No matter the sect, cult, or religion, I’ve heard alot said about the body being a temple; either a temple of the spirit, a temple of God, or a temple of our own creation; no matter, our “temple” says alot about us doesn’t it?
So what do we do with it?
Let me narrow it down to just the temple’s exterior.
What about tatoos & piercings, are they good, bad, do they matter?
How about hair? If we have it growing on us anyway, are we supposed to mess with it?
Groom it? Color it? Leave it grow long? Shave it all off?
What?
its funny that you want to narrow it down to exterior. some go further and want to narrow it down to just clothes. most people spend more money on their clothes than their bodies …
tatoos, piercings, haircut - i dont care about any of that, its superficial.
are you in control of your body or is your body in control of you - that is what i want to know.
vasyachkin, interesting thought. As though “you” are divided from your body and there is a rivalry between you.
Perhaps one needn’t be separate from one’s own body. Body/soul dualism may not be the only way of understanding the self. Does a unified, nondualistic self necessarily entail atheist materialism? Perhaps not. William Blake, a deeply spiritual visionary, wrote:
Funny?
Yes, I suppose it is. I’m sorta simple like that. I narrowed the subject matter simply to be more precise. I was really only interested in the thought behind viewing our bodies as temples; in our appearance.
I certainly don’t posses the intelect to debate matters of the mind with the many deep thinking scholars that often contribute to this msg board, so I’ve kept it simple for myself. 'cause I’m a simple kinda folk.
i wasn’t referring to the soul, i am not religious.
but there is still dualism as you say, for the intellect evolved on top of a system that is already self-sufficient. your body does not need you to tell it that its hungry. it knows through hard-wired pathways.
is your conscious mind strong enough to override those animal impulses ? if not, and assuming you are a normal healthy person, it will show on your waist.
as for tattoos. i would not do it to my body, but not because there is something wrong with it - nothing wrong. rather because of the VERY REAL risk that i might think the subject matter of the tattoo is stupid a few years down the line.
also you have to consider the body is not a canvas. it is potentially a work of art in itself. the tattoo should be considered as a part of that piece, not a separate piece.
I also used the word “self” rather than soul. You think of your self as an entity distinct from your body. Whatever you call this entity you identify with as separate from the body, it’s still the same old dualism, whether religious or Cartesian (you seem to favor the Cartesian view). I was just pointing out that William Blake’s unified understanding of the body and the self is an alternative to the dualistic view.
The original of this is, like many another common Christian metaphor, in Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, where it functions as an extended metaphor in chapters 3 and 6:
“Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which [i.e., the temple] you are.” (3:16-17)
“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, Who is in you, Whom you have from God, and you are not your own?” (6:19)
In context, this has reference to sexual immorality, but it’s been used over the years by preachers to denounce whatever rouses their ire.
For making this post and causing that obnoxious song about “Your body is a wonderland” to start running through my mind, you deserve the wrath of Something or Other!
Thanks Polycarp. I was being more serious than my jokey line seemed.
It worries me that people on thinking of their body as a Temple, use this as a reason to misuse their body, to strain it and exercise it beyond the healthy. To refuse to enjoy it because they feel that somehow enjoying a temple or a body is a bad thing.
Oh, and I quite liked that ‘Your body is a Wonderland’ song, does that mean I’m doubly condemned
