Embodied Faith Study Guide
Go back to the God who created our bodies very good and Jesus who centered the restoration of bodies.
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When I read the Bible, I see bodies everywhere. The creation of our bodies took time and contemplation, mud, and breath. God knit us together in our mother’s wombs, one cell at a time. I see bodies in Genesis 1, when God created humans in God’s image, looked at them and called them very good. I see bodies in Genesis 2, where it takes God time and care to create a suitable partner who makes Adam’s heart sing.
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Drop into your body and notice how it is feeling. What word would you attach to how you are feeling? Go around the group and, in addition to saying your name and pronouns, offer a one-word check in, honoring where you are coming from and the energy you are bringing into the room.
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Our bodies get sick and break. Our bodies fall short and disappoint. Ultimately, our bodies will die. They are needy and demand our attention. They are imperfect, quirky, asymmetrical, and unpredictable. Through it all, we decide if we approach our bodies with frustration or curiosity, with animosity or compassion. We decide if we tell a body story steeped in what our bodies can’t do or in what they can.
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Where do you see bodies in this story? With whom in the story do you identify? What words, images or phrases stand out to you?
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Drop into your body and notice how it is feeling. What word would you attach to how you are feeling? Go around the group and, in addition to saying your name and pronouns, offer a one-word check in, honoring where you are coming from and the energy you are bringing into the room.
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In my previous book, 12 Tiny Things, there is a chapter on sensuality. My co-author Heidi Barr and I write about listening to your body, trusting your body, and allowing your body to want what it wants. In the time that followed, several churches did Bible studies and adult discussion groups with the book, and there was a pattern of discomfort around the sensuality chapter.
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Where do you see bodies in this story? With whom in the story do you identify? What words, images or phrases stand out to you?
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Drop into your body and notice how it is feeling. What word would you attach to how you are feeling? Go around the group and, in addition to saying your name and pronouns, offer a one-word check in, honoring where you are coming from and the energy you are bringing into the room.
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In Christianity, complementarianism is a theological view that men and women have different but complementary responsibilities and roles in marriage, family life and religious leadership. Seen as ontologically equal but functionally different, men take lead roles and women take support roles.
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Where do you see bodies in this story? With whom in the story do you identify? What words, images or phrases stand out to you?
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Drop into your body and notice how it is feeling. What word would you attach to how you are feeling? Go around the group and, in addition to saying your name and pronouns, offer a one-word check in, honoring where you are coming from and the energy you are bringing into the room.
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I love that Jesus uses his saliva as a healing agent. We know from previous stories that Jesus could have simply snapped his fingers or said the word and the healing could happen. But instead, Jesus uses his own bodily fluid, infused with healing power. It’s a mom move really—to lather your finger with saliva before leaning in and rubbing spaghetti sauce off a young, luminous face. This move, coupled with laying his hands on the man, is a deeply intimate choice.
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Where do you see bodies in this story? With whom in the story do you identify? What words, images or phrases stand out to you?
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Drop into your body and notice how it is feeling. What word would you attach to how you are feeling? Go around the group and, in addition to saying your name and pronouns, offer a one-word check in, honoring where you are coming from and the energy you are bringing into the room.
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As a practical theologian reading the Bible through an embodiment lens, I find Mark’s gospel deeply exciting in part because, repeatedly, bodies that exist outside the dominant class are held up as examples of true discipleship.
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Where do you see bodies in this story? With whom in the story do you identify? What words, images or phrases stand out to you?
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Drop into your body and notice how it is feeling. What word would you attach to how you are feeling? Go around the group and, in addition to saying your name and pronouns, offer a one-word check in, honoring where you are coming from and the energy you are bringing into the room.
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God looked at Jesus’ body on the cross and called it beautiful. We see Jesus’ attention to bodies in his healing ministry. By straightening withered hands and calling out unclean spirits, by stopping hemorrhaging and bringing people back to life, he restored not only their health but also their status in society.
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Where do you see bodies in this story? With whom in the story do you identify? What words, images or phrases stand out to you?
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Drop into your body and notice how it is feeling. What word would you attach to how you are feeling? Go around the group and, in addition to saying your name and pronouns, offer a one-word check in, honoring where you are coming from and the energy you are bringing into the room.
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Our society often values the mind over the body, inviting us to live in our thoughts and ignore the wisdom of our bodies. There have been times in my life that I think the path to transcendence is crawling up out of my body through the mind.
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Where do you see bodies in this story? With whom in the story do you identify? What words, images or phrases stand out to you?
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