Pope John Paul II and JesusÆ Message on Law
The selections from the New Testament and Pope John PaulÆs Encyclical Letter, Fides et Ratio (Faith and Reason), demonstrate that one of manÆs fundamental searches is for the truth or law, something that will provided meaning and fulfillment and represent an absolute and inviolable answer. We see in the selections from Matthew, Luke, and Mark that Jesus was often called upon to answer questions from those seeking truth or the law. As Pope John Paul II writes in Fides et Ratio, it is a natural human impulse to ôask why things are as they areö (1998). Pope John Paul II further contends that people ôseek an absolute which might give to all their searching a meaning and an answerùsomething ultimate, which might serve as the ground of all thingsö (1998). The final explanation or supreme value searched for by human beings is demonstrated in the writings of Matthew, Luke and Mark, in which the answers of how to be one with God and welcomed in Heaven are provided.
In his Encyclical Letter, Pope John Paul II maintains that both human reason and faith are required to achieve a life in accordance with GodÆs law. Pope John Paul II maintains that the rich philosophical tradition helps to deepen understanding of the faith necessary to exhibit ôcritical discernmentö (1998). Calling for reason as a means of helping arrive at the truth of God and GodÆs law, Pope John Paul II argues that philosophical reasoning aims at such truth, ôThe autonomy which philosophy enjoys is rooted in the fact that reason is by its nature oriented to truth and is equipped moreover with the means necessary to arrive at truthö (1998).
Despite Pope John Paul IIÆs advocating reason, he informs his audience that it is important to keep in mind the fact that the outcomes offered by philosophical reason are flawed, since man is flawed. As Pope John Paul II writes, such formulations are ôshaped by history...