Tom Junker/ How the Life of John Paul II Illustrates Some Key Ideas from Our Text
Tom Junker
9/25/01
TH 100-3
Pope John Paul II
AMDG
How the Life of Karol Wojtywa Illustrates Some Key Ideas
in the First Two Chapters of Our Text
In 1920, Karol Wojtywa was born in Poland. He later grew up to be one of the greatest Popes in the history of the Catholic Church. Some of the ideas expressed in chapters one and two of our text are the same ideas that Karol Wojtywa lives out in his great life. There are four main ideas that I feel are best represented in his life. First is the true Christian response to tragedy. Second is the Catholic Church's view of other religions. Third is the idea of effective criticism. A final idea that I feel is expressed in Karol Wojtywa�s life is the idea of worldviews.
One key idea that is expressed both in the first two chapters of our text and in the life of Karol Wojtywa is the idea of a true Christian response to tragedy. When Karol was only eight years old, his mother died. This was very significant because she was a key person in Karol�s development at that time of his life. He had a very close relationship with his mother, more so than many sons and mothers. When he was twelve years old his brother died, and by the time he was twenty-one his father had passed away. He was left alone in the world. Karol Wojtywa's response to tragedy directly reflects what Zanzig says is the true Christian response to tragedy, a deepening of faith. When his mother, brother, and father died, Karol's faith in God only increased due to this horrible tragedy he experienced. This is exactly what Zanzig believes is the true Christian response to tragedy.
Another key idea that is lived out by Karol Wojtywa is the idea of the Catholic view of other religions. When Karol was a young child, he would play with the Jewish children. He did not feel that they were inferior at all. He looked at them as other human beings and children of God. This also agrees with what Zanzig would say about other religions. Zanzig says that the Catholic Church �Rejects nothing of what is true and holy in religions' and Catholics should "acknowledge, preserve, and encourage the spiritual and moral truths found among non-Christians." This also is shown later in Karol's life. He was the first Pope to visit the area in which the Jews were slaughtered in the Holocaust. He was very upset for the Jews who had unnecessarily perished in the terrible tragedy. Also when asked by a French filmmaker if he had helped any of the Jews, he said no. This does not necessarily mean that he did not help at all. What it means is that he did not help as much as he thought he could or should have helped.
Another key idea that is lived out both in the life of Karol Wojtywa and in the first two chapters of our book is the idea of effective criticism. According to Zanzig, the definition of effective criticism is that we take something that we have learned, whether from our parents, teachers, pastor, or others, and turn it over in our mind and question it. When we are critical of the media, we decide what is worthwhile and then go from there. In Karol's life during the communist control, his world was surrounded by lies. Karol, however, wanted the truth. He found this truth in religion. During this time, the communists were trying to destroy everything that Karol believed. However, he longed for the truth. When he visited religious places, he got back in touch with God and the truth of His word.
Another key idea that is illustrated by both our first two chapters and by the life of Karol Wojtywa is the idea of worldviews. In chapter two, Zanzig says that a worldview may partly result from the way we were raised, our family, and our culture. He says that our worldview is something that we freely choose and say yes to throughout our lives. In the life of Karol Wojtywa, his worldview was shaped by one of the most important people in his life, his mother. When Karol was only eight years old, his mother passed away. That left Karol without the most important person in his life for what would be a very hard time in his life. When his mother died, his father took him to a shrine with Mary and Jesus. The shrine's significance was very much like the relationship of Karol and his mother. When Karol was shot in May of 1981, he prayed to the Virgin Mary to save his life. After his recovery, he visited a shrine to thank Mary. She was the woman he felt was responsible for saving his life.