The beauty of the body in Christianity.

As we are made in the image of God (Gn 1:27), the Christian should hold his body in sublime importance. We are told to glorify God with our body (1 Cor 6:13, Rm 12:1). How majestic this is! Our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:18-20) and God will dwell within our very bodies. The Church is the body of Christ, of which we are all members. Furthermore, we believe in the resurrection of the body, and so after death our souls will be reunited with our bodies. Therefore the body is something that is intrinsically good in Christianity. In fact, the teaching of the Church on marriage and sexuality is the remedy for the contemporary social ills of casual sex, cohabitation, divorce and heartbreak. The fathers of the Church called us to wake up to the dignity that God-made-man gave us.

It took God in human flesh and blood to confirm the integral place of the body in nature.[1] Newman told us that by the fact of the incarnation we are taught that matter is an essential part of us, as well as mind, and is capable of sanctification.[2] With this is mind, how we communicate that the body in all its dimensions is a wonderful part of creation is important for building the culture of life. Tertullian said that the flesh was the hinge of salvation.

Paul makes many references to the flesh in the New Testament. He calls for us to walk by the spirit, and in that way you will not carry the desires of the flesh (Gal 5:16). This does not mean that our bodies are evil, rather we must be wary of sin and the harm and consequences that it does to our body. Faced with the prospect of sin, the best recommendation is to flee! James tells us “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” We are also told to “flee sexual immorality” (1 Cor 6:18) and “youthful lusts.” (2 Tm 2:22). Either we have control over our passions or our passions have control over us. If we have control over our body we are able to give it as a gift. Freedom is only gained by self control. The school of temptation is a test of love. By making no provisions for sin, we set our standards high well before temptation even comes to us.

Modesty is a great way for purity to be venerated. Paul states in the 1^st book of Timothy that “women should adorn themselves with proper conduct, with modesty and self-control.” This is particularly helped by modest dress which in reality respects the body rather than flaunts it. By letting the author of life into our lives and bodies, we are able to become the people God intended us to be, full of life and love.

[1] John Saward, Redeemer in the Womb (Ignatius Press, 1993), p156.

[2] John Henry Newman, Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine (University of Notre Dame Press, 1989), p235.