A Theology of the Body

A recent article on Breakpoint, "Theology of the Body," is one of the most insightful and sorely-needed essays I have seen in some time. Inspired largely by the extensive work of Polish priest Karol Wojtyla (aka Pope John Paul II) but thoroughly grounded in the Bible, it offers a challenge to the church to reclaim the goodness of sexuality and the human body from a culture that has degraded it. As Christopher West notes, "If the typical Christian in our culture spilled the contents of his mind on a table, ideas about sex would probably look a lot more like Hugh Hefner’s vision than the apostle Paul’s... the world is starved for love, and when the Church fails to proclaim the glory of the banquet, we inevitably fall for the lies of the dumpster."


I must offer a few criticisms of what is otherwise an outstanding article. First and foremost, the author blames the sexual revolution on "our puritanical heritage." If by that he is referring to the Puritans themselves, he is sorely mistaken, for they celebrated the goodness of the body and of creation, and even excommunicated a man for not meeting his wife's sexual needs. The 2004 Desiring God Conference, organized by prominent evangelical pastor John Piper, was entitled "Sex and the Supremacy of Christ." My own church, which is based upon the Westminster Confession, the statement of faith of the Puritans, last year featured a 5-week sermon series on Song of Solomon entitled "Better Than Wine."

Additionally, the modern narrative that sex was shameful and taboo until hippies discovered it in the 1960s is simplistic and revisionist. Yet West seems to buy into it unquestioningly. It is true that open discussion of such matters was largely absent at that time, which was a mistake. But even if our culture was truly repressive of sexuality in the 1950s and before--and that's a big "IF"--it certainly can't be blamed on the Puritans or on evangelicals, although some blame might be placed on a post-Christian morality that sought to preserve societal standards while rejecting any transcendent basis for them.

Second, he uses the excellent phrase "sin management" to refer to a legalistic approach to morality, but fails to credit the source: philosopher Dallas Willard in The Divine Conspiracy, possibly the best exposition ever of the Sermon On the Mount.

Nevertheless, I highly recommend West's introduction to such an important and oft-neglected concept. My wife and I have been studying 1 Corinthians together over the past year, and it is amazing how often the word "body" is used--both in describing the church as "the body of Christ" and in addressing how individuals used and related to their bodies. If we truly understood and related to our bodies in a Biblical manner, the results--in our lives, in the Church as a whole, and in broader society--would be truly beautiful.