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PhilosophicalThought
stillidesquaerensintellectum.InChristianthinking,theessentialcharacteristic
ofnuminousliesinGodrevealinghimselfinaformofalovingbeing,aslove
completingthemeaningofourexistence.Appealtoholiness,asstipulatedinthe
OldTestament,becomesevenmorepressingintheNewTestamentwhenJesus
Christinvitesusto:“Beperfect,therefore,asyourheavenlyFatherisperfect”
(Mt5:48).ThefaithfulinChristarehallowedbythelovetheyexperiencedin
Christ.14“FollowGod’sexample,asdearlylovedchildrenandwalkintheway
oflove,justasChristlovedus[ł]”(Ef5:1).
UnderstandingofthenuminousinChristianityisgreatlyinfluencedbythe
factthat“ChristianityisnottheteachingofreturnsuchisGnosticismandNeo-
platonism,buttheteachingofcreation.”15Theaccountofman’screationinthe
BookofGenesisreferstoessentialrelationshipofmantoGod.Adamisnotan
overthrowngod,norisheaparticleofspiritthatfelltoabodyfromheaven.
HeisafreebeinginaconstantandvitalrelationshiptoGod.Hisoriginre-
ferstothat,too.Hecomesfromtheearth,buthedoesnotlimithimselftothe
earth.Godbreathedintohimthebreathoflifeandhisexistencedependson
it.Hebecamealivingsoul,bothapersonalbeingandabeingdependenton
God.Religiondoesnotstepintosupplementman’shumannaturethatwould
alreadybecomplete.Religionisintegratedintohisstructurefromthebegin-
ning.Itwouldnotmakesensetotalkaboutmanwithoutplacinghimintothe
relationshipwithGod.16
ManisbondedwithGod,hisCreator.Man’srelationshiptoGodisoneof
theoriginalandvitaldependencemanifestingitselfinfreedominaformof
obedience.Heneedstheobedienceashisowncomplementthatallowshimto
understandthatheisnotGod,buthedependsonGodforhegavehimlifel
abreaththatmakeshimalive,butwhichheisnotconsciousof.Heholdsthe
lawofobediencedeepinhisheartandinhisconscience.Genuineobedience
ispossibleonlyinfreedomanditmakesamananautonomousbeing.Talents
weredealt,theLordhasleft,butheshallreturn.Theconceptofautonomy
embraceswithinitselfopinionsofStoicism,Enlightenment,andAtheism,but
mostofallitembracestheprofoundtruthaboutfreedom.Thewordautonomy
derivesfromwordsautosandnomos,meaningtocreatelawsforoneself.Itthen
impliesthatfreedomisrelatedtolaw.Autonomydoesnotnecessarilymean
anarchy.Itratherpointstosomethingthatlimitsit.17Whatwehaveinmindis
alawinscribedintheheartsandconscienceofmanandthroughwhichtheliv-
ingGodspeakstothosecreatedbyhim.Godplacesmanintoabeautifuland
14Cf.WernerJaeger,Wczesnechrześcijaństwoigreckapaidei,trans.KrzysztofBielawski
(Bydgoszcz:Homini,1997),103.
15MirceaEliade,Dejinynáboženskýchpredstávaide./II.trans.ĽubicaVychovald(Bra-
tislava:Agora,1997),299.
16Cf.XavierLéon-Dufour,Slovn.kbiblickejteológie,169.
17Cf.KarolTarnowski,Wiaraimyślenie(Kraków:Znak,1999),36.