Gregg R. Allison - Embodied: Living as Whole People in a Fractured World

Why This Book?

Drake was usually a self-assured, steady, and social person.

But not that day when he came to my office.

Seemingly impatient with the small talk that began our conversation, he leaped at the first chance to address why he had come to see me: Im not doing well. Im not doing well at all, he doubly announced.

A bit shaken because of his directness, I asked him what was bothering him.

Drake rehearsed a list of disconcerting physical problems: He had difficulty sleeping. He was experiencing stomach problems and constipation. He was lethargic, barely having energy for normal life activities. He had spied blood in his urine. He found it difficult to pay attention in conversations. He couldnt remember the ideas he had just read in books.

So here he was in my office. He wondered what spiritual causes could lie at the heart of these physical symptoms, and he wanted my advice about how to become well again.

I didnt need to probe much, but my questions caught him off guard because they focused on physical matters.

What are you eating? Drake was consuming a large and regular amount of junk food, living like a couch potato.

Are you scheduling rest periods? He explained that he was too busy for relaxation.

How are you exercising? Drake dismissed that question because he had no need for workouts.

Are you getting good sleep? Perturbed, he reminded me that one of his problems was insomnia.

Drake was clearly becoming irritated with my line of questioning, and he offered the following: because his body was going to be sloughed off at death anyway, he didnt need to be concerned about eating well, resting well, exercising well, and sleeping well. All those bodily matters were irrelevantand useless.

I countered with an observation. His body was (literally) breaking down before his eyes. If he kept it up, he would soon be no good for himself, his family, and the church ministry for which he was preparing. And, I added, I thought the problem was a physical one, not a spiritual one.

To put it mildly, Drake was not pleased. My response wasnt the answer a spiritually minded Christian like him was accustomed to hearingor wanted to hear. Besides, he had come to me with an expectation that Id share something with him from the Word of God.

With an angry huff, Drake stormed out of my office.

My lack of preparedness for that encounter with Drake started me on a journey. As a theologian, Ive spent the past two decades working out an understanding of life in the human body that is well-grounded biblically and sound theologically.

This book is the fruit of that journey prompted by Drakes crisis.

What This Book Is About

This book is about human embodiment. Simply put, embodiment is the condition of being a body or having a body.

A moments reflection will reveal that in reading this book, you as an embodied person are engaged in a bodily activity. With your eyes, youre reading the words that Ive written on this page. With your brain, youre processing and understanding those words. With your hands, youre holding the book or electronic device containing my words. In all likelihood, youre sitting at a desk with your feet on the floor, your behind nestled in a chair, and your back nice and straight for good posture. Or, maybe youre reading while running on a treadmill to exercise your legs and arms and to strengthen your core.