Create Your Own Religion by Daniele Bolelli Page A

body and the physical nature of reality. This enlightened outlook, however, is often negated by innumerable, very restrictive rules regarding what we can and cannot do with our bodies.
    Similarly, no single, clear-cut position on this issue characterizes all Asian religions. Depending on which variation of Taoism, Hinduism, or Buddhism you practice, you may find a very relaxed, life-affirming celebration of the body or a rigorously ascetic approach which views the body as a source of dangerous distraction that can keep the soul from reaching its transcendental goals. A strong dualism pitting the soul against the body is clearly alive and well in some of these traditions. But in Buddhism, Taoism, and Hinduism, for every push toward denying the senses and denigrating the body we also find other currents pulling in the opposite direction.
    But no major religion has consistently expressed a harsher view toward the body than Christianity. Saint Paul spells this out very clearly. “While we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord,” he wrote, quickly adding how preferable it was to “be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” 121 Paul's condemnation of the physical aspects of reality ended up shaping the very character of Christianity through the ages.
    So, what is that bugged Paul so much about the world of the senses? Well, he arrived to Christianity carrying heavy baggage inherited from certain currents of Greek philosophy. Even though,traditionally, Greek culture honored the ideal of physical and mental health, some philosophical schools—Orphism, for example—preached a stark dualism pitting body and soul as bitter enemies. According to Orphists, the human body is a prison for the soul. The physical is an obstacle to overcome in order to become truly spiritual. These thoughts were shared by only a minority of Greeks at the time, but they struck a chord in Paul. He introduced them into Christianity with momentous consequences, altering the future of this religion, and the history of the Western world. After appropriating these ideas for his new religion, Paul colored them with overtones of Christian theology. Body and soul in his view were competitors in a tug of war, with the soul yearning for heaven and the body trapping it on earth. But because the life of the body lasts only a few years whereas the soul is eternal, the soul will pull through and win the contest. If we accept this premise, it only makes sense to take the next step along with Paul, and consider the body as a hindrance standing in the way of dedicating our limited time and energies to spiritual pursuits.
    This dualistic idea of competition between body and soul was heightened in Paul's mind by what he perceived to be the imminent end of the world. In several passages throughout the New Testament, Paul makes it clear that—like many early Christians—he expects the apocalypse to be knocking at the door any minute. This sense of urgency is what spurred Paul to take the mind-body opposition in more a more drastic direction. If at any moment the curtains may fall and the show can end, the logical consequence is to dedicate all of one's being to spirituality.
    Let's give up the world of the flesh, preaches Paul, in order to commit ourselves 100 percent to the spirit. In the battle between good and evil that is at the theological roots of Christianity, the bodyand the world of the senses take attention away from the spiritual. With its dazzling show of colors, shapes, sounds, taste, and very intense physical drives, the world of the senses gets us lost in the sensual experience of life and induces us to chase what Paul considers temporary gratification at the expense of eternal salvation. Even pleasure, according to this line of thinking, can easily turn into a tool for the Devil to lead us away from a purer, more spiritual lifestyle. And so, propping up these ideas as articles of faith, Paul sets the stage for a negative view of the body