The Mystery of the Body

Luke Timothy Johnson’s critique of John Paul II’s theology of the body isn’t convincing. He complains about the way the Pope uses Scripture, moving from text to exhortation in an “uncritical” way, and failing to rise to the level of “serious theological engagement” (The Revelatory Body, 25). He seems to forget that the Pope’s theology was developed in a series of pastoral homilies, not in a series of academic lectures. It’s an odd criticism coming from Johnson, who complains about theology that is an “entirely academic enterprise” (12).

Despite that, Johnson makes some sharp points in a section on “What the Pope Leaves Out.” Against what he says is the Pope’s overemphasis on bodily control, he emphasizes that the body is a mystery “in two significant ways”: “First, we don’t understand everything about the body, particularly our own bodies; the means by which we reveal ourselves to others and unite our lovingly (or otherwise) with others is not unambiguous. The body simultaneously makes itself available to thought and conceals itself from our minds. Second, we cannot detach ourselves from our bodies . . . as though they were simply what we ‘have’ rather than what preeminently we ‘are’” (28).

An emphasis on control also misses the importance of bodily pleasure and pain: “valuing the body beyond its willingness to be controlled should include some appreciation for the goodness of sexual pleasure – and for that matter, any bodily pleasure. . . . Amid all the noble talk about self-donation and mutuality, we should occasionally add, ‘Plus, it feels good!’” (28-9).