The Fat Jesus: Christianity and Body Image

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Having an aversion to food and disparaging certain types of bodies—whether one’s own or someone else’s—often result from embracing cultural norms that have nothing to do with Catholicism. Although I struggled a lot with many of the religious concepts in this book, I can’t really use my lack of knowledge to rate this book lower, so I have to give it 5 out of 5.

The Fat Jesus: Feminist Explorations in Boundaries and

The word "halo" is from the Greek word "halos," or "disk of the sun or moon; ring of light around the sun or moon" • The halo that often adorns Christ's and other saints' heads in works of art was originally a feature of the sun god (Apollo or Sol Invictus). Willett finds that objections to her being fat stem from people who associate her body type with decadence, gluttony, and a lower moral standard. Having said that, my struggle with the language and certain religious concepts made this book no less compelling. While most scholars agree that Christ's crucifixion is an indisputable fact, they disagree about the reasons and context for it. They don't agree on how well the Jesus in the Bible accurately reflects Jesus as a historical figure.Isherwood argues powerfully that there are resources within Christianity that can free us from this thinking, and lead us towards a more holistic, incarnational view of what it is to be human. Writing for a general as well as an academic readership, and covering an enormous amount of material in a little space, Isherwood seems to assume prior knowledge of or sympathy with many aspects of her earlier work – for example, her reading of the incarnation as demanding a countercultural “body theology”, and her analysis of the relationship between Christianity and patriarchy. By contrast, he notes that a culture defined by the rugged individual—whether feeling isolated in their spiritual practice or getting fast food alone after their shift—doesn’t have this dialogue. Medieval scholar Caroline Walker Bynum, author of Holy Feast, Holy Fast: The Religious Significance of Food to Medieval Women suggests an alternative view.

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Rationality, objectivity, rigidity, uprightness, efficiency, discipline and competitiveness are all values we strive for. It might just as well be that someone with a tendency to that sort of illness is more likely to notice and remember negative comments, even going back to early childhood. After Jesus was hung on the cross, Roman soldiers divided Jesus' clothes among themselves and cast lots for his robe. Some people think that “home truths” are part of love, and that pointing out weight gain is a sort of kindly, helpful intervention.It does require a level of personal and communal discernment to work through those,” she says, and the process raises questions of “What does that mean for how we go out and accompany others who we meet along the way?