Wondering what would happen to CRT debates if evangelicals had better theology of the body?
Not poking the bear. Just thinking about how robust theology of body affects both our understanding of gender & race. There's something here, I think.
From what I've seen, there's tendency to frame these Qs as individual identity vs. class identity. Obviously, that's part of the convo, but I don't think we can even get to that point until we talk about embodiment.
To me, this is the link btwn gender & race--both are fundamentally Qs about how certain *bodies* are treated in society & whether they can flourish as image bearers.
It is a convo about the relationships btwn the individual, class. & larger social structures. But more fundamentally, it is a convo about whether our bodies matter & how larger social structures either honor or dishonor them.
If you've been taught that your body is simply a vessel for the soul that we will one day be freed from, there's very little reason to be concerned w/ other people's bodies or your own.
If you've been taught that the "real you" is the immaterial part of you, you'll tend to see the gospel as a means of liberating the spirit, not the body.
The result is a posture toward the material world--whether physical bodies or the body of the earth--that is simply waiting for them to be done away w/. There's no reason to care for them now b/c a newer, better reality awaits.
And just to up the ante, how does a underdeveloped theology of the body affect how we respond to abuse survivors?
Well, if the body doesn't matter, then what's done to it, doesn't either. It's not worth our anger or justice.
Well, if the body doesn't matter, then what's done to it, doesn't either. It's not worth our anger or justice.
