What does it mean to be a perfect man?

[Richard_Powers]

From a Catholic perspective, what does it mean to be a perfect man? Does a perfect man need to saved from original sin? How can a man be perfect considering original sin?

 

[Orogeny]

From a Catholic perspective, what does it mean to be a perfect man? Does a perfect man need to saved from original sin? How can a man be perfect considering original sin?

Only one perfect man ever lived and he died on a cross ~2,000 years ago.

No man alive before or since can be perfect. Only God is perfect.

Peace

Tim

 

[Richard_Powers]

Only one perfect man ever lived and he died on a cross ~2,000 years ago.

No man alive before or since can be perfect. Only God is perfect.

Peace

Tim

So is the Bible wrong when it describes Job as perfect and upright?

 

[Richard_Powers]

Noe is also described as perfect.

 

[jkarp]

Noe is also described as perfect.

Do you mean Noah? Noah is described as blameless and righteous, not perfect (Genesis 6:9). The fact that he was without blame does not necessarily mean that he was without sin, which I would consider to be one requirement of perfection.

Only one perfect man ever lived and he died on a cross ~2,000 years ago.
No man alive before or since can be perfect. Only God is perfect.
Peace
Tim

If we take the question literally as perfect “male” than you are correct. However, taking it more generally as perfect “human,” the Blessed Virgin Mary should be included in the very short list of perfect humans. God saved Mary from the stain of original sin at the moment of her conception, thus she did not have an inclination to sin during her life. In this way, Mary was a fitting vessel for the Lord Jesus Christ, a perfect tabernacle. This is why she is greeted by the Angel Gabriel, “Hail, full of grace,” she responded to the God’s grace and allowed herself to be made perfect.

I can think of only two other people in history created without sin, Adam and Eve. Unlike Mary however, they did not respond to God’s grace and as a result, lost it.

 

[1ke]

In the Bible we hear that we should “be perfect” like our Father in Heaven who is perfect.

I means we should strive for holiness and sanctity-- to be Saints.

 

[Richard_Powers]

Do you mean Noah? Noah is described as blameless and righteous, not perfect (Genesis 6:9). The fact that he was without blame does not necessarily mean that he was without sin, which I would consider to be one requirement of perfection.

It says perfect, not blameless, in the in the Douay Rheims Bible (which uses the spelling Noe):

These are the generations of Noe: Noe was a just and perfect man in his generations, he walked with God.

And in the KJV:

These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.

 

[jkarp]

It says perfect, not blameless, in the in the Douay Rheims Bible . . .

The Hebrew word used here is: תָּמִים which means blameless, innocent, whole, or virgin. If the intent of the writer was perfection or flawless, he would have used ללא פגם which literally means without flaw or without fault (or without imperfection).

The other relevelent adjective in the sentence is:** צַדִּיק** which means righteous or just.

The Latin Vulgate uses the words *iustus, *and, *perfectus. *The word iustus means just or right; perfectus can mean perfect and without flaw, it can also mean complete or finished.

As the writer of the book of Genesis was using Hebrew, I believe that the Hebrew text would be more accurate than the Douay Rheims, King James, or even the Vulate translations.

I prefer to use the New American Bible for study as it tends to provide a more direct translation from the original sources than other English translations.