Human relationships in the teachings of Teresa of Avila

Type :

Term papers

Pages :

9 pages

Format :

.doc

Published date :

03/18/2009

Category :

Philosophy & literature

Sub category :

Humanities/philosophy

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Summary :

Introduction
Human relationships
1. Importance of loving God and neighbor
2. Human friendship
The perils of bad friendship
The benefits of good friendship
1. Teresa and her friends
Conclusion
Bibliography

Abstract

teresa of avila (1515-1582) was the founder of the cloistered Carmelite order during the time of the Spanish Inquisition. As the founder of a strict, cloistered order that emphasized poverty one might expect teresa to have conservative views on issues like the value of human relationships. Her contemporaries tended to view such relationships as a hindrance on the spiritual path and believed that all one's attention had to be focused on God. teresa's approach was unique for her time. After her death teresa was canonized as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church and became the first female Doctor of the Church, so her teachings have a special authority for many. This paper will examine her teachings on the value and dangers of human relationships.

For teresa of avila, relationship was essential to her spiritual path. She refused to reject either human relationship or a relationship with the very human aspect of God, though others in the Church at that time encouraged people to do so. This does not mean that she was in favor of all human relationships. However prone to affection she may have been herself-and she is usually described as an extremely affectionate person-she was assiduous in warning against the dangers in human relationships. For her, it would appear the real purpose of human relationship was to bring as many souls as possible to what she saw as the ultimate relationship: a union with God.