Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- List of abbreviations
- Introduction
- PART I
- 1 The background to the divine body in Teilhard de Chardin
- 2 The background to the divine body in Rāmānuja
- 3 The body of Christ in the writings of Teilhard de Chardin
- 4 The body of Brahman in the writings of Rāmānuja
- PART II
- Appendix I Composition and publication dates of papers by Teilhard de Chardin cited in this work
- Appendix II Teilhard de Chardin on the Mass
- Glossary of Indian terms
- Notes
- Select bibliography
- Index
3 - The body of Christ in the writings of Teilhard de Chardin
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 December 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- List of abbreviations
- Introduction
- PART I
- 1 The background to the divine body in Teilhard de Chardin
- 2 The background to the divine body in Rāmānuja
- 3 The body of Christ in the writings of Teilhard de Chardin
- 4 The body of Brahman in the writings of Rāmānuja
- PART II
- Appendix I Composition and publication dates of papers by Teilhard de Chardin cited in this work
- Appendix II Teilhard de Chardin on the Mass
- Glossary of Indian terms
- Notes
- Select bibliography
- Index
Summary
When Teilhard de Chardin refers to the body of Christ, it is clear that for him the term has very specific meaning. The body of Christ is not just a theological concept to Teilhard, or a spiritual reality experienced only in times of prayer and at Mass. He speaks expressively of Christ's body as a kind of aura radiating out from everything, and clearly it is an integral part of his own perception of the world. But how does this relate to the findings of his scientific research? How does Teilhard integrate his faith and commitment to science in his vision of the world? In this chapter I want to explore the relationship between Teilhard's understanding of the body of Christ and his worldview as a whole.
Teilhard did not write systematically about theological issues, but there are threads running through his works which intertwine to produce a consistent theological description of his vision. And the body of Christ has great significance in his vision — and in its theological representation. In a short, undated paper (probably written in 1919) entitled ‘What Exactly is the Human Body?’, Teilhard gives us a useful definition:
The Body … is the very Universality of things, in so far as they are centred on an animating spirit, in so far as they influence that spirit, [and] also in so far as they are influenced and sustained by it. […]
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Body DivineThe Symbol of the Body in the Works of Teilhard de Chardin and Ramanuja, pp. 45 - 62Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1991