The Resurrection
In John Paul II's dealing of the Resurrection in his Theology of the Body, he expounds on the inquisition of the Bride and 7 Husbands (Luke 20:27-40; Matthew 22:23-33; Mark 12:18-27). The Sadducees, a Jewish sect which did not believe in the resurrection of the body, posed this question to trick Christ because they knew that he not only believed it, but taught it. The key line of the story comes near the end, when Christ cites Exodus 3:6 and says "'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob?' He is not the God of the dead but of the living." The Catechism says on this passage that "Faith in the resurrection rests on faith in God" (Catechism 993).
While Blessed Pope John Paul II's dealing of this topic focuses on this integral Gospel passage, there are many other Biblical texts which offer support for the bodily resurrection. In the Old Testament, we see in 2 Maccabees when the Maccabean martyrs confess: "The King of the universe will raise us up to an everlasting renewal of life, because we have died for his laws. One cannot but choose to die at the hands of men and to cherish the hope that God gives of being raised again by him." (2 Maccabees 7:9,14). While this text is a part of the deuterocanonical texts, and therefore not available to the typical televangelist through their own canonized scriptures, it has many interesting and useful points. Primarily, it mentions the idea that everlasting life cannot be attained without death- not simply a physical death (often at the hands of others) but a spiritual offering and death of our own will as well.
In the New Testament, St. Paul writes in his first letter to the Corinthians: "The dead will be raised imperishable . . . For this perishable nature must put on the imperishable, and this mortal nature must put on immortality" (1 Corinthians 15:37). This text is a bit more explicit about the bodily resurrection of the dead than the Old Testament book of Maccabees but then again, he had the whole "bodily resurrection of Christ" revelation to help him- it's almost like cheating really. As St. Paul says, our nature will certainly be different at the resurrection than it is currently. But what is clear is that it will continue to exist bodily.
Celibacy
If we see our bodies as the seeds of our eternal selves, as St. Paul illustrates, then it is crucial to our eternal judgement to treat them with respect, and to use them for Christ. Furthermore, if our bodies are at their fullest expression in the act of sexual intercourse, than that action is sacred ground (and not in the way Nancy Pelosi says it is). This is why there is such beauty in celibacy, not because the Church sees sex as "bad" or "icky" (a common misconception), but rather because it is the ultimate physical sacrifice that we have to offer for Christ, His mission, and His Church. This is why, in the Roman Catholic Church, the priests are celibate; because in offering their whole selves to their bride, the Church, they offer their very sexuality along with it.
Contraception
The reason why celibacy is so beautiful, is exactly why contraception is so damaging- not only sexually, but emotionally, spiritually, and physically as well. It damages the sexual act, because the two people engaging in it are withholding a very integral part of themselves. In an act that is to be total self-gift of the two towards one another, the two withhold their greatest gifts- their ability to participate in God's creative act through the procreation of offspring. Because this act ultimately results in the two giving less of themselves to each other, it damages the marital (hopefully) union they share.
Furthermore the use of contraception says a great deal about the beautiful body of the woman, who is in her very essence the pinnacle of creation. However, the use of contraception expresses the belief that the woman's body is not perfectly designed as God intended. Besides the very problematic theological assumptions of such an assertion, it degrades the woman's body as well. It says that in order to be perfect, and proper for self-gift, the woman must take this pill (or other, more bizarre methods). This is where the contraceptive ideology and the practice of NFP differ. In the specific circumstances in which NFP is advisable (when the two cannot afford- financially, physically, or mentally to rear another child and to do so would be detrimental to primarily the child), the assertion is far different than that of the contraceptive ideology. By contrast, NFP asserts that the woman- in being a child and creation of God in His image- is perfectly designed in her essence for the sexual act, even if the two engaging in the act find it irresponsible to bear the fruits which are its natural product. While Contraception says that the woman's body needs to be further perfected (a statement women hear far too often already today), NFP says that they are a child of God and that their body is the pinnacle of all creation as is.
To ignore the damage that contraception does physically to a woman, is really too often overlooked. In fact, in 2005 The World Health Organization found many elements found in hormonal contraceptives to be carcinogens. This finding went largely unpublished by many news sources (here's a link to much of the information). Furthermore, there are many documented cases of birth control having some extraordinarily adverse side effects involving the woman's reproductive system, and I actually have the fortune and misfortune to know a few young women who can testify to such effects (fortunate to know the women, unfortunate that they went through what they did). Whether it be carcinogens, adverse "side" effects, or the often misprescription of contraceptives, there has been much physical damage to an innumerable amount of women.
Our bodies, are indeed Temples of the Holy Spirit. However they are not Temples simply in this life, but they are in the next as well. Our human nature is body, soul, spirit and will, all intrinsically linked with one another. It is in this nature that we were created, and it is in this nature that we will return to our creator. Because of the dignified role our bodies play, they must be treated with the highest regard and used for Christ in the way He had intended them to be. They are the instruments through which we participate in Christ and He participates in us. It is only in reverencing our bodies, physically, spiritually and especially sexually, that we will enjoy the peace of true Christian love.
God Bless,
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