What is man that thou art mindful of him.

Psalm

O Lord, thou hast created man to be immortal and made him to be an image of thine own eternity...

Confiteor

The divine component in the human constitution is at the very foundation of Liberal Catholic thought and Christology. A part of the Ancient Wisdom, implicit in the Old Testament, and often explicit in the New, this teach-ing concerning the essential divinity of man is perhaps the most radical, distinctive, yet fundamental aspect of the teaching of the Liberal Catholic Church. It is radical in classical sense of going to the root of things; it is distinctive as it distinguishes our church communion from others; it is fundamental in that without its foundational position, all other doctrinal structures of church would fall.

The inherent divinity of man is the simple and profound assertion that in every man and woman there is a holy and sacred centre, an expanding circle of Grace that defines the very essence of the human person. This secreted nucleus, invisible and immortal, makes of man a being of transcendental significance. It is, as it were, an epiphany of our Lord Christ in the manger of the human heart. Universalised, yet individualised, this sacred precinct is no less than "the one essence from which all forms of existence are derived". It is the spiritual reality out of which grows every manifestation, mode, and expression of a truly human life.

The Church in her Summary of Doctrine asserts:

The spirit of man made in the image of God is divine in essence... He is eternal and his future is one whose glory and splendour have no limit.

Man is understood as a personalised expression of Christ, an actual involvement in and embodiment of the One Life. The claim to this Life is no claim of exclusivity, nor is it a benefit reserved for the few. As the Church teaches:

The divinity which was manifest in him is gradually being unfolded in every man until each shall come "unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (Eph. 4:13).

Inherent divinity is no abstraction, no peripheral issue and no fanciful flight of verbal imagery; rather, it is at the imperishable core of the Liberal Catholic mind. It is to the Church the mother of all doctrine, the inspiration of all of its teaching. It is anchored in Holy Scripture and memorialised in the Liturgy. "Christ is our foundation and our chief cornerstone" is as telling of the potential of human life as it is of the building of the liturgical spiritual temple.

As we approach a new century, it perhaps should be said that if any teaching characterises our Church, it is this teaching. It is no time to "soft pedal" what is the central focus of the Liberal Catholic perspective for whatever reason. There is in an ecumenical age always the tendency or temptation to accommodate the climate of opinion. The proponents of Truth must not, for want of will or courage, out of ignorance or indifference, or for reasons of comity or acceptability, retreat from this unique teaching. This particular contribution to Christian thought among catholic churches is a mark of our identity. It seems rather our particular role to explain, elaborate, refine, and further expose its significance and meaning to a world seeking spiritual understanding and solidarity.

Let us reflect upon what the doctrine of inherent divinity is and what it is not. It is not the substitution of man for God; rather, it sees man as God's expression and man's destiny as finding himself in God. It is no secular humanism. Any earthbound myopic vision of man would distort his picture as seen in the light of Christ as an inchoate son of the Father. Inherent divinity is no instance of psychological inflation; that is, it is not the pride of man that underlies this idea of his inherent divinity. On the contrary, it is only in the surrender of pride, the emptying of self, and the elimination of the obstacles to Grace, that makes possible the appearance of the Christ as man. Our creed is a statement of idealism, but it also a practical statement. It is balanced and realistic. It recognises a differentiation between the Divine Centre and the limitations associated with earthly manifestation: Though man be created to be immortal and eternal, the Church urges us to pray: "...yet often we forget the glory of our heritage and wander from the path which leads to righteousness". And further we implore in the Confiteor, "...Look with the eyes of thy love upon our manifold imperfections and pardon all our shortcomings". The priest adds in absolution: "...the Lord absolve you from all your sins and grant you the grace and comfort...". In these reflections we see a balance of idealism and common experience, the loftiest conception of man that is possible, but also his karmic heritage. But within this paradoxical situation of man, the determining factor, the overarching truth, the verdict of the Ancient Wisdom is clear. The Liberal Catholic teaching puts the emphasis on this verdict: Man is immortal. Man is eternal. Man is a function and focus of Divinity, and in the words of the Creed: "...all his sons shall one day reach his feet, however far they stray".

The essence of the doctrine of the inherent divinity of man is that the truth about man is the truth about God, that the sacred centre is no less than a divine embryo.

Nor is the doctrine some novelty or innovation. That man is created in the image and likeness of God is no more than a reiteration of Holy Scripture, the first principle of the Old Testament. The Church, echoing our Lord, joins the Psalmist who with a revelatory boldness says, "Ye are gods and all of you are children of the Most High" (Psalms 82:6). We are told by the Apostle John that Christ is "the light which lighteth every man that comes into the world" (John 1:10) and by Paul that "Christ in us (is) our hope of glory" (Colossians 1:28). For centuries the Eastern Church has taught "deification" as the means and end of human existence. The teaching of our Church in this respect is a growth in understanding, a development of doctrine, a widening perspective, and perhaps a new paradigm enabling a truly Christ-centred era to emerge.

The doctrine of inherent divinity complements the special emphasis our church gives to Christ "who lives ever as a mighty spiritual presence in the world, guiding and sustaining his people". Liberal Catholics regard Christ in a myriad of aspects including the expression of Christ in Jesus who lived 20 centuries ago, Christ in the Holy Eucharist manifest in every Mass, as well as the Christ whose spiritual domain is within man's configuration. It is to this last expression of Christ to which he refers when he promised, "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the consummation of the age" (Matthew 28:20).

This inherent divinity of man is what allies us in actuality with Christ himself in his Mystical Body. For it is the literal truth that in Him we live, we move, we have our being. That truth is nowhere taught in all of Christendom with the force, clarity, and understanding as it is in the Liberal Catholic Church.

This truth is both factual and aspirational. It is factual in the sense that Christ demonstrated the truth of it in Jesus. It is factual in the life of a Francis of Assisi, a Mother Teresa, in the lives of quiet, anonymous saints who now live amongst us in all true religions. It is factual in its manifestation in the lives of those who selflessly serve their brothers and sisters across the planet. It is aspirational in the sense that Jesus has challenged men to follow him and become "perfect even as your Father in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5;48). It is aspirational in the sense expressed in the Lord's prayer, "thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven". It is aspirational in our own self-knowledge that in living our lives we fall short of our range of reach. This aspirational truth is acknowledged by more orthodox theologians in the paradox of "already, but not yet" - Christ is with us already, but not yet fully manifest. The progressive and developmental aspect of the doctrine of inherent divinity is both the acknowledgement of a present reality and the coming of successive stages of continuing unfoldment.

Again, this teaching, as all other teachings of the Liberal Catholic Church, is suggested rather than imposed. The teaching of this Ancient Wisdom is presented in its Christian aspect to be examined, tested, evaluated, and experienced in the crucible of reason, meditation, prayer and contemplation, as well as in the exercise of our common sense. Without any denigration or dilution of the teaching itself, it is offered in the hope and faith that those who have eyes to see and ears to hear will understand. It is a positive doctrine that uplifts the mind, warms the heart, satisfies the intellect, and inspires the soul of the individuals to whom it is addressed. It involves no imposition of dogma. It constitutes no litmus test of belief. As in all matters of conviction and conscience, a methodology of coercion and compulsion has no place in its exposition. It is not the veracity of its teaching that inspires this tolerance, but rather, this attitude is inspired by an absolute respect for the human mind and the dignity of the human person. This methodology of tolerance complements another of the Church's teachings, which recognises the infinite stages of development in the evolution of the millions of members of the human family.

If every man and every woman is of an essentially divine nature being sons and daughters of the Father in Heaven - what say we then of Christ? We say with the Apostle Paul "...in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" and we "are complete in him..." (Colossians 2:9,10). Is He any less significant because He shares with us His own stature of divinity? Is He any less because in Him we live and move and have our being? Is He any less to be loved, honoured, and obeyed because He shares with us His own perfection, dominion, and submission to the Father who art in Heaven? Is our guide and mediator any less because He shows, teaches, and demonstrates that within us is the way, the truth, and the life? If we are invited to share His sonship and to live out our destiny in Him, do we in following Him make Him less? By expressing our true nature, which is like unto Him, do we not glorify Him? Is it not He who said that the kingdom of God is within us and we are the children of His Father?

The peculiar notion that it is a presumption to say that we are of His kin and kind is to overlook the obvious - it is in our submission to Him that we become as He is, as the vacuum of human sense is filled with the fullness of sonship. It is no worldly egotism that dares to so approach Him; but it is in the loss of human pride that we find what was lost - our own divine counterpart - by Grace.

In living out our human destiny, the Church assures us of a security beyond social security, a treasure of more worth than gold and silver, a path of unfoldment beyond merely human dreams or worldly aspirations. The Church points to the Master, and says, "follow Him... follow Him to find your Self!"

The teaching of the essential divinity of man is offered and proposed by the Church not as some "easy fix" for success, not as a formula for fortune or fame, not as a blueprint for some political utopia, and least of all is it any encouragement to believe that in our present state of consciousness, evolution, or development, we manifest all that is of God. Contrariwise, the Church would have us enter the Path, approach the Altar, open the doors of perception - so that the Inner Light may shine as it redeems the human faculties. The Church would have us move from faith to knowledge, not a merely human knowledge, but a knowledge, nay a Wisdom, a Knowing beyond and above human sense. The Church would have us know beyond appearances, beyond peradventure, that the Kingdom of God is within us!

"Beloved, now are we the sons of God and it doth not yet appear what we shall be..."