From Normative to Nothing: A Pentecostal Theological Conception of the Body

Abstract Christian theology has historically constructed a “normative” human body: white and male. Theological conclusions, then, are filtered through this systematic way of viewing the world, invariably excluding bodies that do not conform. Pentecostal theology, I argue, has the resources to transg...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Daniels, Joel D. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Brill 2021
In: Pneuma
Year: 2021, Volume: 43, Issue: 2, Pages: 233-249
Further subjects:B Reformed
B reconstituted
B Body
B Nothing
B reconsidered
B Normativity
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Summary:Abstract Christian theology has historically constructed a “normative” human body: white and male. Theological conclusions, then, are filtered through this systematic way of viewing the world, invariably excluding bodies that do not conform. Pentecostal theology, I argue, has the resources to transgress these myopic confines imposed on the body, freeing the body through sound and movement rather than adhering to static categorization. Thus, I begin by exploring U.S. history around the body, demonstrating how specific bodies have been strategically opposed and denigrated for the sake of maintaining “white” supremacy. Next, I use Paul Tillich as a case study for the theology’s “normative” body, enabling me to enter my central argument: Pentecostal theology is able to reconsider, reconstitute, and reform the “normative” body, removing arbitrary parameters and categories. The body, I contend, is movement and sound that refuses the oppressive forces that try to contain through classification and subjugation.
ISSN:1570-0747
Contains:Enthalten in: Pneuma
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/15700747-bja10035