MEN AND WOMEN ARE FROM EDEN

A Study Guide to John Paul II’s Theology of the Body

by Mary Healy

Servant, 2005

128 pages, $8.99

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(800) 488-0488
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Theology of the body. Given the array of texts, workshops and conferences available on the subject, it would be tough today to find an active Catholic completely unfamiliar with the term. The powerful and insightful writings presented by Pope John Paul II in his weekly audiences from 1979 to 1984 have dramatically advanced the Catholic Church’s understanding of love, human sexuality and marriage.

But how much have we absorbed of the teachings that papal biographer George Weigel has called “a theological time bomb set to go off with dramatic consequences” at some point in the future?

For those who read Men and Women Are From Eden, the answer to that question will be: more now than before. This compact study guide neatly dissects the essential truths outlined by John Paul II, helping us to recognize our human roots before the Fall — and to begin making our way back, spiritually speaking, to where we all began.

Mary Healy’s writing style is inviting and easy to digest. And she doesn’t hesitate to tell it like it is. “It is no exaggeration to say that sex and marriage are in a meltdown — a crisis perhaps greater than at any other time in history,” she writes. But that’s not the end of the story. “Because Christ has come,” she points out, “the innocence and beauty of God’s original plan can be restored.”

With an eye on providing practical, Bible-based guidance drawn from John Paul’s teachings, Healy walks readers through the story of humanity’s fall, redemption and glorification by Christ. Along the way, she reaffirms the truths about human reproduction and connubial relations that so often set the Church against the status quo. (Artificial contraception, cohabitation, homosexual “marriage” — you get the picture.)

A chapter titled “Living the Mystery” is especially effective. Healy shows how John Paul elucidated the ever-controversial Ephesians 5:21-33 — the Scripture passage that calls for a wife’s submission to her husband — by beautifully clarifying the idea of mutual submission by spouses to one another in a spirit of love and sacrifice. Couples who study and grasp From Eden’s synthesis of this teaching will not be able to look at their marriage (or their spouse) the same way again.

A most satisfying surprise is the comprehensive “Study Tools” section offered at the end of every chapter. Each of these crisply outlines key concepts just covered, placing them in the context of Church teaching. Then it poses useful questions for reflection and suggests practical applications.

There are works on the theology of the body that go into greater detail in analyzing John Paul’s original writings. This book will fall short for the reader looking for a scholarly survey on the teachings. It is, however, an excellent point from which to launch such an undertaking — and a worthwhile aid to those looking to live the teachings. Which ought to be all of us.

Lynn Wehner is a copy editor at

Faith & Family magazine

(faithandfamilymag.com).