Christ’s Dust: The Body in Light of the Incarnation and Resurrection

Abstract

Moldenhauer develops a Lutheran theology of the human body grounded in Christ’s incarnation, bodily suffering, resurrection, and continuing embodied existence. He critiques contemporary tendencies to treat the body as a possession or instrument of an autonomous self, describing the separation of personal identity from bodily existence as “Nestorian anthropology.” Against both contempt for the body and its idolization, he presents embodiment as God’s good gift, marked by dependence, limits, and responsibilities toward others. Christ’s assumption and redemption of human flesh establish the body’s enduring significance and the hope of its resurrection. The essay applies this framework to reproductive technologies, contraception, genetic screening, bodily modification, organ donation, and vocational service within the household, workplace, and church. It also considers the importance of physical presence in worship and pastoral care, the reception of illness and suffering, and bodily disciplines such as fasting. Its discussion of funerals, burial, and cremation emphasizes how treatment of the dead communicates Christian beliefs about personhood and resurrection. The essay concludes with the hope of transformed, everlasting embodied life in Christ.

Abstract created by GPT-6.1 Sol.