Re-visioning Theological Conceptions of the Human

FAIN: FT-228914-15

Michelle Voss Roberts
Wake Forest University (Winston-Salem, NC 27109-6000)

Summer research and writing on Comparative and General Religion.

What is a human being? Dualistic body-soul anthropologies have reigned since Plato and Aristotle. Humanities scholars have attempted to repair these schemes and appreciate embodied differences, but they have seldom drawn upon alternative conceptions of the human. This project looks to the Indian philosopher Abhinavagupta, who imagines thirty-six "body parts" ranging from physical elements to the highest unity of consciousness. This exercise in intercultural theory addresses the shortcomings and exclusions of the body-soul paradigm by naming denigrated parts, including the elements, organs of sense and action, and even limitations, as integral to a contemporary view of humanity.

Associated Products

Blurry Vision as Transcendence: Lessons from Kashmir Saivism (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Blurry Vision as Transcendence: Lessons from Kashmir Saivism
Author: Michelle Voss Roberts
Abstract: This paper tests the conference’s hypothesis regarding varieties of transcendence as cosmomorphic, sociomorphic, and noomorphic (Hypothesis No. 2) and their presence across religious traditions (Hypothesis No. 7) in relation to the Kashmir Saiva anthropology of thirty-six categories (tattvas). A heuristic use of the cosmomorphic, sociomorphic, and noomorphic finds all three present in Kashmir Saiva thought, integrally related to one another through a principle of homology. If a scholar were to look only for these three dimensions of human experience and transcendence, however, one would miss important dimensions of this rich anthropology that come to the fore when we consider the blurry zones of consciousness. The paper therefore offers suggestions for developing the hypothesis in relation to the Kashmir Saiva kancukas or limitations.
Date: 07/01/2016
Conference Name: "God or the Divine" at the University of Münster, Germany.

Body as Image of God: Comparative Reflections on Kashmir Saiva Anthropology (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Body as Image of God: Comparative Reflections on Kashmir Saiva Anthropology
Author: Michelle Voss Roberts
Abstract: Christian feminist theologians and theologians of disability observe that most definitions of the idea that human beings are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26) exclude certain people from meeting the full realization of this image--especially women, children, racial minorities, and persons with disabilities. This paper considers what Christian theology can learn about the image metaphor in light of the parallel Kashmir Saiva Hindu notion of reflection (bimba/pratibimba). In particular, the comparison suggests that the image contains many facets, that all of them can be framed in terms of embodiment, and that both limitation and the material elements have a foundational role.
Date: 06/27/2016
Conference Name: Symposium on Divinity and the Body. Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Body Parts: A Theological Anthropology (Book)
Title: Body Parts: A Theological Anthropology
Author: Michelle Voss Roberts
Abstract: Christians have traditionally claimed that humans are created in the image of God (imago Dei), but they have consistently defined that image in ways that exclude people from full humanity. The most well-known definition locates the image in the rational soul, which is constructed in such a way that women, children, and many persons with disabilities are found deficient.Body Parts claims the importance of embodiment, difference, and limitation--not only as descriptions of the human condition but also as part of the imago Dei itself. This thesis is inspired by a parallel claim in an Indian tradition that posits the reflection of the divine body in humanity. Its thirty-six parts invite Christians to consider how consciousness, limitations, mental and emotional capacities, organs of sensation and action, and elements are reflections of divinity. Each chapter pursues openings in the Christian theological tradition in order to imagine these sets of "body parts" as the image of God.
Year: 2017
Primary URL: http://www.fortresspress.com/product/body-parts-theological-anthropology
Primary URL Description: Publisher's page
Secondary URL: https://wakeforestuniversity-zsrlibrary.on.worldcat.org/oclc/1010543202
Secondary URL Description: World Cat
Publisher: Fortress Press
Type: Single author monograph
ISBN: 978-1506418568
Copy sent to NEH?: Yes

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