Cultural Perspectives on the Body: Influence on Christians
I feel that the body has a significant effect on American society. The body is a source of oppression not just because physically stronger individuals may overcome lesser ones but also because social control mechanisms work via it. The body is a sign of social distinction and a source of prejudice.
Evidence from Media and Popular Culture
In a culture that equates the body with both selfhood and moral value, cultural meanings are tied to physical difference, such that the body serves as the foundation for oppression based on gender, class, race, and age–all profoundly embodied social traits. Christian teachings have incorrectly taught a disdainful attitude towards the body.
Still, a careful reading of the Old and New Testaments demonstrates that Christianity has and should appreciate the human body and its pure, sensuous pleasures. For example, by the alteration of images and the imposition of “beauty ideals,” women’s self-esteem is decreased, unhealthy eating habits are fostered, and a false sense of body image is created.
Scriptural Teachings on the Body
The Bible emphasizes that the body is a gift from God and should be treasured. Songs frequently suggest that the reproductive function is filthy, that it is a sin. In response, the reproductive function of the body is understood in Scripture not as a source of shame but as an appropriate, regular, and healthy bodily manifestation.
The Life of Jesus as a Model for Viewing the Body
The body of the Lord Jesus Christ, which belonged to Him as Man (by human nature), grew as Jesus grew older, was nailed to the Cross, laid in the Tomb after His death, and with which He soared above Heaven after His Resurrection.
The Body of Christ is a marvelous spiritual organization, one mystical body of which Christ is the single head. All the saints, whether in heaven, on earth, or elsewhere, are unavoidably included as members. In turn, the current concept of the body shapes the importance of outer appearance, which was not recognized during the life of Jesus Christ. People thought of the shell at the time as a temporary containment.
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