Shame involves the Other
We often hear childhood described as a “time of innocence.” But it would be misleading to compare Adam and Eve’s situation with that of children. The words of Genesis 2:25, “they felt no shame,” don’t express a lack development, but a fullness. They indicate that Adam and Eve had a full understanding of the meaning of the body, bound up with their nakedness. When this fullness is lost, shame appears…Shame—in particular, sexual modesty—plays an important role in the formation of any society by affecting the relationship between the sexes. It expresses the rules for the communion persons, while also reminding us of our original solitude as individuals before God.
— From Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body
Devin O'Donnell
Devin O’Donnell is the author of THE AGE OF MARTHA. He has taught and worked in classical learning for over 15 years. In 2009, he and some crazy families founded a classical Christian school in California, where he later served as headmaster. In 2015, he was Research Editor of Bibliotheca. Currently, he is the Director of Family & Community Education at The Oaks Classical Christian Academy. He also teaches Great Books and is a classical hack, who came up through the manhole covers of learned society to find wisdom.
