I heard two tidbits in the radio this morning that brought me to reflect on the issue of the separation of the body and the soul. I first want to address, Jesse Jackson Jr's comment that conservative Christians lack compassion and only interested in making Jesus people (converts).

     It is unfortunate that conservative Christians project that aura of lack of compassion. Although people's perspectives are subjective, it is well worth considering why conservative Christians are viewed this way. Since we live in community, our reputations are important, it is a part of us whether we like it or not. Our character growth is not just for our sake, but for the sake of the community around us, so we may be a positive presence for change in the world. If Conservative Christians are viewed this way, they must do something to address this perception. It is dishonoring to Jesus when the community perceives Christians as lacking compassion.

     On the other hand, nobody can please everybody, despite good intentions. It is the reality that people's perceptions of each other is often mixed. Some will say things about us without knowing everything about us, and Jesse Jackson Jr. may be called on that. The white conservative family that adopted a homeless black highschooler in the movie Blindside, providing him a home and a family, can be argued to be showing more compassion than liberal lobbyists who never invited anybody they profess to care about in their homes. As far as I'm concerned, this ought to humble anybody who professes to be the voice of compassion.

     I want to turn to the response of the founder of Lawndale Community Development, that conservative Christians sometimes care more about the soul (making converts) than taking care of the physical (meeting felt needs). He proposes a more holistic approach, taking care of the whole person. To avoid the gnostic trap- separating the body and the soul, I want to propose another way of looking at human beings.

     Since man is made in the image of God, and in Christian doctrine God  is a trinity, I propose that man is like a trinity. He has an immaterial part, he has a material part, and he has, for lack of a better word, an aura. The aura is how he is perceived in the community he is part of. Now each of these three "aspects" represent the whole person (not parts). When somebody hits me, I do not say "your fist" hit me. That is absurd, I will say "you hit me".

     The "soul" of a body that is hungry not by choice is not healthy, even if that soul is "converted". His hunger causes him to feel down and maybe angry to the point that others notice. God cares for a person's feelings (depression is soul sickness) and demeanor (God wants us to have favor before man, not just before him), and unwholesomeness in those areas requires the  taking care of the body (relieving hunger). The person whose sin is idleness will have a hard time taking care of his family, or at least will find it a burden. He and his family will go hungry or he will do things that are illegal, thereby destroying community.

     Going back to the person's "aura", it affects the community around him. A resentful father (because he is idle and don't want to work hard) will project a bad "aura". His children would rather be out of the home than be with him. This father is destroying his family because his demeanor (body) is reflecting his wrong attitudes (soul), and he presents himself (aura) as a person who everyone wants to avoid. Of course, he may actually be loving sometimes but nevertheless, his image to his community is marred. "He" is a negative person and we don't normally say he projects negativity. The roots of negativity is in the condition of the body and the soul.

     So what is the point. The health of the whole person does not consist in the health of one of its aspects. Man does not live on bread alone because man is not just a physical body (his soul and his aura are valuable not just for himself but also for the community). Illness in one aspect affects the other aspects, thereby making the person unwholesome. Instead of separating service (to the body, to the soul), let us make our service reach out both to the body and the soul, and ultimately to the community. God does not just desire conversions or shows of compassion but the restoration of the individual and the community.