Slightly Off Xtian Vibes

As an addendum to yesterday’s post: we need not look at Thomistic philosophy to conclude that Christianity is, at its core, a rationalistic movement. The entire religion is pervaded by an abstract, mathematical, and disembodied quality.

Christianity splits the body from the intellect and proclaims the supremacy of the latter. It’s a religion about the struggle of flesh against spirit—and in it, mind overcomes matter. Christians venerate the Holy Ghost; the Word; the Logos. The Virgin Birth is a prime example of this—it’s a story about conception without sexuality. Immaculate literally means spotless, clean, or pure. One could say sterile.

Of course, Christianity is a medley of different schools of thought (as all truly great religions are). Some of those lineages are more Dionysian and somatic than what I describe here. Randy at Egg Report has a beautiful essay on the unity of spirit and body, and he underpins his argument with Biblical thought. I agree with his main point, I just don’t think Christianity, as a whole, agrees with him.

Keep in mind that Christianity is still one crackerjack of a religion. The vibes, for me, are only slightly off—but they’re off nevertheless.