Social Context The human self requires rootedness in others. This is primarily an ontological matter?a matter of beingwhat we are. It is not just a moral matter, a matter of what ought to be. And the moral aspect of it grows out of the ontological.?

We especially have in mind opinions to the effect that a human being

is purely physical, just an animal?basically, just the human brain. Or the opinion that human beings are, as such, good, or not to be forced to do anything they don?t want to do.

Today you will hear many presumably learned people say that there is

no such thing as human nature, or that human beings do not have a nature. Now, there is a long historical development back of this view, which we cannot deal with here, and it is not entirely without an important point. But that point is mismade in the statement that human beings

But resolute action for the good requires that things make sense.

You wouldn?t want someone caught up in helter-skelter to work on your lawn mower or computer. Life makes sense only if you understand its basic components and how they interrelate to form the whole. Evil, on the other hand, thrives on confusion. God is not the author of confusion (1

People nearly always act on their feelings, and think it only right. The will is then left at the mercy of circumstances that evoke feelings. Christian spiritual formation today must squarely confront this fact and overcome it.

And rejection, no matter how old one is, is a sword thrust to the soul that has literally killed many.

We need to access the fullness of biblical teachings on these matters. We suffer far too much from the influence ofa surrounding culture that thrives on confusion. (And therefore its denial that human beings have a nature.) This may seem like a harsh thing to say about our ?Christian world,? and I am sorry to say it; but the issues here are too

By standing in the correct relation to God through our will we can receive grace that will properly reorder the soul along with the other five components of the self. In the life away from God, the order of dominance is

Body Soul

Mind (Thought/Feeling) Spirit God

This is the order in idolatry of all kinds, including that of those who worship ?the good

On the other hand, what we feel and think is (or can and should be) to a very large degree a matter of choice in competent adult persons, who will be very careful about what they allow their minds to dwell upon or what they allow themselves to feel. This is crucial to the practical methods of spiritual formation.