Lived Experience and the Search for Truth: Revisiting Catholic Sexual Morality
In a world increasingly confused about what it means to be human, Lived Experience and the Search for Truth: Revisiting Catholic Sexual Morality (edited by Deborah Savage and Robert Fastiggi) offers a refreshing, deeply rooted exploration of identity, sexuality, and the metaphysical reality of the human person. This volume is not simply an academic exercise; it is a profound reflection on what it means to be created male and female in the image and likeness of God.
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At its heart, this book seeks to illuminate the reality of the human person as an integrated whole—body and soul—where lived experience is not opposed to truth, but rather a means of encountering it. Drawing from the theological vision of Pope St. John Paul II, the authors demonstrate how the “turn to the subject” in modern philosophy does not have to lead to radical individualism but can, instead, be properly integrated with a philosophy of being.
A core theme running throughout the book is the idea that our consciousness has an intentionality—a directedness toward truth. This is not an abstract concept but a lived reality: in our daily lives, we seek to communicate the truth of what we experience. This search for truth is not only about external reality but also about the subject who perceives and engages with it. It is a journey that must be undertaken with both faith and reason, with the full weight of the Christian tradition illuminating our steps.
The book also does not shy away from some of the most pressing moral and bioethical issues of our time. It engages topics such as contraception, abortion, infertility, adoption, and the challenge of discovering a wholesome identity in a world that increasingly denies the givenness of the human person. The authors provide thoughtful engagement with both theological and scientific perspectives, showing that Catholic teaching on sexuality is not an imposition but an invitation—an invitation to rediscover the beauty of the gift of our creation as man and woman.
Through compelling personal testimonies, rigorous philosophical analysis, and deep theological insight, this book offers a path forward for those seeking to understand the meaning of their own existence. It is a call to embrace the fullness of our identity in Christ, to heal the wounds that distort our understanding of self, and to enter more deeply into the mystery of the Creator’s design.
Ultimately, Lived Experience and the Search for Truth is not just about Catholic sexual morality. It is about what it means to be fully human. It is an invitation to rediscover the heart of our personhood and to recognize, in the depths of our own lived experience, the God who calls us into truth.
The author “Francis Etheredge” also explores the topic of transgenderism through the lens of Catholic teaching and bioethics. Click and follow this link to order the book. Transgenderism: A Question of Identity