Jesus Christ : the answer to the mystery of man : a Christ-centred anthropology

Abstract

"It is only in the mystery of the Word made flesh that the mystery of man truly becomes clear." (Gaudium et Spes 22). This dissertation is an attempt in elaborating the above statement. Thus, we will focus on the 'human person' and the interpretation of the meaning of the mystery that man is to himself and his human dignity in virtue of his being and that he is 'imago Del', and his exercising of his dominion over the world and the consequences that he brings upon himself as an effect of his separation from God. We will also explore how and why Christ, as the eschatological Adam, is the answer to the riddle of 'What is man?' We will expand this Christ-centred anthropology from the writing of 'Gaudium et Spes' and how Pope John Paul II understood and interpreted this document and refers to it as encapsulating the motif of his pontificate.