Creativity and The Body: The Scapegoating of Embodiment and How Communion Puts an End to Purity Culture
What if your body isn’t a liability to control or escape, but a site of divine revelation and relationship? January Jaxon and Andrew McRae confront the contamination anxiety that distorts Christian theologies of the body, and explore how the Incarnation contradicts that disgust with radical, embodied presence. Culminating in a Eucharistic vision of wholeness, they challenge listeners to imagine what’s possible when we follow Jesus’ example of encountering, instead of expelling, the Other.
You’ll hear:
- Why tying holiness to purity drives shame, exclusion, and violence
- Why disgust — not just desire — fuels the scapegoat mechanism
- What Paul actually meant by “flesh” (and why it’s not your body)
- What happens when Jesus crosses his culture’s boundaries of disease, gender, and social status
- How Christ’s Holy Spirit redefines holiness as catholicity rather than purity
PLUS a practice for listening to your body as a trustworthy source of wisdom in everyday discernment.
“January’s faith is largely orthodox in its content — she doesn’t throw out important traditional concepts. But, she comes to those concepts with tools of contemporary outsider culture. It all feels authentic and integral, not like she’s trying to ‘make tradition cool for the kids’ or something. She truly sees the radical heart of Christianity.”
—Teresa Stone
Ideal for listeners interested in Girardian theology, Internal Family Systems as a spiritual practice, and embodied Christianity.
Chapters:
Theology Kills is exclusively listener-funded. Subscribe to us on Patreon for bonus audio, downloadable worksheets, and a friendly community to carry on the conversation.
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Note: This podcast is a personal exploration of theology, creativity, and human experience. January Jaxon and Andrew McRae are not medical or mental health professionals, and nothing in this podcast should be understood as medical or psychological advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Our discussions are general and are not a substitute for personalized care. If you need medical or mental health support, we encourage you to seek care from a qualified professional.
Chapters:
- (00:00) - Introduction
- (01:07) - Presentation: Reclaiming Incarnation as Holy
- (28:01) - Holiness isn't avoiding contaminants, it's BEING a contaminant
- (30:56) - Purity in an Evangelical church and a Buddhist monastery
- (34:33) - Purity that integrates rather than expels
- (38:03) - When is disgust protective, and when is it violent?
- (42:21) - What changes when we move from purity to participation?
- (52:34) - Is God ever disgusted?
- (01:00:59) - Caitlin Metz's method for identifying activism opportunities
- (01:07:34) - The giving of the Holy Spirit and the shamelessness of prayer
- (01:14:27) - Distinguishing the voice of the body vs the voice of trauma
- (01:27:28) - Naming harm vs needing a villain
- (01:31:21) - Are there ever times when the body is the problem?
- (01:34:34) - "We're resident aliens in our own body"
- (01:36:24) - The practice of Calibrating The Body Compass
- (02:00:30) - End credits
Theology Kills is exclusively listener-funded. Subscribe to us on Patreon for bonus audio, downloadable worksheets, and a friendly community to carry on the conversation.
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Note: This podcast is a personal exploration of theology, creativity, and human experience. January Jaxon and Andrew McRae are not medical or mental health professionals, and nothing in this podcast should be understood as medical or psychological advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Our discussions are general and are not a substitute for personalized care. If you need medical or mental health support, we encourage you to seek care from a qualified professional.
