Reclaiming the Body in Christian Spirituality

Reclaiming the Body in Christian Spirituality

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Right off the bat, this book caught my interest. The preface, written by Father Thomas Ryan, presents the philosophical axis on which the book rests- that Christianity has disclaimed the human body, thus necessitating it's reclamation in the search of a holistic theological paradigm. Ryan, a Paulist ecumenical priest, explains how Descartes, Kant, and Hegel worked as a chronological tag team influencing our now disincarnated Christianity.

Descartes presented a subjectivist, rationalist, and susp Right off the bat, this book caught my interest. Descartes presented a subjectivist, rationalist, and suspicious philosophy. The senses were doubted. Kant emphasized a "religion within limits of reason alone. While philosophy is useful and interesting, Father Ryan feels we have lost touch with our bodies as part of our spirituality. He explains, "The body is not simply a riddle that we can solve with enough concerted thinking. Chapter one, written by Benedictine monk James Wiseman, examines Christian attitudes towards the body throughout history.

He divides the chapter into four segments: The chapter was enough to wet the appetite for the subject and also gave some ideas for further reading. It drew from a diverse well of experience: Jesuits, Trappist monks, Vatican counsel, Eastern orthodox, and of course various saints. This was an interesting chapter to be certain. Chapters two and three were written by Thomas Ryan.

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Now that the history of Christian thought has been touched upon though not exhausted , Fr. Ryan puts forward the beginnings of a blueprint for reclaiming the body in a spiritually positive way. He suggests we should 1.

Fr Thomas then goes on to explore the role of the body in prayer. He examines several Christian traditions in comparison. Next, examples from scripture are given to show biblical representations of body in prayer. Going forward, the spiritual exercises of Saint Ignatius are explored. Taking notes helped me to establish some cognitive unity when I felt challenged or scattered. Chapter three, titled The Body Language of Faith, spoke to "fast and feast, exercise and rest, suffering and sex, and corporal works of mercy.

Exercise was reflected upon as a potentially unifying and energizing community activity churches tend to ignore. Sexual energy was explored as a sacred, generative force- as opposed to a Platonic, dualistic or negative view of sexuality. However, Plato was not anti-corporal, as James Wiseman pointed out earlier.

Some of the best insights dealt with the corporal works of mercy. This is not an exaggeration, nor a metaphor. Ryan then pulls in inspiration from other world religions: Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism. Each is explored in terms of their expressions of body prayer. It was beautiful to read about the different traditions. Casey Rock, yoga teacher from Kripalu, brings chapter four: Voices from the Mat.

I loved this chapter. Casey explores topics of yoga and tranquility, yoga and forgiveness, and yoga and women. We see how yoga fits like a puzzle piece in the Christian value set, and fully enriches the Christian experience by bringing in an experiential, dynamic, expansive dimension to spirituality.

Mr Dickerson delves into the political Jesus we find also in Liberation Theology. He speaks to how "Christianity is currently living in and through an age of accommodation and complicity with the culture and government" and how this type of spirituality is He quotes Karl Barth, "To fold the hands in prayer is the beginnings of an uprising against the disorder of the world.

The book wraps with "Reclaiming the Body of Earth" which is an opening to the ecological and cosmic body of Christ. It heavily dabbles in the beautiful and inspirational imagery of panantheism. It touches on Celtic spirituality. This was likely my favorite chapter of the book. All in all, the book was a wealth of information. The individual essay format, combined with the theological wanderings within each, proved challenging. Or perhaps I was tired, but I don't think so. I look forward to journaling from this book at a later date.

RECLAIMING CHRISTIAN SPIRITUALITY FOR SUSTAINABLE JUSTICE, PEACE & INTEGRITY OF CREATION

There is a lot to further explore and own between the covers to enrich one's spiritual life. Sep 21, Ellen rated it liked it Recommends it for: I would give it two stars for the writing, which was plain and boring, which is why it took me so long to get through it, but four stars for the content. I would recommend this book to Manicheans both secular minded and religious , to Catholic priests, theologians, and old dudes at the Vatican, especially that exorcist who recently said that yoga is satanic.

Catholics are real big on sex but they we have a hard time understanding all of the other body-spirit connections and ways in I would give it two stars for the writing, which was plain and boring, which is why it took me so long to get through it, but four stars for the content.

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Catholics are real big on sex but they we have a hard time understanding all of the other body-spirit connections and ways in which our embodied life informs our spiritual life. If ever we approached life in this world as some rehearsal, some kind of warm-up in preparation for the real thing in another world, the incarnation -- the enfleshment of God -- demands that we revise that assessment in favor of recognizing the inherent value of our embodied earthly life.

In practice, we are still dualistic and suspicious of anything too earthly and sensual; we live largely in our heads Jesus never preached simple immortality of the soul, but insisted on the resurrection of the body.

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Oct 27, Julie rated it it was amazing. If I could add a star, I'd give this book 2 more! It's the first integrative book I've found on spirit, mind and body that doesn't water down the Christian theology of worship with the body. Feb 04, Amanda rated it it was amazing. Very excited to read this, it posits well and is a clean perspective. Nov 03, Kate Davis rated it it was ok Shelves: Full review coming soon.

Liz rated it it was amazing Apr 04, Veronica rated it it was amazing Oct 31, Read more Read less. Add both to Cart Add both to List. One of these items ships sooner than the other. Buy the selected items together This item: Ships from and sold by Amazon. Prayer of Heart and Body: Customers who bought this item also bought. Page 1 of 1 Start over Page 1 of 1. Meditation and Yoga as Christian Spiritual Practice.

Praying with Body and Soul. Out of the Ordinary: Prayers, Poems, and Reflections for Every Season. Too Deep for Words: The Wisdom Way of Knowing: A Book of Psalms: Selected and Adapted from the Hebrew. Here's how restrictions apply. Paulist Pr November 30, Language: Don't have a Kindle? Try the Kindle edition and experience these great reading features: Share your thoughts with other customers.

Write a customer review. Showing of 2 reviews. Top Reviews Most recent Top Reviews. There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later. God didn't create us that way, but Ryan helps us find our way back to the miraculous way we were created. All contributing authors have their own style and come together to teach us how to see ourselves in the true Light. This is a fine enough book, though it is very much a quick overview of every topic. If you're looking for real theology or anything with meat to it, I would look elsewhere.

Of course, John Paul II can't be beat.

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