The Theology

Christians affirm incarnation. We believe that “the Word became flesh” (John 1:14); we pray that God’s Kingdom may come here “on earth,” in the flesh (Matthew 6:10). Christian spiritual practices are all rooted in the body: bathing, eating, Baptism, Eucharist, anointing, holiness and wholeness withing sexual intimacy, hospitality, household management, burying the dead (Bass, 1997). Even our sense of spiritual conversion is deeply embodied: not only a “change” of the “mind” (Greek: meta-noia), but also a “turning” (Hebrew: sûr, šûb):

This sense of embodiment extends to the Christian vision of liberation. Liberation theologians like Gustavo Gutierrez (1972), and the Puebla conference of Latin American Catholic bishops in 1979, have made the concept of “integral liberation” a centerpiece of their work. If we hope to attain true spiritual freedom, they argue, we must strive for a freedom that is “integral,” holistic, and comprehensive; a freedom that integrates every level of our lives. For Gutierrez, this includes:

• socio-structural liberation from institutionalized violence and disenfranchisement, from cultural erasure and economic repression;

• personal liberation from psychological slavery, from value systems and worldviews that twist and stunt our capacity for self-expression and love; and

• theological liberation from sin, from alienation towards God, others, and our deepest selves, from hopeless and meaningless lives.

Lectio visceralis extends this vision of integral liberation explicitly to include body/mind liberation. Many theologians have touched on the bodily aspects of liberation: Dorothee Sölle connects political economy, marketing, and bodily hungers in her reading of Paul’s Letter to the Romans; Rubem Alves insists that spiritual liberation means not just surviving but thriving, living zestful and sensual lives (Sölle, 1990, 89-94; Alves, 1971, 133-158). Lectio visceralis breaks and rewires oppressive patterns at the bodily level. It brings integral liberation down into the muscle and nerve, into the gut and the heart. It argues that a critical, creative, and demechanized body is an integral part of Christ’s promise life of “life to the full” (John 10:10).