Of all minds unenlightened by revealed religion, those—as has been hinted above—come closest to the truth which have grasped the double aspect of human nature, the cleavage between its ordination to value and its tendency to break away therefrom. These are neither optimists nor pessimists; their outlook takes account of the ineliminable duality of earthly existence. They recognize both the primacy in man of the spiritual element and his oppressive dependence on the body and its urges.

Aware, in some way, of the proper destiny of man as well as of how unrealizable it is here on earth, they penetrate the character of earthly existence as a status viae—as something provisional, imperfect, and charged with a meaning which points to a reality outside its range. Thus, they neither ignore man’s need of redemption nor despair of its possibility; however, their vision stops short at the necessity for that redemption to be wrought from above. With Plato, they still believe in a Godward evolution immanent to man. They fail to fathom the depth of the abyss, unbridgeable by all human effort, which separates us from God. Man’s need of a Divine Messiah is what they have failed to comprehend.

The Jews saw man’s need for a divine Redeemer

An entirely new position, by contrast to those discussed above, is the one represented by the Old Testament. The chosen people, to whom God has revealed the true situation of man, know that mankind, fallen through original sin, is marred by a mortal wound which only God can heal. Indeed, the chosen people, the depositary of the Old Testament, were in possession of the key to truth. They saw the split in man’s situation and knew about its cause. They were aware of man’s need of redemption by a Divine Messiah; on the strength of God’s promise given to Abraham, they awaited in wistful hope the coming of that Messiah.

He came: the “eternal Word has become flesh”; and with that, our situation has fundamentally changed. The gulf which separated mankind from God is bridged; the debt of Adam is paid; our reconciliation to God is achieved. Man is redeemed: he has been offered a new supernatural community with God. By virtue of a free gift of divine mercy—a gift surpassing all concepts and all expectations—he may, in Christ and through Christ, participate in the divine life of the Holy Trinity. The path is open for him to eternal, blissful perfection and sanctification.

Even after the Redemption, the duality in earthly life remains

Even after the Redemption, however, earthly existence has remained a status viae. In many respects, the painful duality inherent in our earthly situation endures unchanged. Nay, while in one sense overcome, in another it has increased; for a new division has arisen: the duality of those redeemed, those already inexpressibly united with God—and those still in the state of hope, still on their pilgrimage towards perfection proper.