FASTLY - Faith & Science Teaching

The Bible and Bodies

In Brief

The goal of this activity is to have students read and respond to a variety of Bible passages that talk about our physical bodies, understanding that they challenge a stark soul versus body divide. The activity aims to help students see that faith is not just about inner or “spiritual” realities, but has implications for our physical lives.

Goals

Students will understand that the Bible’s view of the body is more holistic than a dichotomy between the spiritual and the material.

Students will engage in the practice of interpreting Scripture with others.

Thinking Ahead

This activity challenges the assumption that faith is about things that are inward, invisible, or “spiritual,” relegating our physical selves to the realm of scientific study only. In 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 the Apostle Paul challenges the idea of splitting a person into an important soul and a less important body. Instead, the Bible views us as whole beings, created by God with the purpose of honoring him with our whole being. See also the Activity Map on Resurrection.

It is easy to read cultural divisions between the “spiritual” and the “material” back into the Bible, and students may come with assumptions about the degree to which faith is relevant to learning about the body. This activity invites students to see the body differently. It provides time to investigate and discuss how the Bible speaks about bodies and engages students in interpreting the Bible together with others. Teaching FASTly does not mean turning away from the material to the spiritual, but seeing how our bodily lives are rooted in faith.

Preparing the Activity

Needed:

• Bible and Bodies handout sheets for students. Cut apart so that each group of four receives one passage.

• PowerPoint with verses from The Bible and Bodies

Teaching the Activity

If possible, arrange your classroom seating into groups of four before students arrive. Divide students into groups of four for a think-pair-share activity and distribute The Bible and Bodies so that each group has a different passage. Allow students to read the verse and the additional prompt, and make notes individually in silence for two minutes.

Next ask each student to compare notes with a partner within the group. Have partners share their responses with each other for two minutes. Each student should add notes from this conversation in the space for “partner group reactions.”

Then have the partner groups share with each other in the group of four. Each student should add notes from this conversation in the space for “group reactions.” These three note-taking steps will allow students to see clearly what they have gained from listening to others within the group and engage them directly in the important practice of reading and interpreting together with others, rather than just individually.

Finally, have each group of four present their reactions to the class. Project each passage and prompt, included in The Bible and Bodies, on the screen for the whole class to see. Read the passage and prompt aloud for the class and let each group present the reactions and thoughts their group generated.

The passages discussed are listed below, with brief talking points for each:

Genesis 1:27-28 (NET): 

²⁷God created humankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them,
male and female he created them.

God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply! Fill the earth and subdue it!”

 Many current theological accounts relate the image of God to the theme of ruling in the next verse. The word for “image” involved physical representation. Imaging God includes responsible action as God’s representative on earth.

1 Corinthians 6:13-15, 19-20 (NET):

¹³The body is not for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. ¹⁴Now God indeed raised the Lord and he will raise us by his power. ¹⁵Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? … ¹⁹Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? ²⁰For you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.

The context here shows Paul resisting the prevalent view of his day that thought that since the spirit is more important than the body, it does not matter if we sin with our bodies. Paul focuses on the importance of the body. God will raise the body (see also the Activity Map on Resurrection) and collectively our bodily lives make up the church, which is his temple.

Psalm 139:13-14 (NET):

¹³Certainly you made my mind and heart;
you wove me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I will give you thanks because your deeds are awesome and amazing.
You knew me thoroughly…

This passage presents God as intimately involved in the putting together of our bodies. Rather than causing us to turn away from our bodies to worship, we express thanks for our bodies.

Matthew 18:7-9 (NET):

⁷ Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! It is necessary that stumbling blocks come, but woe to the person through whom they come. ⁸ If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. ⁹ And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into fiery hell.

Jesus is using hyperbole here. Have students note how important it is to compare passages. Psalm 139 that we just read valued the body highly. This passage can also be seen to value the body in the sense that it matters greatly what we do with our bodies, for they are meant to be used for holiness.

Romans 12:1-2 (NET):

¹Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice—alive, holy, and pleasing to God—which is your reasonable service. ² Do not be conformed to this present world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve what is the will of God—what is good and well-pleasing and perfect.

Service and sacrifice involve what we do with our bodily life, not just on the spirit.

1 Corinthians 10:24-31 (NET): 

²⁴ Do not seek your own good, but the good of the other person. ²⁵ Eat anything that is sold in the marketplace without questions of conscience, ²⁶ for the earth and its abundance are the Lord’s. ²⁷ If an unbeliever invites you to dinner and you want to go, eat whatever is served without asking questions of conscience. ²⁸ But if someone says to you, “This is from a sacrifice,” do not eat, because of the one who told you and because of conscience—²⁹ I do not mean yours but the other person’s. For why is my freedom being judged by another’s conscience? ³⁰ If I partake with thankfulness, why am I blamed for the food that I give thanks for? ³¹ So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.

This passage continues the theme that bodily activities as basic as eating are related to love of God and neighbor. It is in our bodily actions that we show whatever kind of love the situation requires: eating when that honors the other, and not eating when eating would injure the other’s conscience.

1 Corinthians 15:52-55 (NET):

⁵² For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. ⁵³ For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.⁵⁴ Now when this perishable puts on the imperishable, and this mortal puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will happen,“Death has been swallowed up in victory.” ⁵⁵ “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”

Paul here expresses the hope for a bodily resurrection, not a soul saved out from within a body container and the body discarded, but a renewal of the body as the mortal “puts on” immortality like new clothes. See also the Activity Map on Resurrection.

In conclusion, reflect  briefly with students on how the physical layout of the classroom enabled interaction, studying Scripture together, and listening to one another. This connects with the theme that what we do with our bodies matters for love of God and neighbor. If you have time, extend this activity by having groups choose one of the passages and read its larger context in the chapter(s) from which it is taken to see if this adds to their interpretation. If you do not have time to do this, mention that this would be an important next step to be sure we understand each passage well.

Bodies and Callings

In Brief

Micah 6:8 offers a concise and powerful statement of the human calling before God: “What does the Lord require? Do Justice, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly with God” (emphasis added). This activity asks students to think about how knowing more about anatomy and physiology relates to this calling. It helps students to see that faith, ethics, and science are interrelated.

Goals

Students will understand that the important biblical themes of love, humility, and justice are related to the scientific purposes of understanding of the human body.

Thinking Ahead

The fragmentation and specialization of modern society can make it tempting to think that practical questions about bodily care are mainly in the realm of science and economics and distant from faith and ethics.

This activity engages students in making connections between a biblical summary of what God requires, the virtues that are called for in that summary, and a set of practical problems. The aim is not just to tell students that faith, science, and ethics are connected, but to engage them in active exploration that enables them to see the connections themselves.

How often are students given such an opportunity in school? Consider how you talk about scientific information throughout the year. How often do you pause to make a connection with faith or ethics? Do your teaching practices simply teach that these things are isolated from one another?

Preparing the Activity

Needed:

• For each group of students a set of cards, see Bodies and Callings, along with three blank cards for each group (for students to write on)

• Large piece of poster paper

• Markers or pens

• Glue or tape

Teaching the Activity

Divide students into small groups and give each group a set of scenario cards along with “Do Justice,” “Love Mercy,” and “Walk Humbly” cards as found in Bodies and Callings. Each group should also receive three blank cards for them to write on as well as a large sheet of poster paper, markers/pens, and glue/tape.

Have each group lay out the “Do Justice,” “Love Mercy,” and “Walk Humbly” cards on their poster paper in a triangle. Then have them take one of the scenario cards, read it, and match it with one of the three categories. Scenario cards may seem to match more than one statement, so students can place the scenario cards in a location that indicates they may be part of more than one of those callings. Students should use the three blank cards to add further examples of their own that draw on their scientific understanding of the body.

When students have finished arranging their cards have them paste or tape down the cards in the arrangement they created. Next ask students to make a note next to each card of how knowing more about the science of the human body would help them do those tasks better.

If time allows, have students present parts of their poster to the rest of the class. Display the posters in your room throughout the course of the semester or year and continue to refer to them and add to them as you talk about various body systems and the ethical issues that relate to those various systems.

Empathy and Care for Bodies

In Brief

This activity engages students in reflection on the roles of scientific knowledge, ethical reflection, and empathy in decision making when our decisions affect the bodily well-being of others. It invites them to see how these considerations are intertwined.

Goals

Students will understand that knowledge about the human body belongs together with ethics and empathy in decision making that affects the bodily well-being of others.

Thinking Ahead

This activity can serve as an introduction to Activity 5: Evaluating Ethical Issues. It is intended as a brief introductory activity leading to the more concrete models in the Delve activities. The focus should be on helping students think about how science, ethics, and faith can all play a role in decision-making about the body.

Data without ethical stances or beliefs about what is good, do not tell us what to do. Nutritional information, for instance, does not in itself tell us that we should care for others. The desire to love one’s neighbor could, if unaccompanied by good information, result in actions that are in fact harmful. Spend some time reflecting on this intersection ahead of the discussion. Consider how the relationship between scientific knowledge, ethical questions, and faith convictions are represented in your regular teaching practices. Teaching FASTly includes reflecting on what is involved in our practices.

Related Book Review: After You Believe: Why Christian Character Matters by N.T. Wright.

Preparing the Activity

Needed:

• You will need Ethics and Empathy with access to the internet in order to play the linked video.

• Students should have notebooks or journals to note their reflections.

Teaching the Activity

Explain to students that today they will be thinking about empathy in relation to ethical decisions as they relate to the body. What kind of person does it take to make wise ethical decisions? What kind of person am I naturally? How can I learn empathy?

Divide students into small groups of approximately four members. Show the second slide of Ethics and Empathy, which depicts a panel discussion. Ask students to imagine a panel made up of a wide range of health care providers, community members, government officials, educators, and social service providers. They are having a discussion related to hunger and trying to decide on the make-up and quantity of the food that will constitute school meals provided for free or at a reduced rate.

Ask students to discuss in their small groups the kinds of knowledge and character qualities that might help the people in this group as they make their decision. After a few minutes, invite groups to share their thoughts. Elicit what kinds of scientific knowledge might help as well as the role of empathy and care and a sense of justice. Ask what might happen if only the scientific understanding or only the ethical stance were present?

Then ask students to discuss briefly in their groups how they think the panel’s discussion might change if they all decided to fast for twenty-four hours prior to coming together to have the discussion?

Next, show the following video clip: Brené Brown on Empathy. After viewing the video ask the groups to summarize the distinction between empathy and sympathy and how it relates to their previous discussion about the panel. After time for discussion, check students’ understanding by projecting the next slide, Galatians 6:2, “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ,” and Romans 12:4-5, “For just as in one body we have many members, and not all the members serve the same function, ⁵ so we who are many are one body in Christ, and individually we are members who belong to one another.” Ask students to articulate how these passages connect to what the video explained about empathy.

Next, tell students that this can be extended to other examples. What if the topic under consideration were a new school building project. If someone who is on the design committee has a sibling or child with a physical disability, how might that affect the discussion of the design committee? Ask students in their groups to think of at least one further example of a community decision that involves the bodily well-being of some community members and that would need to draw upon expert knowledge, ethical reflection, and empathy. Allow time for examples to be shared with the class.

Additional Resource

Ed Stockham, Empathy Explorer: Through My Eyes