As I stated in my last post, I have been reading a book on fasting. I’m not finished with it yet, but was wondering what others views on body image were.
The author Scot McKnight prescribes to the theory that the problem we have nowadays with fasting (or as he calls it later body talk) is a general disconnection of our body from our soul/spirit. This he feels is caused by our body image. He gives four common images and feels most of us can relate to one or more of them. The four common images he lists are:
- as a monster to be conquered;
- as a celebrity to be glorified;
- as a cornucopia to be filled;
- as a wallflower to be ignored.
He holds that each of these body images shape whether we fast and if we do how we fast.
Now I’m not ready to get into a full-blown discussion on fasting yet, but was really curious how you view your body? This is not a topic I have heard talked about much before. I realize there is a duality between physical self and spiritual self, but have we been programmed to believe the physical is all bad or unimportant? Can there be a meshing of the two that glorifies God and allows us to the fullest “us” that we can be?
I never realized that my body image as far as spirituality goes was undefined. But the more I’ve thought about it, the more I find that is the case. I am a sloppy mess of most of the images listed above. I tried to discuss this with my sis, but I was having a tough time expressing what I was thinking in words. So I fell back on what I know – I’m better at writing my thoughts out than speaking them.
So what do you think? Does our body image affect our ability to fulfill God’s calling on our lives? Or am I still just jabbering aimlessly?