How are the soul and the body related to each other according to the RCC?
Upvote:0
The Council of Vienne (1311-1312), under the authority of Clement V, defined the dogma that the soul is the form of the human body (Denzinger 481):
Moreover, with the approval of the said council, we reject as erroneous and contrary to the truth of the catholic faith every doctrine or proposition rashly asserting that the substance of the rational or intellectual soul is not of itself and essentially the form of the human body, or casting doubt on this matter. In order that all may know the truth of the faith in its purity and all error may be excluded, we define that anyone who presumes henceforth to assert defend or hold stubbornly that the rational or intellectual soul is not the form of the human body of itself and essentially, is to be considered a heretic.
"Form" is "the actualizing principle that makes a thing to be what it is." Thus, a body without the substantial form of a human being (a soul) is a corpse.
The Oxford English Dictionary defines form as:
In the Scholastic philosophy: The essential determinant principle of a thing; that which makes anything (matter) a determinate species or kind of being; the essential creative quality.
This use of form (Aristotle's μορϕή or εἶδος) and matter (ὕλη) is a metaphorical extension of their popular use. In ordinary speech, a portion of matter, stuff, or material, becomes a ‘thing’ by virtue of having a particular ‘form’ or shape; by altering the form, the matter remaining unchanged, we make a new ‘thing’. This language, primarily applied only to objects of sense, was in philosophical use extended to objects of thought: every ‘thing’ or entity was viewed as consisting of two elements, its form by virtue of which it was different from, and its matter which it had in common with, others.
Read St. Thomas Aquina's short work On the Principles of Nature (De principiis naturæ) for more information on matter and form (hylemorphism).
St. Thomas Aquinas also addresses the question of the union of a human's intellectual soul with the human's body in Summa Theologica I q. 76.
More post
- 📝 Are sins forgiven without a payment in Matthew 9:1-7?
- 📝 Why does the Catholic Church not celebrate the Feast of Naming of Jesus?
- 📝 What is the basis for baptism being the new circumcision?
- 📝 If Abraham killed Isaac, would that be a sin?
- 📝 According to Catholicism, how can a Christian be freed from the concupiscence of the flesh and thereby possess a sinless body?
- 📝 Is Obeying a Stay at Home Order Biblical or Not Biblical
- 📝 What does John Calvin mean to imply by the "suffrage" of the church?
- 📝 Moses not entering the promised land analogous to a believer not entering heaven
- 📝 How can the hypostases be distinct? (Identity Trinitarianism)
- 📝 Jesus's genealogy: 28 generations or 41 since David?
- 📝 What is the Reformed Protestant view of Theodicy?
- 📝 Why isn't supralapsarianism's first decree to create?
- 📝 According to Calvinists, what does "looking back" refer to in Luke 9:62?
- 📝 How defined is the threshold of graveness for mortal sins? (Catholicism)
- 📝 Is there any Biblical prophecy about Damascus?
- 📝 Why did the Presbyterian Church of Korea split in 1959?
- 📝 Are Catholic priests allowed by church law to provide professional counseling and referrals to penitents who come to them to confess?
- 📝 Why do Baptists even baptize in water at all considering their "spirit baptism" views?
- 📝 Why aren't the Oriental and Eastern Orthodox Churches in communion with each other?
- 📝 Should husbands submit to wives?
- 📝 If one divorces is it considered adultery to marry again no matter what the circumstances were for this decision?
- 📝 Why did a loving God ask Abraham to kill his own son?
- 📝 Can these three "2nd greatest commandments" be put into one sentence?
- 📝 What does the historical evidence tell us about the pneumatological beliefs of the early Church during the first two centuries of Christianity?
- 📝 Believing that Christianity is "probably" true vs. being fully convinced that Christianity is definitely true?
- 📝 According to Christians who believe that God is a utilitarian, why is h*m*sexuality suboptimal?
- 📝 How do proponents of Apokatastasis deal with the "Everlasting punishment" texts in scripture?
- 📝 How can one overcome lustful desires?
- 📝 What is the role of Apostolic Succession in lifting men and women to the ranks of saints?
- 📝 Does Nehemiah Gordon self-identify as a Christian?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 How are the soul and the body related to each other according to the RCC?
- 📝 How are the different covenants related to or different from each other?
- 📝 How Christians are expected to accommodate or view the existence and presence of other religions vis a vis Christianity?
- 📝 What are the core beliefs of Presbyterianism? How does it differ and compare to other denominations of reformed Protestantism?
- 📝 According to Jehovah's Witnesses, what are the essential features of a true follower of Christ, and can such be found in other denominations?
- 📝 According to Latter-day Saints, what are the essential features of a true follower of Christ, and can such be found in other denominations?
- 📝 When are the various assorted labels for Catholics - see body - applied and how are they related?
- 📝 How are the religious usages of mainline and evangelical related to their general nonreligious meanings?
- 📝 Why are demons and other fallen angels loyal to the devil according to the Bible?
- 📝 How can I tell the difference between the Moral law and other laws in the old testament?
- 📝 How are the Calvinist, Arminian and Lutheran conceptions of Total Depravity different?
- 📝 Where, exactly, were Christ's body and soul during the Descendit?
- 📝 In the NPP, if Paul's "works of the law" are only circumcision and diet, how is Galatians 3:10 interpreted?
- 📝 How is the belief that Christians are both adopted and begotten sons of God reconciled?
- 📝 How are prayer and asking the saints to intercede distinguished?
- 📝 What is the source of the count of 40000 denominations, and how are they classified?
- 📝 How comparable are the concepts of the Teaching Magisterium in the Catholic Church and the Jehovah's Witnesses view of their Watch Tower society?
- 📝 Does God want things? What are some of the things He wants, and how did we find out?
- 📝 How do we know that Satan, Lucifer, and Devil are the same guy?
- 📝 What are the differences between Mormonism and Islam, and how do Mormons react to comparisons with it?
- 📝 How are the Catholic church's teaching on plastic surgery and GRS self-consistent?
- 📝 According to Lutherans, under what conditions (or at what moment) do the consecrated species cease to be the blood and body of Christ?
- 📝 How can common believers in the Eastern Orthodox Church be sure that the Church's decisions are correct and not erroneous?
- 📝 How far are priests and other religious allowed to go in terms of political endors*m*nts (or non-endors*m*nts)?
- 📝 How should other churches respond to a pastor and congregation who live contrary to the Gospel?
- 📝 What is a gospel, and how many gospels are there in the Catholic Bible?
- 📝 According to Catholic Church tradition, where, when, how and by whom did the devotion of the Stations of the Cross begin?
- 📝 How many practicing Canon Lawyers are there in the USA, and the world?
- 📝 According to full preterism, who is 'the dragon' and what are the differences between 'the dragon' and 'the beast'?
- 📝 According to the Catholic Church, are Adam and Eve in heaven?