Body: A Biblical Spirituality for the Whole Person

Paula Gooder

nov 2016 · Fortress Press

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The word spirituality is notoriously difficult to define. It is often used in a vague way to refer to the inner relationship between the self and God. The implication is that people only relate to God with their “inner” being (soul/spirit) and not with any other part of who they are. There is a lurking influence of Neoplatonism within Christian thinking that tends to assume that the material is bad and the spiritual good, that there is a gaping hole between our inner and our outer selves and that the proper location of devotion is our inner being. There is a further assumption that, especially in the writings of Paul, the soul is to be placed in the “good” category while opposite it, in the “bad” category, is the body—leaving the question of what is meant by heart and mind largely ignored. Paula Gooder here explores the meaning of six key concepts in the Bible, especially in the writings of Paul, before moving on to explore what Paul intended by the contrasts he drew, and what implications this all has for the way we think and speak about our spirituality today.

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Paula Gooder is theologian in residence for the Bible Society, a lecturer and writer in biblical studies, and a Reader and member of the General Synod of the Church of England.