Nature of Man Comparison

The table below sets the teaching of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Council of Trent on the nature of man beside the teaching of Scripture. For the history and doctrine behind it, see The Nature of Man in Roman Catholic Teaching.

Table RCC14
Roman Catholic Church Scripture
Image of God. Man bears the image of God chiefly in his soul, with its spiritual powers of intellect and will [§356, §363, §1705]. The whole man, male and female, was made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27; 9:6; James 3:9).
Original Righteousness. Original holiness and justice was a grace, a share in divine life, given to the first parents above their nature [§375, §376]. “God hath made man upright” (Ecclesiastes 7:29); righteousness and true holiness belonged to the image in which he was created (Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 3:10).
The Fall. Adam lost original holiness, but human nature “has not been totally corrupted”; it is “wounded in the natural powers proper to it” [§399, §400, §405]. Fallen man is “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1–3); his heart is “deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked” (Jeremiah 17:9; Genesis 6:5).
Original Sin. Original sin is “contracted” and not “committed”; it “does not have the character of a personal fault” in Adam’s descendants [§404, §405]. By one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, and judgment came upon all to condemnation (Romans 5:12, 18–19; Psalm 51:5).
Concupiscence. The inclination to evil that remains after baptism is not truly and properly sin but “the tinder for sin” [§1264, §2515; Trent, sess. 5, decree on original sin, 5]. Paul calls indwelling desire “sin that dwelleth in me” (Romans 7:7, 17–20; Galatians 5:17; James 1:14–15).
The Mind. God “can be known with certainty from the created world by the natural light of human reason,” though in his present condition man meets “many difficulties” in doing so [§36, §37]. Men hold down the truth they know and are “without excuse”; the natural man cannot receive the things of the Spirit (Romans 1:18–21; 1 Corinthians 2:14; Ephesians 4:17–18).
The Will. Free will remains after the fall, “attenuated and bent down” but “by no means extinguished” [§1705, §1730; Trent, sess. 6, chap. 1 and can. 5]. “Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin” (John 8:34); the carnal mind “is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be” (Romans 8:7; 6:17, 20).
Preparation for Grace. Moved by grace, man cooperates in his justification and is able to refuse; he is not merely passive [§1993; Trent, sess. 6, chap. 5 and can. 4]. God quickens those who are dead and gives them a new heart; they are born “not . . . of the will of man, but of God” (Ephesians 2:4–5; Ezekiel 36:26; John 1:13; 6:44).
Works before Justification. Not all works done before justification are sins [Trent, sess. 6, can. 7]. “They that are in the flesh cannot please God”; “without faith it is impossible to please him” (Romans 8:8; Hebrews 11:6; Isaiah 64:6).
Natural Law. The natural law is known by reason and provides a foundation for revealed law and grace [§1954, §1960]. The law written on the heart leaves every mouth stopped and all the world guilty before God (Romans 2:14–15; 3:19–20).
Merit. Once in grace, man can merit the graces needed for sanctification and for the attainment of eternal life [§2010]. “The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8–9; Luke 17:10).
The Remedy. Baptism erases original sin and turns a man back towards God; infants need it shortly after birth [§405, §1250]. The new birth is the work of the Spirit through the Word of God, received by faith (John 3:8; 1 Peter 1:23; James 1:18; Galatians 3:26).
The Exception. Mary was preserved from the first moment of her conception “immune from all stain of original sin” [§491]. “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23); Mary rejoiced “in God my Saviour” (Luke 1:47).

Roman Catholicism   The Nature of Man in Roman Catholic Teaching

Notes

  1. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd ed. (Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1997). Section numbers (§) in the table link to the online text at vatican.va.
  2. Theodore Alois Buckley, trans., The Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent (London: Routledge, 1851), session 5, “Decree concerning Original Sin,” and session 6, “Decree on Justification.”
  3. Scripture quotations are from the King James Version.