Human Dignity And The Signs of The Times The Church as a Prophetic Witness

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dc.contributor.authorD'souza, Joseph
dc.date.accessioned2018-11-01T13:08:44Z
dc.date.available2018-11-01T13:08:44Z
dc.date.issued1996-02
dc.description.abstractToday the human person is viewed more in terms of freedom than in terms of reason. Indeed freedom is the loftiest of all the gifts the human person is endowed with, as the Vatican Council II humbly but courageously proclaimed: "The people of our time prize freedom very highly and strive eagerly for it. In this they are right."' It is only in freedom that humans can turn themselves towards what is good. "Human dignity therefore requires them to act out of a conscious and free choice, as moved and drawn in a personal way from within, and not by blind impulses in themselves or by mere external constraint. Humans gain such dignity when they press forward towards their goal by freely choosing what is good, and, by their diligence and skill, effectively secure for themselves the means suited to this end."2 In other words, we are unfinished products, and by virtue of freedom we determine to be humans. This is the point I have attempted to make in the first chapter. Humans can choose good only from what is basically good. The Scripture reveals that God created everything good (cf. Gen 1:31), and entrusted all things to the benefit and care of human beings. The good creation is believed to acquire "an added dignity from its relation with the human person, for whose use it has been created. And then, too, God has willed to gather together all that was natural, all that was supernatural, into a single whole in Christ, 'so that in everything he would have the primacy' (Col 1:18). Far from depriving the temporal order of its autonomy, of its specific ends, of its own laws and resources, or its importance for human well-being, this design, on the contrary, increases its energy and excellence, raising it at the same time to the level of the human person's integral vocation here below."3 This theme will bridge the first and the second chapters. The dignity of human persons is based on their creation in the image of God. They are unique among all other creatures because of their freedom, but an accountable and responsible freedom. Through freedom we are invited to grow and become like God himself. "For God willed that humans should be left in the hands of their own counsel, so that they might of their own accord seek their creator and freely attain their full and blessed perfection by cleaving to him."4 That is to say, we work out our salvation by the faculties we are endowed with. One of the areas in which humans have exercised their freedom, and shown their creativity is in the field of technology and science. The Church acknowledges that "By the work of their hands and with the aid of technical means humans till the earth to bring forth fruit and to make it a dwelling place fit for all mankind; . . . in so doing they are realizing the design, which God revealed at the beginning of time, to subdue the earth, and perfect the work of creation, and at the same time they are improving their own person: they are also observing the command of Christ to devote themselves to the service of their fellow humans."5 By this it is implied that for all our creativities Jesus is our guide and model. Strangely and painfully, a lopsided exercise of this mandate to dominate has distorted the very purpose of our creation. Instead of transforming the face of the earth, and restoring the original purpose of creation, humans have managed to widened the gap between one another. Plainly put, due to manipulative technological advancement, there is a deterioration of human dignity. Science and technology have totally abandoned the spiritual dimension of the universe. It is easy to discern this reality if we consider attentively the world of today, which is so busy with politics and controversies in the economic order that it does not find time to attend to the care of spiritual reality. The human person has become a victim of materialistic ideology. As the signs of the times disclose, human beings have almost become machines, and machines have become gods to humans. There is less worship of God, as humans have begun worshipping wealth and riches. God created humans in his image, but humans have created God in the image of machines. The golden calf is back but now in the form of computers, complicated machines, jet fighters and nuclear weapons, threatening the existence of humanity, and questioning the relevance of God for the modern world. Hopefully, this will be clear at the end of the second chapter. The earth was given as a gratuitous gift offered for the use of all. But today it is no more a gift. Instead, it is misused and abused, and treated like private property by some people. Earth's resources have been used as a means to dominate others. Human beings have been treated as objects everywhere. The freedom of some has forced others into bondage. Despite the material advancement there are widespread discriminations spreading everywhere. The progress in some places does not mean the same in other places. You will discover some of these aspects in the third chapter. However, I have focussed on just three predominant areas of injustices and harm the modern progress has done to humanity and the rest of God's creation. These are the urgent issues that make the headlines of the story - "The Signs of the Times". There are many signs of the times which I have not included in my survey, but I hope, the listed ones will give incentive to the readers to include their own, as these signs keep on varying depending on situations and circumstances. At this juncture the Church reminds humans that "the future is here in the urgent appeal to the peoples of the world for more justice, in their will for peace, in their conscious or unconscious thirst for a higher life, that life precisely which the Church of Christ can and wishes to give them."6 The Church of Christ seems to read the signs of the times and voice concern for God's creation, for we belong to God and all creation belongs to God, and to God alone! This is the message of the fourth chapter. I have only attempted to present the teaching of the Church on some justice and peace issues of a particular time. However, today we are encircled by the 'structures of sin', which make any simplistic remedy unworkable. For Christians the mission is vast and wide. As you go through the pages, discern for yourselves if you too can come up with some resolutions!en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12342/324
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherTangaza University Collegeen_US
dc.subjectHuman dignityen_US
dc.subjectSignsen_US
dc.subjectThe Timeen_US
dc.subjectChurchen_US
dc.subjectProphetic Witnessen_US
dc.subjectThe Human Personen_US
dc.titleHuman Dignity And The Signs of The Times The Church as a Prophetic Witnessen_US
dc.typeOtheren_US
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