A case for embodied faith

It's been a while since I wrote about disembodied VS embodied faith on here, but it's been coming up a lot lately. Earlier this week, the idea that faith isn't emotional denial came to mind and it prompted me to also make it practical, tying it to a Biblical person by writing on how Nehemiah wept before he built.

In this blog post I will make the case for what I understand as "embodied faith" because I'm finding that the opposite leads to a disconnected form of religion. When I cut myself off from my lived reality and my emotional awareness in order to remain 'holy', I leave behind the part of me He wants the most - my heart.

May you find space here to pause, reflect, and abide.

Vine Creative Studio holds a collection of what I like to call 'encounter tools', resources connecting hearts with Jesus. You're welcome to try one out with my free Workbook on Living as a Wholehearted Follower.

What is disembodied faith?

In a previous blog post about whole-person wellness, I explained today's concept this way:

"There is a philosophical concept that will help us understand this better, namely “disembodied spirituality”. It is the idea that a person’s spirit (or soul) is the only thing that matters. People can become more and more holy and at the same time less and less human. "

When I speak about embodied faith it is a faith that is lived with our whole selves—our bodies, emotions, relationships, work, limitations, and everyday lives—not just our beliefs. It is the difference between knowing about God and allowing His life to transform every part of who we are. So let's discover what disembodied faith looks like:

While there is a lot we can do FOR God, the thing He is more interested in is how we can BE WITH Him. A disembodied faith is an abstract faith where we go through the motions of religion: Praying because we have to, reading a few verses every day without much interest, claiming that we are Christian but not allowing Christ into the room with us.

It keeps faith in a neat little box, dressed up in its Sunday best,

and fails to spill over into the rest of one's life.

Out of the fear of getting it wrong and focusing too much on emotion, encounter, or experience - the pendulum swings to the other side, and our hearts are hardened against what God can (and will) do right here and right now.

"They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart." - Ephesians 4:18

It's interesting to me, since I see faith as clearly and foundationally about being where you are. The first page of the Bible explains how the Maker created mankind in His likeness. Even the Good News of Jesus starts with the fact that God became man - as in, He walked inside a human body. He was the embodiment of God in man's form. The Son of God became the Son of Man. The creation and the incarnation are my Biblical foundations for believing something like embodied faith should exist.

Yet, despite Jesus Christ choosing to humble himself and accept a human form - we still refuse to do so. We resist our humanity. We kick against our humanness and forget that we were created by His hands and in His image.

We're so focused on "dying to ourselves" that we forget where He chooses to live... IN us.

"I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh." - Ezekiel 36:26

Our eyes are gazing up to heaven in the clouds, where we can be whisked off to, leaving these temporary bodies behind. But in doing so, we miss something crucial:

It's not about your soul and heaven alone. God also cares about your body and the earth. God's mission is to build His Kingdom on Earth as it is in Heaven. And His method is to do so through you.

A disembodied faith is purely theoretical (or theological, but the theology is dead). It fails to move beyond ideas - it fails to move from head to heart to hands; it fails to lead to real-world application and action.

"For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead." - James 2:26

What is embodied faith?

If we were to accept our humanness and the limitations, boundaries, and capabilities that come with it, we could approach a different perspective of faith. A faith that is sturdy enough to withstand the storms that come its way because it is rooted and true. A faith that does not sweep emotions under the rug but views them as helpful indicators of places where growth is needed. A faith that connects to the person of Christ versus the ethereal idea of a God somewhere far away...

I see embodied faith as a true faith. It's tangible. It's taken root in everyday life.

It is unwrapping the gift of New Life in Him, and dipping our toes into the Living Water. Yes - it's often messy, imperfect, or broken; but it's always real. It's always connected to the person who has allowed God's grace to permeate every part of their life.

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship." - Romans 12:1

Emotional awareness is just one aspect of what an embodied faith will ask of us. We can no longer gloss over that which is hard; we must crack it open and allow new life to break forth through it.

"do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body." - 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

The difference between embodied faith and disembodied faith, in my understanding, is about where that faith resides: Is it head-knowledge, heart-understanding, or hands-on application? I'm taking small steps this week towards becoming more attuned to my emotions as a practice of embodied faith - will you join me?

An exercise of becoming present:

Where you are right now, close your eyes for a moment and take a deep breath.

Unclench your jaw. Relax your shoulders.

Place both of your feet on the ground. Feel the earth beneath them.

Reflect on the fact that you were made in the image of your Maker.

He chose to give you this body.

Remember that Jesus walked the earth that's under your feet right now.

God made it.

Place your hand on your heart and consider that His Holy Spirit lives in you.

Take one more deep breath and thank Him for your body, your mind, and your emotions.

Now ask Him, "Lord, what are You inviting me to notice today?"

I believe embodied faith begins exactly where you are—not somewhere else, not someday, but in this body, this moment, with what you're feeling right now.

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