On Man as a Creature

Agnoete: Mankind has taken a great step forward! He is on the verge of even greater things. New technologies and inventions will soon allow him to overcome many of the limitations of the past.

Theophilus: This is the great danger of all our progress: that we shall forget who we are. Or rather, that we shall obscure reality from ourselves.

Agnoete: What do you mean, obscure reality? Rather, we will create reality!

Theophilus: The fundamental nature of man is that he is a creature; but he is always trying to hide this reality from himself.

Agnoete: Why is man trying to hide this from himself?

Theophilus: Because it is humbling to him to know that he is a creature; it does not serve his pride.

Agnoete: But I know that I am a creature, just as all others are creatures. I am not afraid to confess it.

Theophilus: Because you know the word, but not the meaning of the word. To be a creature is to not be the Creator. To be a creature is to be created, which means that the initiative and power does not lie with you. Rather, it indicates your subordination and subjection. And further, it indicates your finity.

Agnoete: What do you mean by ‘finity’?

Theophilus: I mean, that you are fundamentally limited. This is the most important thing about mankind, that he is limited, that he is frail, that he is incapable.

Agnoete: I feel myself to be capable of many things!

Theophilus: Though you may feel yourself capable, yet your capabilities hang by the slenderest thread. One small misfortune, one turn of events, one unexpected accident, can undo all your plans. Even your very life may be terminated by the smallest occurrence. As Pascal said, “Between us, and heaven or hell, there is only life, which is the frailest thing in the world.” But no matter what you may be capable of, it is what you are incapable of that defines you more. For most of what you can imagine, you are incapable of doing or being.

Agnoete: But this is why I said that we have reached great things, and soon we shall be able to undo many of these limits. Look at all that humanity has already accomplished, and imagine what we shall soon accomplish!

Theophilus: But this serves only to obscure, rather than remove, our finity. We may overcome certain limitations through technology, but we never remove our fundamentally limited nature. It is simply that we learn to use our strengths better, to cover our weaknesses. But our weaknesses remain.

Agnoete: But why should we be reminded of our weaknesses? How is there any value in this?

Theophilus: Mankind must recognize what he is, if he is ever to understand what he may be. But the innate selfishness of man is such, that he cannot bear to see who he truly is. He does not wish to know how weak, frail, and powerless he truly is. Hence he prides himself on all that he can do. But until he recognizes who he is, he can never become what he is meant to be.

Agnoete: And what is he meant to be?

Theophilus: He is meant to be the child of God, living in full dependence on the Creator. In this way he shall be fulfilled.

Agnoete: Why does he need to recognize his own weakness, in order to do this?

Theophilus: Because his weaknesses are God-given, that he might see more clearly his need for fulfillment outside himself. As a lock without a key is incomplete, so the creature without the Creator is also incomplete. In this way, then, a recognition of our reality is not a stain on our character, but our greatest achievement. As Augustine said, “This is the very perfection of a man, to find out his own imperfection.” Hence, when we consider that we are mere creatures, we find it a most humbling thing. To accept this position is to relinquish all rights; it is to renounce our own sovereignty, and to acknowledge our absolute dependence on the Creator. And only then shall we be what we were truly designed to be.

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