TOB 4: Learning to Get Naked Without Shame (General Audience 11)

Send us Fan MailIn today's episode, we revisit the Theology of the Body and talk about what it meant for Adam and Eve to be naked without shame and how it relates to our marriage. From JP2:The sentence, according to which the first human beings, man and woman, "were naked" and yet "were not ashamed," unquestionably describes their state of consciousness, in fact, their mutual experience of the body. It describes the experience on the part of the man of the femininity that is revealed in the nakedness of the body and, reciprocally, the similar experience of masculinity on the part of the woman. By saying that "they were not ashamed," the author tries to describe this mutual experience of the body with the greatest precision possible for him. It can be said that this type of precision reflects a basic experience of man in the "common" and pre-scientific sense. But it also corresponds to the requirements of anthropology and in particular of contemporary anthropology, which likes to refer to so-called fundamental experiences, such as the "experience of shame."This passage, together with the meaning of original nakedness inherent in it, takes its place in the contextual setting of the Yahwist narrative. After some verses, the same author writes: "Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons" (Gn 3:7). The adverb "then" indicates a new moment and a new situation following the breaking of the first covenant. This situation follows the failure of the test connected with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. At the same time that test constituted the first test of "obedience," that is, listening to the Word in all its truth and accepting love, according to the fullness of the demands of the creative Will. This new moment or new situation also implies a new content and a new quality of experience of the body, so that it can no longer be said: "They were naked, but were not ashamed." Here, shame is an experience that is not only original, but a "boundary" one. SUPPORT OUR MINISTRYThank you all for your ongoing support. We love what we do, and we pray that it is a blessing to you and your families. If you are benefitting in some way from what we're doing, here are some ways you can support our show:  Support us on Patreon!This Episodes SponsorInito Fertility MonitorUsed code MON15 at checkout for 15% off your starter kit.Our BooksGo To Joseph: 10 Day Consecration to St. JosephGo To Joseph For ChildrenFREE RESOURCESFertility Awareness Cheat SheetRelationship Check-UpOur MinistryAbout UsConnect with us and send us a message on InstagramYouTube ChannelEpisode Music by Alex_MakeMusic from PixabaySupport the show