I’ve been thinking about the theology of the body recently. Mostly I’ve thought about it in reference to Cupid’s Broken Arrow, a story in the Washington Post about how aggressive young women may be responsible for the increase in erectile dysfunction in young men on college campuses.

There’s an interesting discussion on the article Feministing.com, with all of the implications of the article teased out–that young women speaking their mind aren’t sexy, that young who are passive and silent recipients of sexual acts are much sexier, that the Washington Post writer should not quote Weezer to make a point….

It was interesting to think back and recall that in fact I have found myself to be the most desired when I’m lost, confused, drunk, asleep or unconscious, in short, vulnerable. That there may be something (culturally? biologically?) that makes me seem more attractive. Anyway, all of this brought to mind theology of the body.

“What then is body theology?

It is nothing more than our attempts to reflect on the body experience as revelatory of God.”

-James Nelson

The Theology of the Body understands that our bodies are sacred and that sex can be revelatory, revealing, illuminating, and deeply spiritual.

The Theology of the Body connects the relationship that we have with our bodies to our relationship with God, as in our bodies are sacred, our bodies are ways of experiencing God, sex is sacred, sex is a way (and perhaps the primary way) of experiencing God.

Conversely, the further we are from our own physical experience in the world, the further we are from the sacredness within our own bodies, the further we are from God. That abuse, assault, rape, all bring us further from God.

So this is what I’m thinking about: the theology of the body and the sexual relationships between young people. And how difficult it is to make the body a sacred place when it is is vulnerable and taken advantage of rather than vulnerable and open to revelation.

What does this have to do with surviving the workday? I think it just has to do with finding ways to survive.

Pomo Musings explores the idea of body theology further and from there you can find an interesting paper by Adam Cleaveland on The Theology of the Body.