Christian Education

Journal
Special Focus Article

Christian Education Journal:

Research on Educational Ministry

The Body: Discipleship 2019, Vol. 16(1) 95-1 I I

© The Author(s) 2019

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DOI: 10.1 177/0739891318820332
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Sophia Steibel
M. Christopher White School of Divinity, Gardner-Webb University, North Carolina, USA

Martha S. Bergen
Hannibal-LaGrange University, Missouri, USA

Abstract
Christian discipleship acknowledges the importance of the body for a holistic
response to God’s redemption for all of life. The biblical view shows a Christian’s
body and soul as a sacred unit that demands responsible stewardship. Often,
however, the body is an arena where sin and righteousness struggle with habitual
inclinations toward destructive rather than life-nurturing behaviors. Spiritual for-
mation aimed at Christlikeness is crucial for the conquering of battles faced by
Christians of all ages.

Keywords
Body, image, likeness, work, technology, nice flesh, addiction, training

For we were the purpose of his embodiment, and for our salvation he so loved human
beings as to come to be and appear in a human body. (Athanasius, trans. 2011 )

Rather, he came in the flesh, a real human body, in order that he might bring redemption
and deliverance to our bodies. (Willard, 2012)

Most of us who claim to be Christians are well acquainted with the biblical exhorta-
tion to offer our bodies “as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God” (Rom.
12:1c New Revised Standard Version), or with the question, “Do you not know that
your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and
that you are not your own?” (1 Cor. 6:19). However, none of us would dismiss the

Corresponding author:
Martha S. Bergen, Hannibal-LaG range University, 2800 Palmyra Rd., Hannibal, Missouri, USA.
Email: mbergen@hlg.edu
96 Christian Education Journal: Research on Educational Ministry 16(1)

significance of well-documented studies showing that distortions of a body image

are top on the list among those who are unsatisfied and who often feel hopeless
(Brown, 2012), sentiments that are real for Christians and non-Christians alike. Part
of the problem relates to our addictions.
We often joke that we cannot live without caffeine, chocolate, and sweets or be
independent of “diet pills and tranquilizers” and “gambling, making money, work,
helping others, physical exercise, watching pornography, or over-eating,” a mixed
list provided by Trevor Hudson (2007, p. 6). Gerald May (1988) supplies a more
comprehensive list and classifies oiu addictions as attraction (e.g., anger, calendars,
chewing gum) or aversion (e.g., airplanes, birds, boredom) (pp. 38-39). May defines
addiction as “any compulsive, habitual behavior that limits the freedom of human
desire” (p. 24), and he attributes oiu bodily responses to “attachment or... desire of
specific objects” (pp. 24-25).
To complicate matters, Tish Harrison Warren (2016) argues that human bodies
demand high maintenance, because “we have to clean them, feed them, deal with
their wastes, exercise them, and give them rest, again and again, every day.... Hav-
ing a body is a lot of work” (p. 37). The problem is multi-layered. How are Christians
equipped to treat their physicality with honor and respect? New Testament scholar
Frank Matera (2010) reminds us that Paul’s teaching in Rom. 12:1-15:13 “is usually
identified as paraenesis,” the purpose of which is “to encoiuage people to do what
they already know they ought to do” (p. 283). How can we, today, be inspired to
listen to Paul’s compelling sermon in such a way that oiu lives, bodies included,
demonstrate true discipleship to Jesus personally and communally?
The Christian proclamation informs us that in Christ and through the Holy Spirit
persons have resoiuces that create the possibility of being set free from bodily frailties.
In affirming this, we must ask ourselves, Does the regeneration experience automat-
ically cast out addictions or any other type of bodily ills, or do we have to work at it? In
answering this question, we find ourselves like the early saints, straggling with the
related question, is sin inherited or chosen? According to Dallas Willard (1997), oiu
bodies need to “conquer habits of thought, feelings, and action” (p. 354 ) if we are to
fulfill the purpose of living worship fully. In Renovation of the heart, Willard (2012)
teaches us to surrender the body to God, let go of idolizing it, and learn to use and care
for it properly (pp. 172-174) so that we are habituated in the ways of Christ—a hard
work never possible without the Holy Spirit and God’s grace.
A thorough consideration here of the body’s role in discipleship is challenging,
since our physicality plays a role in every other dimension of oiu personhood,
especially those associated with the human will and soul.1 There is first the Hebraic
notion of body in its relationship to the human soul. For the Israelites, to say that one
has a body is the same as to say that one is a soul. Within the New Testament,

See Jason Lanker’s article on the soul and Steven Porter’s article on the will/heart/spirit in this special
CEJ edition.
Steibel and Bergen 97

particularly Romans 12, emphasis is placed on using our bodies consistently for the
benefit of the Christian community, not merely for our own benefit (note vv. 4-5). In
other words, the issue is learning to embrace the challenge of accepting and training
the body given by God so that we can learn to live well and help others in the faith
community to do the same. What follows is a brief reflection on the implications of
having a body, the inevitability of a broken body, and, finally, ways in which we can
help equip or train ourselves and others toward a physicality that worships God in all
of life and adds to our joy “in the land of the living” (Ps. 27:13b).

Reflections on the implications of having a body

The view of the body in the Hebrew Scriptures, as well as in the New Testament,
might appear conflictive. The reference to being created “in our [God’s] image” and
“to our likeness” (Gen. 1:26) highlights intriguing questions as to whether or not
fallen persons lose the imago Dei or if they ever cease to grow in God’s likeness. To
be created in God’s image (tselem) and likeness (demut) are concepts that demand
exploration. Old Testament scholars Thomas Staubli and Silvia Schroer (2001)
identify the image tension as twofold: humans’ status (versus animals’ status) in
the order of creation and the fact that humans are vulnerable and mortal. In their
words, “Humans exist within that field of tension. Only through God’s breath, Spirit,
and word does the earth-creature become a living being, but then, as being always
laden with guilt, it is continually in need of God’s forgiveness and mercy in order to
live” (p. 31). Earlier on they evaluate Hebrew Scriptures, along with Egyptian and
Akkadian texts, and see such literary emphasis not on the body per se but the focus as
“the expression and dynamic of the person described” (p. 26), thus pointing to how
humans are created to be relational, and relationality is “beautiful” (p. 27). If rela-
tionality is the desired outcome, can it not be enhanced by a healthy view of the
importance of one’s body in the context of being created in the imago Dei? We
argue, then, that growth in the awareness of the significance and purposefulness of
the body fosters personal and communal growth.
It appears that many of the Early Church Fathers distinguished between image
and likeness. According to Allyne Smith (1996), they saw image as “our permanent
potential for communion with God” and likeness as “the actual communion.”
Through “grace and obedience” one would be made holy and share in the Trinitarian
reality (pp. 26-27), a process called theosis portrayed by the language of 2 Pet. 1:4,
or that which is made possible by God coming to us in a body. Athanasius in his
discourse On the incarnation went so far as to say: “For he was incarnate that we
might be made god; and he manifested himself through a body that we might receive
an idea of the invisible Father” (trans. 2011)—a statement that goes beyond the
tenets of Western Christian orthodoxy.
The complex issues associated with having a corporeal existence continues in the
New Testament, especially as pertaining to the resurrection. Earlier on Jesus’ views
of the body might have run contrary to those of his day and time. Alongside many
98 Christian Education Journal: Research on Educational Ministry 16(1)

examples, Lisa Isherwood and Elizabeth Stuart (1998) paraphrase William Country-
man’s interpretation (1989); in their words, “What was distinctly radical about Jesus
was his refusal to acknowledge the two concepts his ancestors in faith had used to
interpret and control the body—purity (Mark 7:18-23) and property (for example,
the concept of male ownership of women’s bodies)” (p. 57). When addressing the
body and the resurrection, Carolyn Walker Bynum (1995), a specialist in medieval
religion and culture, evaluates Pauline passages and unveils their perplexities. While
Romans 6-8 may imply that resurrection begins at baptism (begging the question of
which body), 2 Cor. 5:1-10 seems to imply a new body in heaven. Furthermore,
Bynum identifies a variety of interpretations in the way the Gospels address Jesus’
resurrection going “from exaggeratedly physicalist to exaggeratedly spiritualist”
(p. 4). At times Jesus ate fish and “passed through closed doors” or “was sometimes
not recognizable to his beloved disciples, and bade his friend Mary Magdalen
‘Touch me not!”’ (pp. 4-5). Bynum is somewhat skeptical of interpreters who argue
for language of the body, particularly in Paul, to mean only ‘“self or ‘community’ or
even ‘disembodied person’” (p. 5). Furthermore, Bynum is not willing to let go of
physicality and sees through Western medieval Christian practices a “material and
structural continuity,” even in their materialistic eschatology (e.g., the way they held
on to relics of sorts). For her, this continuity integrates body-soul. Bynum concludes
a person is not about “a concept of soul escaping body or soul using body; it was a
concept of self in which physicality was integrally bound to sensation, emotion,
reasoning, identity—and therefore finally to whatever one means by salvation”
(p. 11). One might question Bynum’s view of body-soul continuity, but none would
deny the importance of teaching people to love their bodies and embrace the asser-
tion that not only the soul, but the physical body needs deliverance. The incarnation
of Christ validates the unit of a body-soul and points to a holistic understanding of
salvation. In the words of Willard (2012), “No redemption that omits it [body] is full
redemption” (pp. 162-163). We honor this holistic view of the atonement by includ-
ing the body in the work of discipleship.
The implications of the language in Rom. 12:1-2 reveal a helpful understanding
for body and mind. Leander Keck (2005) suggests that the word “appeal” (parakalo)
implies “more than a request; it expresses strongly an appeal that is important and
urgent” (p. 290). By the same token, Charles Talbert (2002) suggests that the act of
Christians presenting their bodies is “enabled by divine mercies” and “is their
rational (logiken) worship (latreian)” (p. 283). Talbert reviews the various levels
and forms of ancient sacrifice which were all transcended by the offering of the body
or “oneself,” a surrender that invokes a lifestyle of praise “in church and society,”
what he classifies as “a liturgy of life!” (p. 284). Similarly, the mind describes the
person. Talbert elaborates on “be conformed” and “be transformed.” Both are pas-
sive verbs and portray the struggle “for control of life: sin and God.” Talbert con-
eludes, “Now that they have died with Christ, Christians are freed from the power of
sin. Sin is still possible, but it is not necessary!” (p. 285), a segue to what Willard
(2012) calls “nice flesh.”
Steibel and Bergen 99

The concept of “nice flesh” is insightful and necessary if love rather than hate is
to permeate our view of the body. Often, rightly so, we interpret flesh in the context
of “the works of the flesh,” as contrasted with those of the Spirit (Barclay, 1962). But
Willard (2012) alerts us also to consider flesh as the force or “reign” that anyone who
is in Christ can experience. Under the dominion of Christ, one can live by the
promise that “[j]ust as sin exercised dominion in death, so grace might also exercise
dominion through justification leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”
(Rom. 5:21). Willard interprets further,

Now we must emphasize that the grace in question is not merely a judicial action,
though it involves that too. It is above all a presence and power in life, which provides
an alternative to the merely natural forces (flesh) accessible to the individual in and
through the body without any specific divine intervention from above.
So now Paul lays out the alternative open to the one already bom from above and
therefore experiencing a life that is not of the flesh, (p. 164)

Perhaps it is the work of salvation in progress that enables us to consider Paul’s

pertinent question, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit
within you... and that you are not your own?” (1 Cor. 6:19). Again, this discussion
assumes multiple levels of what the body is, but whether personal or communal, the
body can reign since the same Spirit that was in Jesus and raised him from the dead
“will give life to ... [our] mortal bodies” because this Spirit dwells in us (Rom.
8:11).
Eastern Orthodox Church Fathers from the first 800 years proclaimed a similar
interpretation. Evaluating these Orthodox theologians, J. Clarke (2010) sees their
teaching pointing to the body per se as not evil; rather, “humankind is ‘fallen’ or
imperfect not because of the body but because” humans turned “away from God to
become Gods themselves” (p. 650). Clarke considers Tertullian’s distinction
between flesh and the works of the flesh as two separate things. Similarly, Clarke
states that Maximus the Confessor (sixth to seventh century) saw the body and the
mind “with no real split between them” and John Climacus identified the body as
capable of dealing with inner questions or practicing virtue (e.g., the virtue of love)
(p. 652). Unfortunately, not all Christians from the East or the West see the body
from this perspective. The literature often reflects a gnostic view that associates the
body with evil and the spirit with that which is good. How might one appropriate the
Holy Spirit within in a way that the entirety of a person’s being is transformed and in
harmony with God’s original intent for humankind (i.e., to be his image-bearer in all
of life)? The New Testament scholar David Rensberger certainly contributes to this
discussion.
According to Rensberger (2007), one must be honest with one’s perception of the
body. Looking back to his earlier years he saw a body that was “too small, too puny”
to play sports, but at 58 the perception was the body as “too large” and with a
noticeable decline (pp. 23-24). He does not think this kind of introspection is what
100 Christian Education Journal: Research on Educational Ministry 16(1)

Paul had in mind in 1 Cor. 6:19; rather, “He [Paul] says that the Spirit is ‘within you’;
and thus the body is a temple, because it, as much as the heart or the spirit, goes
to make up the person, and it is in the believing person that the Spirit has come to
dwell” (p. 24). Therefore, the body “matters to Christ” (p. 25) and we must learn to
love it. The question then becomes, what does it mean to love the body?
It is interesting to read the twelfth-century Cistercian writer Bernard of Clairvaux
in On loving God (2005) as he described the fourth degree of love: “When man loves
himself for the sake of God” (p. 78). Although his discourse seems to imply that only
eternity solidifies this kind of love, he hints at a possibility of this kind of love
happening even in this earthly reality:

When will flesh and blood, this vessel of clay, this earthly dwelling, grasp this? When
will it experience this kind of love, so that the mind, drunk with divine love and
forgetting itself, making itself like a broken vessel, throw itself wholly on God and,
clinging to God, become one with him in spirit and say, “My body and my heart have
fainted, O God of my heart; God, my part in eternity” [Ps. 73:26]? I should call him
blessed and holy to whom it is given to experience even for a single instant something
that is rare indeed in this life. (p. 78)

Yes, we are blessed if we can look in the mirror and see the imprints of God.
Clairvaux’s assertion was not disassociated from a complete surrender of one’s will
and whole being to God, an ingredient indispensable for respecting one’s
physicality.
When evaluating 1 Cor. 6:19 from a communal point of view, Rensberger (2007)
thinks the place of this verse in the Pauline corpus is crucial. It is as if Paul intends for
the original audience to hear chapters 7-15 as ways by which they would leam to be
this temple of God’s Spirit in all of life—“marriage and sexuality, food and drink,
clothing and social customs, the Lord’s Supper, speaking in tongues and other spiritual
gifts, the resurrection of the dead” (Rensberger, p. 26). Their “physical speech and
hearing” were as gifts for each other and “the new bodily existence” something to be
anticipated with great joy. Looking at chapter 13, Rensberger says, “Love is not only
an emotion but its concrete expression in deeds done among human beings, bodies and
all” (p. 27). There is a sense in which this love must permeate individuals who belong
in the community of Christ if love and respect for the other is to be visible. Could it be
that the inability to love and respect the bodily self in a community of Christ is one
reason why so many are distraught in contemporary churches? This question connects
to the reality of a broken body and merits exploration.

The reality of a broken body

None of us would purposefully minimize the value of our bodies, but sometimes it
takes a life-threatening illness for one to realize the importance of each member of
the body in the overall functioning of life. Accordingly, we resonate with Flora
Steibel and Bergen ΙΟΙ

Slosson Wuellner’s (1987) question, “Why are we so often at war with our bodies?”
(p. 15). Wuellner links one’s view of the body to a body image distorted by pre-
conceived ideas of not meeting the idealized standards of beauty and health and
argues for an environment that nourishes and builds up qualities for growth. How-
ever, the reality is that “[f]or many of us, our bodies are the victims of our loneliness,
anxiety, and our need to control our environment” (p. 16). Wuellner offers hints for
how we might embrace the wonders of our physicality by addressing issues such as
forgiveness, reconciliation, and the role of prayer in personal and communal bodily
acceptance (pp. 17-25).
We now address the concept of the body as “potential energy,” that is, the body as
a reservoir of possibilities that can be actualized. The body is inescapably involved
in activating potentiality. Willard (2012) not only illustrates it for us but also under-
scores the distinctiveness of a human’s body:

If there is gasoline in my tank, I can liberate the energy in it and make it do work by
driving my car. I can liberate the energy in a piece of wood by burning it in a fireplace
to warm myself, or in a stove to cook my food....
But now notice how central my own body is in all of this. I can only liberate and use
the energy in other physical objects by using my own body. It too is potential energy.
But there is a great difference. My body is the only body whose energy is directly
accessible for my own use and satisfaction. I access it by choice, (p. 161)

In The Divine Conspiracy, Willard says, “For the body is the first field of energy
beyond our thoughts that we have direction over, and all else we influence is due to
our power over it” (1997, p. 353). While Wuellner (1987) and Willard (1997, 2012)
affirm “choice” as a key ingredient in acknowledging a body’s actions, neither
would deny that one’s predicament often is accentuated by the inability to control
bad habits. Willard says, “It is the chief repository of the wrong habits that we must
set aside, as well as the place where new habits are to be instituted” (1997, pp. 353-
354). Why do humans choose evil and, as Athanasius would say, often become
“insatiable in sinning”? (trans. 2011).
The process of moving from self-destructive to life-nurturing behavior is not
simple and requires more than mere self-will. There are implications for the
inner-self that must be brought to light. The legendary Alcoholics Anonymous
(AA) draws from a pool of feelings and thoughts as triggers for destructive behavior,
which are “offenders.” They name “resentment” as the first destructive force, which
also breeds anger. In their words, “We asked ourselves why we were angry. In most
cases it was found that our self-esteem, our pocketbooks, our ambitions, our personal
relationships (including sex) were hurt or threatened. So we were sore” (1976, pp.
64-65). The steps for healing are progressive and step number six appears to be a
turning point as persons are “entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of
character” (p. 59, emphasis added). In all testimonies, AA members admit to a
“Power greater than ourselves” and the role of the community as that of restorative
102 Christian Education Journal: Research on Educational Ministry 16(1)

sources for soberness. Willard (1997) comments on this life-saving program and
recognizes the daily commitment to soberness as a process connected to “the call of
Jesus to ‘repent’,” which is nothing less than “a call to think about how we have been
thinking.” Willard identifies a main purpose in the formation of disciples to Christ
as, “To form the insights and habits of the student’s mind so that it stays directed
toward God” (p. 325). On the same wavelength, James Smith (2009) highlights, “We
change not by mustering up willpower but by changing the way we think, which will
also involve changing our actions and our social environment” (p. 23).
In what light are we to consider “defects of character” and patterns of thinking as
Christians living in this topsy-turvy world? The possibilities are many, but none
escapes the fact that we, as human beings, are prone to addictive behavior. Linked to
our physicality, addictive behaviors demand training the body to act differently,
because otherwise they can defeat us. May (1988) believes that “addiction is a
separate and even more self-defeating force that abuses our freedom and makes
us do things we really do not want to do” (p. 3). If we reflect on the illustrations
of addictive behavior presented in the introduction (May, 1988; Hudson, 2007), we
will acknowledge that all of us need help when dealing with our physicality and its
attachments. In this article we have chosen two areas that appear to be blessings but
may also be curses in disguise, since they have the potential to take us away from a
rich relational life with God and with others. These two areas are challenges for the
twenty-first century and cannot be ignored: work and technology. Both are discussed
below.
Noted twentieth-century pastoral care authority, Wayne Oates, is credited with
coining the term “workaholic” (Our Professors: Wayne Oates, 2018). In his book,
Confessions ofa Workaholic, he borrows the World Health Organization’s definition
of an alcoholic and reshapes it as follows: A workaholic “is a person whose need for
work has become so excessive that it creates noticeable disturbance or interference
with his bodily health, personal happiness, and interpersonal relations, and with his
smooth social functioning” (1971, p. 4). Unlike alcoholism, however, overindul-
gence in work is accepted in our culture to the point of being commendable and
expected, and religious people may especially succumb to this attitude (p. 5).
“American Christianity... puts such a value on work that we feel more religious
the more we are addicted to work!” (p. 6). While a good work ethic is noble, work
should never become an all-consuming task. Oates admits the reality of his own
overcommitment to work and lack of power to overcome without God’s help. “This
overcommitment for me,” he states, “was a sort of idolatry.... It even [became]... a
kind of religious devotion.... Wrapped up in my own habituation to work was my
self-sufficiency.... I was indispensable” (p. 3). His admission serves as a warning to
those of us who work in Christian-related vocations.
The body is not made to handle excessive work. When the body tires, competence
lessens. In God’s plan, we must have periodic, yet regular cessation from work,
especially if our work is to be productive. The body is restored in rest and, thereby,
strengthened for work. Doing our work well brings God glory and benefits others as
Steibel and Bergen 103

well as ourselves. God’s command to “remember the Sabbath” teaches us that both
rest and work are good. Mark Buchanan puts it like this: “Before we appreciate
God’s gift of rest, it is vital we appreciate his gift of work” (2006, p. 16).
Technology is another area where people are prone to excess. Its dazzling array of
products and their often stunning capabilities can lure us into a comfortable addic-
tion. Neuroscientist Gary Small notes that the “easy access, anonymity, and constant
availability of the Internet... has led to a new form of compulsive and dependent
behavior—techno-addicts. The same neural pathways in the brain that reinforce
dependence on substances can reinforce compulsive technology behavior that are
just as addictive and potentially destructive” (2009).
Technology’s impact on the human body is real and can be considerable.11 In
addition to its effect on the brain, addiction to technology also encourages physical
inactivity. Physical inactivity has been linked to various illnesses, including such
things as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, increased
feelings of anxiety and depression, certain types of cancer, and obesity (Health
Libran‫׳‬, n.d.). Ironically, there are even technological devices designed to protect
us against the harmful physical effects associated with the use of technology, for
example Fitbits and the like that remind us to get up and walk or prompt us when it is
time to prepare for bed.
Sleep is another area negatively affected by one’s addiction. The blue light
emitted from laptops and cell phones, for example, is thought to affect circadian
rhythm, particularly among teenagers (Doyle, 2015). Heart disease, heart attack,
heart failure, irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure, stroke, and diabetes are some
of the more serious consequences of sleep deprivation (Peri, 2014).
While other areas could also be addressed, it is sufficient for now to note that our
body, created to reflect God’s image and likeness, often distorts and misinterprets
God’s intent. When this happens, the results are catastrophic and cause relational
losses at all levels. After presenting what Early C hurch Fathers wrote about how to
live well, Christopher Hall (2017), a Patristic scholar, asks, “How can God’s image
bearer learn to live a good life with God?” and “How can I learn to love?” (pp. 213,
214). Hall addresses topics such as the use of money, relating to an enemy, and doing
good things for others. He concludes, “Transformation occurs through our union
with the living, resurrected Christ; we are transformed through faith in Christ
and through learning how to live our lives through the power of the Spirit”
(p. 230). We propose next that our bodies can be trained for (or conformed to)
Christlikeness by turning our attention to God and Scriptures. We can learn to live
in the ways of Christ through the power of the Spirit of Christ in us.

11 Excessive amounts of screen time, according to the American Psychological Association, alerts the
brain’s chemistry, typically associated with dopamine’s release. Additional problems “now being linked
to excessive screen time in young people include loss of social skills, impaired cognitive functioning
and sleep disruption, escalating exposure to cyberbullying, and depression” (Cowell, 2015).
104 Christian Education Journal: Research on Educational Ministry 16(1)

Training the body to act with greater Christlikeness

We started this journal article asserting that our physicality needs redemption if we
are to live healthy relational lives. Unfortunately, addictions and their wrong attach-
ments in our lives interfere with how well we live and relate. For example, can
persons who are habituated to over-working or -playing, overeating, over-iphoning,
and the like, find relief from self-defeat and freedom to become more relational? Can
the mind preyed upon by pornography learn to deal with human sexuality in a
healthy way? We affirm that destructive patterns in our lives can be broken when
we learn to tap into God’s resources made available to us through his Spirit. Jesus’
invitation to abide in him is ongoing and liberating (John 15:4).
In The divine conspiracy, Willard (1997) offers guidance for a curriculum for
Christlikeness. The starting point is not to attempt behavioral changes; rather, it is to
acquire a vision of a ‘“heavenly Father’ made real to earth in Jesus,” as one who can
be loved fully, trusted, and relied upon, because there is no limit “to the goodness of
his intentions or to his power to carry them out” (p. 321). Convicted, learners are
made ready to let go of “automatic responses against the kingdom of God, to free the
apprentices of dominion, of ‘enslavement’ (John 8:34; Rom. 6:6), to their old habi-
tual patterns of thought, feelings, and actions” (p. 322). We argue that in many ways
AA illustrates such a design by restoring one’s view of the power of God and one’s
accountability to self and the community. Consider two resources by Hudson to
illustrate this assessment.
In One day at a time, Hudson (2007) utilizes the twelve AA steps and offers a
direct link to the ways of Christ. For example, he underscores the importance of step
three: “To give up ‘playing God’ and to surrender ourselves as completely as we can
to God” (p. 27). He sees “control” as the problem and encourages a total surrender,
which, among other things, “involves saying yes to what God wants in every area of
our lives” (p. 30). Again, the “will” desires to change and depends on grace for the
things that cannot be changed. In The serenity prayer, Hudson (2012) illustrates how
surrendering is an ongoing process until one can be set free:

Whenever we find ourselves struggling with a particular character defect... we imag-

ine ourselves picking it up as if it were a poisonous snake, placing it into a sack, and
putting it on the escalator. When the sack comes back again, as it sure will, we have a
quick look inside, see what it is, and immediately place it back on the escalator. We
continue doing whatever we need to but we don’t try to bear the character defect in our
own strength. If we do, it will win every time. Every time the sack returns, we simply
put it back on the escalator. After days, weeks, months, or even years, we notice one
day that the sack doesn’t come back. We realize that God is in the process of changing
us. (Hudson, 2012, p. 42)

At times it is necessary to deal with addictions on a professional level. One

program that has received positive reviews is that of Dunklin Memorial Church in
Steibel and Bergen 105

Florida (see web address in References). Alcoholics who arrive there are assisted in
ways to integrate faith with the struggles of alcohol addiction, and experience
transformation by the power of God in their lives.
The integration of faith to life circumstances involving our physicality is not
something that happens apart from the role of the Bible and that of the living Christ
in the life of a believer. Experiencing Scriptures and the authentic presence of
Christ can be transformational. One way to go in the direction of finding help for
the afflictions related to our bodies is to consider the ancient practice of Lectio
Divina (divine reading). Lawrence Cunningham and Keith Egan (1996) credit
Guigo II, a Carthusian monk from the twelfth century, as the one who developed
a plan for reading the Bible not exegetically but as if engaging in prayer and with
an attitude of “openness” to receive a clear and edifying word (p. 38). There are
variations to this method, but all seem to rely on multiple readings of the text,
slowly and meditatively, seeking to be taken by a word or a phrase which even-
tually leads to action. Robert Mulholland (2000) elaborates on this process as a
movement from “information” to “formation” (pp. 49-64). While the information
mode answers objective questions, formation enables the inner-self and prompts
active response. Jan Johnson is one author who has followed this path in her
approach to spiritual guidance. In Meeting God in scriptures, Johnson (2016)
outlines forty biblical passages and guides the reader toward understanding the
meaning of a passage in its context followed by the rhythm of, “Read (lectio),
Reflect (meditation), Respond (oratio), Rest (contemplation)” and “Trying it on
(incarnation)” (pp. 17-18). Lectio Divina works very well with older children,
youth, and adults of all ages. To illustrate, the psalms relate to the cry of the
afflicted in themes involving a person’s physicality such as death, physical pro-
tection, or mental health (e.g., Pss. 23, 34:7, 38:7-8). Learning to read the Bible
using the method of Lectio Divina can elevate one’s whole being in any of life’s
circumstances. Personally, it was this very practice that brought relief for one of us
when dealing with a life-threatening illness. One night when sleep was not an
option due to critical reactions from medication, it was a passage from the Book
of Micah that afforded the needed rest. With the prophet came the affirmation,
“But as for me, I will look to the LORD, I will wait for the God of my salvation; my
God will hear me” (7:7).
Praying with Scriptures has also been associated with the role of the body in
prayer. Again, Psalms, ancient Israel’s prayer/hymn book, engages the body in
creative ways. Staubli and Schroer (2001) illustrate by commenting on Ps. 22:14-
15. In their words, “Thus those who pray the psalms present themselves before God
in their concrete corporeality” (p. 29). Jane Vennard (1998) in Praying with body
and soul leads us through exercises that can be made age appropriate. She argues that
our bodies can teach us to pray and consequently, “our relationship to God is
expanded” (p. 10). For example, when elaborating on the “prayer of the heart,” she
demonstrates how the body can help one relate to God with gratitude:
106 Christian Education Journal: Research on Educational Ministry 16(1)

During a day of prayer that included attending to the body with reverence, I led the
participants through a meditation of the heart. We placed our hands over our hearts,
feeling them beating. We found our pulse in various places in our bodies, feeling the
blood pumping through our systems. As we placed our hands gently on our bodies we
gave thanks for the wonder of our hearts and the life that our blood carried throughout
our bodies. We imagined the blood circulating through our brains and we gave thanks.
We attended to the heart beating and pulsing on its own with no direction or control
from us, and we gave thanks. The mystery of our bodies became a wonder to us and we
thanked God for our embodiment and our lives. (Vennard, 1998, p. 11 )

The meditative reading needs to be accompanied by a deeper reading of the text.

James Smith (2013 ) in Hidden in Christ notes that the body has the capacity “to learn
new information” (p. 72), thus providing disciples with a resource that can aid
biblical study. Using Col. 3:1-17, Smith demonstrates this by discoiusing on selected
words showing the active process of “putting to death” all that stands in the way of a
life energized by God and “putting on” or “clothing” ourselves with the life in the
Spirit. Use of this corporeally based resoiuce must be motivated by something other
than guilt, for “[g]uilt does not produce holiness, only shame, hiding and separation”
(p. 133).
On a more personal note, guilt also accompanies the way people view their
deformed bodies due to obesity or illnesses beyond their control. Health-related
news reports portray modem society as plagued by high cholesterol and diabetes.
These and other medical problems can be helped through health programs (see
websites in References), although we argue that persons need more than good
information. A chinch may endorse these programs (e.g., YMCA’s Diabetes Pre-
vention Program) while also offering complementary spiritual formation resoiuces
for lasting habit transformation and the embrace of a healthy body image. Other
health conditions present a greater challenge. For example, persons who are over-
weight or may have gone through body modification due to illness may tend to
loathe their bodies. Barbara Brown Taylor (2009) in An altar in the world suggests
that one does well to pray “naked in front of a full-length mirror” and do so with
gratitude. This exercise helps persons grow in the realization that “God loves flesh
and blood, no matter what kind of shape it is in” (p. 38 ). This represents a unique, yet
life-nurturing spiritual exercise.
Bodily rest and restoration are also life-nurturing. A spiritual formation that
embraces the notion of the body must also incorporate “Sabbath.” We do not have
available space here to discourse on the value of this concept. Even so, we would
argue that Sabbath is a necessary ingredient for persons to find renewal and restora-
tion in all of bodily existence, because it involves trust.111 Furthermore, as Christian
educators and spiritual formation directors we need to practice and teach about
Sabbath. The body can do only so much, even if persons are young and healthy.

111 See Luisa Gallagher’s article on Sabbath in this special CEI edition.
Steibel and Bergen 107

In his observations on the story of the Bible, Sean Gladding (2010 ) captured the
depth of what Sabbath does for image bearers. Gladding begins by showing that God
did not spend the seventh day depleted after hard work, “Rather, God spends it at
peace, in shalom, knowing that all is well with God’s world” (p. 25). Kai Mark
Nilsen (2015 ) learned this lesson through hardships. As a pastor, Nilsen moved from
despair to fruitful hope initially by immersing himself in the creation story, where he
found new meaning for grace, possibility, paradox, natural world, relationships,
fruitful work, and rest (pp. 19-20). As he noted, “By embracing a sabbath rhythm for
life, we learn to let go and trust God’s providential care” (p. 20). Jesus operated in a
Sabbath rhythm, as demonstrated when he slept in the midst of a storm (Matt. 8:23-
27), following an exhausting day. How could he do that? Perhaps the answer lies in
Jesus’ question, “Why are you afraid, you of little faith?” (8:26b).
Furthermore, the concept of regaining Sabbath is reviewed through the practice of
spiritual disciplines. Many books have followed the classic Celebration ofdiscipline
by Richard Foster (1978). His son, Nathan Foster (2014), has reinterpreted the
disciplines for this generation in The making of an ordinary scant. Disciplines are
to be interpreted in the context of a deep relationship with God (e.g., the discipline of
fasting). Fasting from food liberates one from inner control. Willard, in The spirit of
the disciplines (1988), indicates that fasting helps us, as Christians, discern what is
most controlling in oiu lives, and how we can learn to find in God “a soiuce of
sustenance beyond food” (p. 166). Fasting may be of other kinds, but fasting from
food affects the body and oiu whole being.lv
As with adults, children and youth need spiritual formation that integrates the
body. One teachable area is that of the will. Unresolved temper tantrums are toler-
able when a person is two years old but not at 20. Teaching children that they have a
will and that the will can be controlled by God’s Spirit in them are necessary
challenges. Articles regarding self-control and children can be found from multiple
soiuces at http://torah.org/. One example is Cathy Zollo’s (2017), who asserts that
self-control is best taught to children by modeling (p. 2). There are also scientific
studies on self-control and children (e.g., https://www.thegreatco1uses.com/co1uses/
scientific-secrets-for-raising-kids-who-thrive.html). However, more guidelines are
needed for helping children learn to live in the reality that the Spirit of God in them
can be a helpfid companion on matters regarding the way they carry out their will.
Children and youth also need to learn what it means to love their bodies. Bullying,
especially in middle school, is an aggressive enemy that often leaves indelible scars.
Julia Taylor (2014) offers exercises to assess and redirect teens’ view of the body.
Though designed primarily for girls, these can be adapted for all children and teens.
Taylor’s work provides guidance toward seeing each body part as an asset rather
than a liability. Her work is not a theological compendium but it can help children or

lv Thompson (1995) offers helpful guidelines on how to approach fasting from food.
108 Christian Education Journal: Research on Educational Ministry 16(1)

youth replace destructive narratives with appreciation for the body, a step in the
direction of gratitude and a healthy way to be relational with their peers.

Conclusion
Through a brief reflection on the implications of having a body, a discourse on
the nature of a broken body, and suggestions for training the body toward
Christlikeness, we have considered ways in which as followers of Christ we can
have a healthy body image that enables us to grow relationally with God and
neighbors. Though work and technology are examples of good things that can
enhance our relational development, they can also become hindrances and addic-
tions. But addictions whose deleterious effects ravage the body need not be the
end of the story. The redemptive work of discipleship must be comprehensive,
giving attention to the disciple’s body. The body can be trained to act with trium-
phant grace over self-destructive patterns. God’s Spirit nurtured in us through daily
practices opens avenues of grace and victory. As intended at creation, training the
body in God’s ways makes us witnesses of his “image” and “likeness.” We learn to
appreciate the body as a gift from above and we increase in relationality at multiple
levels—all made possible by our cooperation with God’s Spirit in us.
The Early Church Father Athanasius alludes to the restoration of the entire person
as a process that takes place through the incarnate Christ. Along these lines, creation
and re-creation of the human body are aspects of an ongoing redemptive movement
of God. May we hear the saint’s voice and be encouraged that rather than giving up
on us, God is calling us (as individuals and community) to the safe and secure place
of God’s Self.

For, when a figure painted on wood has been soiled by dirt from outside, it is necessary
for him whose figure it is to come again, so that the image can be renewed on the same
material.... So, rightly wishing to help human beings, he sojourned as a human being,
taking to himself a body like theirs and from below—I mean through the works of the
body—that those not wishing to know him from his providence and governance of the
universe, from the works done through the body might known [.sic] the Word of God in
the body, and through him the Father. (Athanasius, trans. 2011)

Note on contributors
Sophia Steibel (PhD, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) is Professor of
Christian Education at the M. Christopher White School of Divinity, Gardner-Webb
University, Boiling Springs, NC.
Martha S. Bergen (PhD, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) is Professor of
Christian Education Emérita at Hannibal-LaGrange University, Hannibal, MO.
Steibel and Bergen 109

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