The body is still in the air, but how to relate the ongoing theoretical
discussion to the concrete bodies that were once its point of departure. That´s
the motivating question behind Begin with the Body, a volume of essays on
corporeality, religion and gender, a collective enterprise of the Dutch
Research Programm for Religion and Gender. Popular religion and corporeality,
more often than not interact in ways fatal to women. However, overcoming the
mind/body dualism is no longer the direct objective. Rather, researchers are
examining the generally ambivalent experiences expressed here and the
availability of alternative terms of designation. Paradoxical notions
counteract the tendency to associate women with the body and to percieve the
body as positively feminine: fluid, open and receptive. In precise case-
studies on biblical representations, religious ideals and devotional practices
we are warned against easy appropriations, simple reversals, and quick
conclusions. Changes in physical condition - disease, pain, aging - have a
great impact on experiences of subjectivity and meaning. Physical changes can
generate shifts in religious and political concepts, but the reverse is also
possible. The contributions contain a wealth of material from the visual arts
and literature, from biblical to post-modern times. All contributions are
evocative, experimental and imaginative, inspiring more questions than answers.
Can we avoid binary oppositions in our efforts to do away with them ? What
about inspired corporeality and body-oriented transcendence ? Do these notions
presuppose a physical God ? Does it make sense to seek revelation of a
Divinity-corporeality relation as such ? The direction ofanswering differs.
Common is the drive to connect (Peeters 1998)
