“War against the body means we must do this with a clear emphasis upon the theological importance of the body. This will not be news to some. Pope John Paul II’s rich legacy on the theology of the body is meat and drink to thoughtful Catholics, yet it is not something that Protestantism has expended much energy on until recently.”
This was written by Protestant theologian Dr. Carl Trueman in First Things Magazine. How glorious it is that Christians of many denominations can be united in the truth of God’s design for the human body! Pope St. John Paul II, whose Feast Day we celebrate on October 22, must surely be pleased. I suspect he’s been praying in heaven to Jesus for such a commonality.
Sadly, our confused culture promotes its dogma that the body doesn’t matter in its “anti-sacraments” like abortion, pornography, promiscuity, homosexuality, and transgender ideology. But we at TOBET are leading the way in countering those harmful messages—and we are doing so arm-in-arm with our Protestant brothers and sisters.
In fact, it was a Protestant organization that donated the largest grant that TOBET has ever received to support our new program called My Body, My Identity: Discovering God’s Design (MBMI). I named it My Body, My Identity in juxtaposition to Planned Parenthood’s slogan, “my body, my choice.” I designed it to address those 5 “anti-sacraments” that are harming our culture. It is replete with over 50 videos and 5 children’s books for all Christians (to be finished by the Fall of 2024).
Over the last three months, Gabriel Milano, TOBET’s stalwart Assistant Director of Content Creation, and I have been building the program. We have been honored to interview many people with poignant conversion stories, such as Laura Perry who considered herself a man for over nine years, after going through a double mastectomy. Then, Jesus broke through and changed her life. She now full-heartedly accepts and loves the beauty of her femininity.
We were also privileged to interview various experts in their field, including Dr. Carl Trueman from Groves City College and Dr. Andrew Walker from the Southern Baptist Seminary. They and every interviewee spoke of the wonder of the theology of the body, which is so needed in this day and age.
Never would I have dreamt that one day, together Catholics and Protestants would lock arms to live and evangelize using the Biblical truth known as the Theology of the Body. We at TOBET are proud to be an integral part of this united front, grounded in the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ.
Monica Ashour is co-founder, international speaker, author of 28 books, and president of TOBET.
