Kroppen som troens spejl – hen imod en teologisk somatologi

Abstract

The article has as its primary focal point the attempt to formulate the theoretical and practical framework of a theological somatology. This attempt originates in the emphasis on language and linguistic symbols in traditional Lutheran theology. The article formulates a radicalization of the interrelation between the semiotic approach to bodily actions and the performative aesthetics as found in theatre. The pivotal concepts introduced through the performative aesthetics are the anthropological understanding of the embodied mind that supersedes a traditional body/mind dualism and the interaction of co-subjects in performance, the so-called feedback-Schleife. In an attempt to relate these concepts to theological discourse, the article provides an application of these insights on the Service of Worship in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark. As a result it is meaningful to discern the religious experience through the bodily actions found in liturgy.