Original Unity of Man and Woman (summery of THEO 436 notes)

In John Paul's discourses entitled "The Original Unity of Man and Woman," he discusses three proposed original states of humankind, before the fall:

First "The Original Solitude," second, "The Original Unity of Man and Woman," and third, "Original Nakedness."

The Original Unity is the state pursued following the state of Original Solitude, for it is in Adam's (and more broadly humanity's) self-realization of an imminent state of aloneness which then leads to the seeking of unity.

The unity of man and woman is premised on mutuality, reciprocity, and complementarity.

Complementarity presupposes identity (common human nature), duality (one nature embodied in two ways) and unity/communion (ie, the purpose of duality is an orientation towards/capacity for communion). Hence, there is seen equality and difference. The communion of man and woman breaks down as a result of inequality.

The nature of this communion was, according to John Paul, interpersonal communion, that is, a union of persons realized through reciprocal gift of self and reciprocal receiving of the gift of the other (ie, imago Dei).

The paradigm of this unity is marraige. This is the nature of Christ's relation to the Church. The ultimate paradigm of this is found in the Trinity.