merely humanity evolved from the lower beings, but rather a humanity that evolves (if you will allow the term) through grace to intimate relationship with God.

Finally, at least for the moment, the theology of the body is rooted in Sacred Scripture, based on human experience, and focused on the full understanding of the meaning of the human person (body and all) with reference to the grace of God in us.


Anyone who limits it to a sappy "my body is wonderful" proclamation or a theology of sex, anyone who dismisses it because the term is disturbing, anyone who reads or hears a commentary they dislike and therefore shelves the whole thing - is missing the point. Too bad, because it is a marvelous and even breathtaking point that illumines some truth about what we are all looking for: meaning, purpose, and fulfillment.

TO THE LEFT. THIS IS NOT WHAT THE TEXT IS ALL ABOUT. The flesh DOES NOT FULFILL us, only God fulfills us, and the flesh points to this longing and destiny.






THE OFTEN QUOTED STATEMENT BELOW IS ALSO FALSE. I really like CS Lewis, but he wasn't Catholic and here is one point that it shows (though, unfortunately, many a Catholic think this way).      We do have a body, but we ARE BODY AND SOUL.

HERE WE GO. THE TRUTH:
"This is the body: a witness as a fundamental gift, and so a witness to Love as the source from which this same giving springs. Masculinity-femininity--namely, sex--is the original sign of a creative donation [by God] and of an awareness on the part of man, of a gift lived so to speak in an original way" (TOB 62).