The Christian Vision of Humanity

by John Randall Sachs

The incredible technical achievements of recent history may make us feel little less than gods," but we also find much that cuts us down. When we face our own limits and failures, upon what or whom can we rely? The biblical "answer" to questions about the ultimate nature and meaning of human life begins with the experience of Semitic slaves led out of Egyptian slavery beautifully recounted in Deuteronomy 26:5-11. The New Testament presents Jesus as the culmination of God's Old Testament promise. Christian faith has a particular Vision of the world and of humanity founded upon the relationship between God and creation. Its key elements are found in the inviolable dignity of every person, the essential centrality of community, and the significance of human action. These are the main themes of a Christian anthropology developed in this book.

Genres: Theology, Spirituality

112 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1991

Reviews

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book presents Christianity in a way that makes sense to me. It may not be of interest for someone who is not already intrigued by Christianity, but it was an important book for me, because it presents what seems to me to be a grander, more comprehensive vision of Christianity than what I had been exposed to in the evangelical church, while still maintaining the essence of traditional Christianity. Probably any number of books expressing these same ideas exist and could have had the same impact on me, but this is the one that I happened to read first. It is a short and sweet summary of contemporary catholic theology of the human person. Some of the later chapters were less compelling, but I have re-read many times chapters 2 and 3 on "The Gift of Human Freedom" and "The Individual in Community".