--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The flesh,' as Saint Paul used the term…" description: "\"“The flesh,' as Saint Paul used the term, refers, ironically, not to our bodies but to fallen human nature. The 'carnal' spirit is the one that devours..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/744/thomas-howard-48397_flesh_the-flesh-as-saint-paul-used-the-term-re_2544933.jpg" --- # The flesh,' as Saint Paul used the term, refers… ![“The flesh,' as Saint Paul used the term, refers, ironically, not to our bodies but to fallen human nature. The 'carnal' spirit is the one that devours things for itself and refuses to make them an oblation to God. The carnal spirit is cruel, egocentric, avaricious, gluttonous, and lecherous, and…” quote by Thomas Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/744/thomas-howard-48397_flesh_the-flesh-as-saint-paul-used-the-term-re_2544933.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/744/thomas-howard-48397_flesh_the-flesh-as-saint-paul-used-the-term-re_2544933.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/744/thomas-howard-48397_flesh_the-flesh-as-saint-paul-used-the-term-re_2544933.jpg) > ““The flesh,' as Saint Paul used the term, refers, ironically, not to our bodies but to fallen human nature. The 'carnal' spirit is the one that devours things for itself and refuses to make them an oblation to God. The carnal spirit is cruel, egocentric, avaricious, gluttonous, and lecherous, and as such us fevered, restless, and divided. The spiritual man, on the other hand, is alone the man who both knows what flesh is for and can enter into its amplitude. The lecher, for example, supposes that he knows more about love than the virgin or the continent man. He knows nothing. Only the virgin and the faithful spouse knows what love is about. The glutton supposes that he knows the pleasures of food, but the true knowledge of food is unavailable to his dribbling and surfeited jowls. The difference between the carnal man and the spiritual man is not physical. They may look alike and weigh the same. The different lies, rather, between one's being divided, snatching and grabbing at things, even nonphysical things like fame and power, or being whole and receiving all things as Adam was meant to receive them, in order to offer them as an oblation to their Giver.”” [Thomas Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-howard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote contrasts the selfish, indulgent nature of the carnal spirit with the selfless, whole-hearted spiritual man who offers all to God. **In simple terms:** Carnal self‑indulgence vs. spiritual self‑sacrifice Key Takeaway Seek wholeness, not self‑service Themes spirituality human nature self‑control Mood reflective serious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - religious practice - ethical decision making - relationship counseling Key Concepts carnal vs. spiritual oblation division Questions to Reflect On - How do you distinguish self‑interest from genuine self‑sacrifice? - What practices help transform carnal impulses into spiritual offerings? A Different Perspective Spiritual wholeness may be idealized and hard to achieve in daily life ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Human nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-nature/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Sin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sin/) [Spiritual life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual-life/) [True knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-knowledge/) ## Related quotes > [If the heart has its reasons, perhaps the body Has its own lumbering sort of carnal spirit, Felt in the tingling bruises of collision,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hecht/if-the-heart-has-its-reasons-perhaps-the-body-has-its-own-lumbering/) [Anthony Hecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hecht/) > [“The great difference between the carnal and the spiritual Christian is that the latter acknowledges God, under whatever low and poor and human appearances…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-murray/the-great-difference-between-the-carnal-and-the-spiritual-christian/) [Andrew Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-murray/) > [“We have won battles that are strange and strong for a carnal man to win.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaachynma-n-e-agu/we-have-won-battles-that-are-strange-and-strong-for-a-carnal-man-to/) [Jaachynma N.E. 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Collingwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-g-collingwood/) > [“Any man who behaves arrogantly with what little he knows, or claims to know all, only reveals to all that he really knows nothing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/any-man-who-behaves-arrogantly-with-what-little-he-knows-or-claims-to/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [“My spirit welled up in its joy because I asked myself "why?" The dread key to all true knowledge is "why?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mika-waltari/my-spirit-welled-up-in-its-joy-because-i-asked-myself-why-the-dread/) [Mika Waltari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mika-waltari/) > [“surely the only true knowledge of our fellow-man is that which enables us to feel with him—which gives us a fine ear for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/surely-the-only-true-knowledge-of-our-fellow-man-is-that-which/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [To know what you know and what you do not know, that is true knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/to-know-what-you-know-and-what-you-do-not-know-that-is-true-knowledge/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [ “Skills (learning) or lack of skills is all egoistic knowledge (ego based knowledge). Ego-free Knowledge is called (true) Knowledge \[Gnan\].” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/skills-learning-or-lack-of-skills-is-all-egoistic-knowledge-ego-based/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) ## More by Thomas Howard > [ “Its \[Narnia's\] fabric is shot through with glory. There is no peak, no valley, no sea or forest, but bears the weight of this… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-howard/its-narnia-s-fabric-is-shot-through-with-glory-there-is-no-peak-no/) [Thomas Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-howard/) > [“I have been offered the noble opportunity to join my voice with that of the Crucified as He cries out, 'Father, forgive them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-howard/i-have-been-offered-the-noble-opportunity-to-join-my-voice-with-that/) [Thomas Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-howard/) > [“Mass celebrated on the hood of a jeep with shells bursting all around is as much the Mass as the liturgy celebrated in St…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-howard/mass-celebrated-on-the-hood-of-a-jeep-with-shells-bursting-all-around/) [Thomas Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-howard/) > [When I walk into an Orthodox Church... one is immediately aware that one has stepped into the presence of what St. Paul would call…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-howard/when-i-walk-into-an-orthodox-church-one-is-immediately-aware-that-one/) [Thomas Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-howard/) > [That religious earnestness forever tends toward fright and hence towards brittleness and inquisition is clear enough in mythology and history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-howard/that-religious-earnestness-forever-tends-toward-fright-and-hence/) [Thomas Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-howard/) > [“Everything depends on what is being enacted. 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Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [The nineteenth century lynching mob cuts off ears, toes, and fingers, strips off flesh, and distributes portions of the body as souvenirs among the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-nineteenth-century-lynching-mob-cuts-off-ears-toes-and-fingers/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [Surely, God could have caused birds to fly with their bones made of solid gold, with their veins full of quicksilver, with their flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/surely-god-could-have-caused-birds-to-fly-with-their-bones-made-of/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [It's still possible to savor the remarkable foods that millennia of human ingenuity have teased from milk. A sip of milk itself or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-mcgee/it-s-still-possible-to-savor-the-remarkable-foods-that-millennia-of/) Harold McGee > [If Jesus is the Son of God in human flesh, He's one of a kind of the 13 billions of people who have ever lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-lahaye/if-jesus-is-the-son-of-god-in-human-flesh-he-s-one-of-a-kind-of-the/) [Tim LaHaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-lahaye/) > [I hold flesh-food to be unsuited to our species. We err in copying the lower animal world if we are superior to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-hold-flesh-food-to-be-unsuited-to-our-species-we-err-in-copying-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I separated the joints, the arm joints, the leg joints, and had to do two boilings. I think I used four boxes of Soilex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-dahmer/i-separated-the-joints-the-arm-joints-the-leg-joints-and-had-to-do/) [Jeffrey Dahmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-dahmer/) > [If you like I'll be furious flesh elemental, or- changing to tones that the sunset arouses- if you like- I'll be extraordinary gentle, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-mayakovsky/if-you-like-i-ll-be-furious-flesh-elemental-or-changing-to-tones-that/) [Vladimir Mayakovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-mayakovsky/) > [Flesh forgets. Bone remembers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jefferson-bass/flesh-forgets-bone-remembers/) [Jefferson Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jefferson-bass/) > [For fear of causing terror to living beings, Mahamati, let the Bodhisattva who is disciplining himself to attain compassion, refrain from eating flesh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/for-fear-of-causing-terror-to-living-beings-mahamati-let-the/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [“Paul closed his eyes and turned his face to the sun. In spite of everything, it was hard not to take solace from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-egan/paul-closed-his-eyes-and-turned-his-face-to-the-sun-in-spite-of/) [Greg Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-egan/) > [It is a great delusion to suppose that flesh-meat of any kind is essential to health. Considerably more than three parts of the work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-booth/it-is-a-great-delusion-to-suppose-that-flesh-meat-of-any-kind-is/) [Catherine Booth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-booth/) > [You asked me once if I would still love you when your lips were puckered with age and your eyes were faded. I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-medeiros/you-asked-me-once-if-i-would-still-love-you-when-your-lips-were/) [Teresa Medeiros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-medeiros/) > [What do you mean 'we,' flesh-tube?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bender-the-cartoon-character/what-do-you-mean-we-flesh-tube/) [Bender (The Cartoon Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bender-the-cartoon-character/) > [The camera can represent flesh so superbly that, if I dared, I would never photograph a figure without asking that figure to take its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-camera-can-represent-flesh-so-superbly-that-if-i-dared-i-would/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) Browse all 2,061 Flesh quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The flesh,' as Saint Paul used the term, refers, ironically, not to our bodies but to fallen human nature. 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