The Foundation of Western Culture: The Dignity of the Human Person

Our culture is rooted in ideas which flow from many streams. We are a symphony of many notes, many chords, many melodies, and counterpoints.

The ideas which make up our culture are born of Grecian Philosophy and the Democracy it eventually spawned, of the Jewish Bible, the Christian Bible, and the Judeo-Christian tradition in general, of the Renaissance, of the progress of Western Philosophy (John Locke in particular), of arguements which took place between the Catholic Church and the various nations of Europe, of arguments between the people, the Aristrocracy, and the Royal Families of Europe, and of the Founding of America.

I'm sure I have left a lot out. But, the point is, we are not born of one ideology in particular, rather we are a confluence of ideologies which have crystalized, and yet, continue to grow.

One of the primary sources of our culture has been the Catholic Church. Whether you believe in God or not, I think you will find that the Catechism of the Catholic Church contains many ideas with which you are familiar, with which you would agree, and over which you would celebrate.

The Catholic Church was an innovator in the idea of the dignity of the Individual Human Being. Not of the tribe, not of the Nation State arbitrated by a King, but of the Individual Human of Free Will.

Let us begin to look at the statements in the Catechism, so that we can come to appreciate one of the streams which has brought our Culture to where it is.

From the Catechism:

The dignity of the human person is rooted in his creation in the image and
likeness of God (article 1); it is fulfilled in his vocation to divine beatitude
(article 2). It is essential to a human being freely to direct himself to this
fulfillment (article 3). By his deliberate actions (article 4), the human person
does, or does not, conform to the good promised by God and attested by moral
conscience (article 5). Human beings make their own contribution to their
interior growth; they make their whole sentient and spiritual lives into means
of this growth (article 6). With the help of grace they grow in virtue (article
7), avoid sin, and if they sin they entrust themselves as did the prodigal son1
to the mercy of our Father in heaven (article 8). In this way they attain to the
perfection of charity.

In this short paragraph we find the seedling of the American Tradition.

Our inalienable right to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness is grounded in the idea that we are made in the Image of God. We have Free Will, to do as we please.

We are Free to choose whether or not to conform to an established set of laws.

We are responsible, through the exercise of our Free Will, for our own growth. By the help of Grace we are able to grow in virtue.

Without the Grace given to us through the protections provided by our system of ideas, our culture, we would not be allowed to grow in virtue. Instead, we would be forced to live like animals fighting over shreds of food and turf.

Let me know what you think.

Midnight Rider adds:

Note well that it does not read:

The dignity of the CHRISTIAN human person is rooted in his creation in the image and likeness of God (article 1); it is fulfilled in his vocation to divine beatitude(article 2). It is essential to a WHITE EUROPEAN human being freely to direct himself to thisfulfillment (article 3). By his deliberate actions (article 4), the NON-MUSLIM human person does, or does not, conform to the good promised by God and attested by moral conscience (article 5). CATHOLIC Human beings make their own contribution to their interior growth; they make their whole sentient and spiritual lives into meansof this growth (article 6). With the help of grace they grow in virtue (article7), avoid sin, and if they sin they entrust themselves as did the prodigal son1to the mercy of our Father in heaven (article 8). In this way they attain to the perfection of charity.

It makes no such distinction, no allowances for race creed or color.

ALL humans are this. And by the choices they make with their freewill alone will they be judged. But, out of the gate, we are all equal and deserve equal rights and fair treatment.

This is the bedrock of Western Culture and Democracy. We are all the same, naked before God and each other. Man woman child white black yellow red muslim hindu catholic protestant jew christian are nothing but labels we attach and mean nothing in how a person should be treated.