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Catherine Sorensen
Catholic Theology: THRS 114
Professor Babka
September 29, 2010
“Experiencing The Mystery of Not Being God”
The singer and songwriter, John Mayer, has a song entitled “Bigger than My
Body” and it speaks of the glorious and unbounded potential that all humans have
within. One particular phrase, “bigger than my body gives me credit for,” is a beautiful
example of the dissonance between the unlimited human spirit and the limited human
body. Every person in this world has an infinite supply of imagination, dreams and
ideas. However, humans are equally limited by their bodies and by their humanity. All
humans, for instance, need to eat, sleep and cater to various material and physical
needs. These biological necessities sometimes compel humans to reject what is good
about their humanity. In effect, they pursue lifetime endeavors that involve efforts to
ignore human limits; they are constantly making choices that disregard the acceptance
of their inherent dependency. Moreover, many people participate in such activities as an
effort to establish control over their lives. An overprotective mother, for instance, may try
to evade her “creatureliness” by attempting to control everything in her son’s life to
protect him from harm; this may be because it is discomforting for her to accept that she
can’t, in fact, control everything that happens to her son. In his book, Doing the Truth in
Love, Michael J. Himes expands on the tendency for humans to deny their
creatureliness. His response to this human tendency is that “the denial of limitedness is
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not heroism; it is the failure of finite being to consent to being finite, to being a creature”.
Thus, according to Himes, the overprotective mother should not attempt to become a
superhuman barrier and isolate her son from every potentially threatening life
occurrence. Rather, the mother should watch over her son lovingly while also accepting
the fact that she is human and her ability to protect her son is limited (for example, she
cannot control external factors that may affect her son).
The infinite being “God” is in everything, he permeates the universe and created
(and creates) everything within it. As humans, we have infinite spirit within a finite,
physical body. Unlike “God,” our lives on earth will one day cease, and this fact frightens
many. The fact that we are finite puts us in dependency on the infinite- on “God”. This is
discomforting for most people because in essence, that signifies that we are not in total
control of our own lives, destiny, or purpose. As a result of this anxiety, humans are
always trying to reject what it means to be a creature. In other words, in their efforts to
exceed human limits and proclaim control over their lives, they reject the goodness of
human beings. What most people don’t realize is that “the infinite is in the finite of every
instant” (Zen proverb). Human nature should not be denied. Rather the opposite: human
nature should be embraced! Humans have everything to become what they are meant
to be and their “creatureliness” must be fully grasped and experienced in order to live a
happy life, one that is in complete harmony with “God’s” purpose.
In the very first pages of the Hebrew Bible (the Christian Old Testament) we are
told that “God” created humans in his image and likeness: “So God created man in his
own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them”
(Genesis 1:27). After the creation of humans, God proclaimed, “that it was very, very
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good”. From the very beginning of the Bible, it is evident that “God” created the world
with an organized purpose; everything is the way it should be in accordance with
“God’s” original intention. Humans are created as finite creatures in the image of “God”
and they are “good”. Their sole purpose was to prosper as creatures. Then, in Genesis
3-4, something happened that threw off the whole balance. Adam and Eve, “God’s” first
two humans, wanted to be more than what they were created to be. The temptation to
be more than a creature and more like “God” led to the first sin. According to Himes,
“the refusal to accept and celebrate the goodness of being a creature is the rejection of
the first judgment of God” (26). “God” created humans as “good” finite creatures, and in
their attempt to transcend their original purpose (by eating from the Tree of Knowledge
of Good and Evil), Adam and Eve denied their role as creatures and denied “God’s”
belief that they are “good”: they would not have been tempted had they believed that
they were already perfect through the eyes of “God”. As a result, the first evidence of
evil in the Bible comes as a result of creatures refusing to be creatures. In response to
their deed, the harmony between “God” and humans was tainted. “God” responded with
disciplinary measures as a sign of his palpable disapproval. It is evident that “God”
wants us to be just as he created us- as finite, dependent, and pure creatures.
In the Christian New Testament, “God,” provides us with further evidence of the
essentiality of embracing human “creatureliness”, through Jesus. Jesus is known as the
“Son of God,” as well as “the Word”, which is the transformation of “the Logos” of “God”.
These titles differ in that “the Word” or “the Logos” introduce Jesus as the Living Word
of God. In other words, Jesus is not just a family member of God, but also “a revelation
of God in the flesh”. This statement is absolutely important because it affirms that “God”
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loved humanity so much that he became human himself. In effect, “God” is setting the
perfect example for all humans, he is sending out the message (with flashing, Las
Vegas style lights) that humans should embrace themselves. Nevertheless, the people
at the time were not impressed. Time and again, they begged Jesus to prove his divinity
with heavenly intervention and magic. In essence, this meant that those looking for
magic did not see beauty in humanity at all; they remained in the habit of looking to
exceed their limits. Nevertheless, Jesus doggedly emphasized his humanity. For
instance, when a tempter tells Jesus to “drop this pose of finiteness and go back to
being God,” Jesus refuses because he knows that only God is to be worshipped (Himes
28). Himes states that in doing so, Jesus is setting the example because through his
actions it is evident that “Jesus will do as creatures do” (28). Despite his divinity, he
remained humble in order to show people that a harmonious relationship with God
would come as a result of faith in “God’s” idea that humans are “good” as they are.
Moreover, Jesus did not live an extravagant life; he was not born into a wealthy family
and he was condemned to death on the cross. In spite of this seemingly meager
lifestyle, Jesus embraced his humanity. Jesus saw what it meant to be a creature and
chose to be one- even if being human led directly to death. Thus, the message may be
that all humanity, even a poor shepherd, is “good” and should embrace “creatureliness”.
So why is this all so important? Why should we embrace our humanity? How can
we? And what would it lead to? Henry David Thoreau said “The mass of men lead lives
of quiet desperation”. The root of this “desperation” comes from the human tendency to
pursue efforts to become that which isn’t authentic to humanity. Such people allow their
anxiety about life to drive their motives and as a result, they live in a disharmony with
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who they really are. We must renounce such efforts and embrace being a creature. It is
so essential to embrace the innate spirit, the physical body, and the creative mind,
because all those facets contribute to being human. People must realize that as
creatures, they must keep an appropriate balance between body, mind and spirit.
Rather than diverting attention on how to be more like the infinite, humans should invest
an active effort in spiritual growth, in physical health and in sharing agapic love with
other people and the world. Moreover, even the so-called “human flaws” should be
accepted. According to St. Augustine, a 4th century theologian, recalling his past sins
provides him with the “opportunity to celebrate the forgiving love of God” and it
introduced him to who he was “in relation to God”. Thus, we must come to terms with
humanity and human limits. Doing so will strengthen our relationship to “God” because
as such, we will be fulfilling what it means to be human. By allowing ourselves to follow
God’s divine plan, we will see that God is already within us, and we are already
everything we need to be.
In Book 10 of his Confessions, St. Augustine first introduces his motives behind
writing his extensive series of confessions and revelations. Through his Confessions,
St. Augustine hopes to set his life as an example for Christians to learn from. In other
words, he writes his experiences in the hope that it would influence Christians through
out the world to praise “God” and give genuine gratitude for “God’s” mercy. Moreover,
St. Augustine discusses the essentiality of memory to quite an extent; according to him,
memory is essential to the human soul. Memory goes beyond mere memory stores of
experiences; it also retains emotions and sensations. More importantly, however,
memory includes knowledge of “God”. Platonism influenced St. Augustine, and as such,
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he believed that “God” lived within the human spirit; that we, as humans, have the
divinity of “God” within. From this belief, St. Augustine concluded that we know how to
recognize “God” within us because of our memory of “God”. He claimed that we can
never know ourselves fully and that only “God” knows our pure self. Moreover, we
cannot know “God” fully in the physical world due to the fact that although “God” creates
the physical world, the physical world is not “God” itself (panantheism). Thus, St.
Augustine claims that the only method of gaining knowledge of “God” and creating a
closer relationship to him is through self-introspection. Referring to human
“creatureliness”, the only method of learning more about ourselves is by accepting our
humanity. In doing so, we are recognizing “God’s” purpose and we clear the road (so to
speak) for more meaningful introspection. Only by being honest with our human
condition, can we learn more about ourselves, and our relationship to “God”.
In summation, we, as humans, must stop trying to control and organize our lives
in such a way that we find happiness solely in the physical world. We must also,
according to Himes, come to grips with “not only with the limits of our physical being but
with the defects of our moral goodness” (32). Humans are not all-powerful and invincible
beings and we are not morally perfect but this must be turned into “an occasion of joyful
acceptance of our dependence upon God for forgiveness as well as existence” (Himes
32). By accepting our “creatureliness” and by knowing ourselves better, we will cultivate
a beautiful relationship with “God” and that, according to St. Augustine, is true
happiness.
The word “creature” comes from the Latin root “crea” which means, “ to create”.
As creatures, we are the creation of “God”. This is not something to be frightened by,
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but should be lovingly accepted. We are part of “God’s” divine plan- created to fulfill the
imago Dei. Himes states that true holiness is achieved by coming to the point where
one can say “I am unfulfilled. My heart is restless, and I choose that it shall remain
restless. For it is good that my heart is hungry” (41). In other words, agree with “God”
that you are good! As humans, we must realize what it is to have physical needs, social
needs, and spiritual needs and we should adopt a balance that will satisfy those needs.
As soon as we start living in that state of mind, an immense burden of impossible
expectations will be removed and life will be lived in pure harmony with God.
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C i ta t i o n s
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Jesus is the Word of God?." gotquestions.org. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 29 Sep 2010.
< h t t p : / / w w w. g o t q u e s t i o n s . o r g / J e s u s -W o r d - G o d . h t m l > .
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< h t t p s : / / w w w. m s u . e d u / ~ d e f o r e s 1 / g r e / r o o t s / g r e _ r t s _ a f
x2
7. W a l l e c h i n s k y, D a v i d , a n d I r v i n g W a l l a c e . " O r i g i n s o f
Sayings - The Mass of Men Lead Lives of Quie t
D e s p e r a t i o n . " Tr i v i a - L i b r a r y. c o m . T h e P e o p l e ' s
Almanac, 1975-1981. Web. 1 Dec 2010.
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< h t t p : / / w w w. t r i v i a - l i b r a r y. c o m / b / o r i g i n s - o f - s a y i n g s the-mass-of-men-lead-lives-of-quietdesperation.htm>.