A Muslim objection to Christianity is that it means God Incarnate has an excretory system. That offends their sense of divine etiquette.
But in Christian theology, matter isn't evil. The body isn't evil. The body processes energy. And waste products are a byproduct of energy processing. That's true for energy processing in general. Like burning wood produces smoke and ash. Is that bad manners? The body is like a machine.
Muslims have peculiar notions about etiquette. For instance, many Muslim couples practice anal sex. Why do they have dainty hangups about the Incarnation but their delicate sensibilities aren't offended by anal sex?
It's a bit like papists having no qualms about pedophile priests but the thought of Mary having had sex or other children is to horrific to contemplate.
ReplyDeleteThe whole point of the Incarnation is taking on a human nature to the divine nature, right? And for the Incarnation to be truly meaningful as compared to some kabuki theatre show that merely humors us, Jesus had to be really, truly, and fully human. I don't see how one would escape having the usual bodily functions.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a young boy in Baptist school my friends and I would giggle to such questions like "did Jesus fart?" and "what did it smell like?". The minds of 8-year-olds. But I think the true and respectful answers would be "yes" and "probably as bad as anybody else's". Jesus' digestive system wasn't for show like R. Daneel Olivaw's if you get the Asimov reference. I've never in my adult life found the idea of Jesus' bodily functions offensive or weird, though my boyish self sure thought it was funny.