Theology of the Body & the Torture Report

Last updated on: October 5, 2017 at 7:30 am by Matthew Tan

Theology of the Body & the Torture Report 2017-10-05T07:30:31+10:00 Matthew Tan

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

pillory-51540_1920

In an old post, mention was made of the moral exhortations that abound within our culture concerning what to do with one’s body, even as that same culture bleats out the mantra “my body, my choice”.

Mention was also made of the fibres within our bodies acting as deposits of memory, which makes bodies as not just a thing in the here and now, but also a sign and reminder of things long past, in the same way that scars act as physical reminders of memories long since suppressed, if not forgotten.

What has not been mentioned, however, is the notion of the body as an eschatological thing, one that draws our attention towards a future horizon. The experience of encounters with the bodies of others, and seeing them as either potential friends, spouses or enemies, is rich raw material for such consideration. Philosophically, this notion of the body being a sign to a future moment has been hinted at by Martin Heidegger as a symptom of our fundamentally “being in the world”. The body is not just “being” in the present, but also being launched towards a future horizon, and ultimately to one’s death. Theologically, the Epistles of Paul regard the body against a backdrop of struggle, almost to the point of despairing the ablity of “the flesh” to offer anything. Be that as it may, Paul also critiqes “the flesh” against a backdrop of hope in a future reception of real life in our mortal bodies (Rom 8:11).

We have a tendency to ignore this profundity of this future dimension embedded in the body, or adopt a stance of defensiveness in the face of a future unknown, a stance whose ugliness was made manifest by the recent release of the American Senate’s “CIA Torture Report“, an evaluation of the abuse of bodies by on whom the label “potential terrorist” was imprinted.

The explanations for such barbarity, and pessimism pertaining to the kinds of future horizons we associate with the bodies of others, will no doubt be manifold. However, one understanding that Christians cannot avoid is one coming from the theological standpoint, which can be gleaned from the Theology of the Body of Pope St. John Paul II. The “eschatological dimension of the body’s signifcation is unveiled”, says John Paul II, only to the extent that they are revealed by the glorified Body of Christ. Our failure to see a future festivity, and instead perceive a future threat, in the body of the other, is tied to our failure to heed Paul’s exhortation to “put on Christ” and sacramentally augment our dying flesh with the animated flesh of the Incarnate Word, whose logos contains not just all the ideas and reasons that came before, but also contains every idea and reason that can ever come in the times ahead.

Previous Post

December 4, 2014

Advent and the Comings of Christ

Next Post

December 31, 2014 The Most Read Posts of 2014

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category architecture art Augustine Belloc Benedict XVI bible blogs books bourgeois Christianity Campion College Chesterton Christianisation Church and Culture Church Fathers citizen conference conservative consumer culture cybernetics Desert Fathers discipleship distributism drinking ecclesiology economics education environment Evagrius of Pontus formation Foucault George Weigel Girard Graham Ward http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post interfaith Jacques Ellul John Chrysostom Julia Kristeva Latin liturgy mall marriage monasticism Music Narrative news philosophy polis politics pop culture postmodern city postsecular prayer prostestant quote Quotes Radical Orthodoxy resources Rome Rule of St. Benedict saint Saints secular sociology theological anthropology theology transcendance Uncategorized videos William Cavanaugh

Select a Month December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 October 2009 February 2008 December 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was the first high priest of Israel?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Levi Aaron Moses Joshua