Shaping our bodies to our shape our selves: A theological remedy to the discontented pursuit of the body I want to be
The late modern person has a complicated relationship with the body: despite a contemporary “return to the body,” the body is still conceived as a project which the person must advance and revise in order to both express and shape their sense of self-identity. For all people this project is destined...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2024
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| In: |
Dialog
Year: 2024, Volume: 63, Issue: 4, Pages: 182-190 |
| IxTheo Classification: | HA Bible KAJ Church history 1914-; recent history NBE Anthropology NBF Christology NCB Personal ethics |
| Further subjects: | B
Beauty
B Resurrection B Identity B Embodiment B Body B Eschatology |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | The late modern person has a complicated relationship with the body: despite a contemporary “return to the body,” the body is still conceived as a project which the person must advance and revise in order to both express and shape their sense of self-identity. For all people this project is destined to failure at some point, and it has a range of concerning implications along the way. In thrall to the prevailing cultural ideologies that idolize projection, progress, and proficiency, our approach to the body is more likely to be characterized by manipulation and striving than the divine affirmation that “it is good” (Gen 1). This dynamic underlies the modern epidemic of ill health, eating disorders, disordered eating, “obesity,” and body-shaming. Contemporary Christians are poorly insulated from the perils of a culture that is simultaneously body-obsessed and body-denying. A barely perceptible Gnosticism undergirds much of the popular theology of the body in practice, and the church has done little to address these ills, instead becoming mired in other body issues centered around sexuality and reproduction. The church has even absorbed the aims of the “wellness” industry and diet culture, sprinkling them Christianese and Christian celebrity endorsements. What can a biblical Christian thought and practice offer as a remedy? Ultimately, the human person need not strive to establish his or her identity, instead it is held secure in Christ. Both beauty and health, theologically defined, emerge from the integration of self and body, and the participation of the whole person in the divine life. |
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| ISSN: | 1540-6385 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Dialog
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1111/dial.12862 |