Book Review: John Kleinig, “Wonderfully Made: A Protestant Theology of the Body”

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Wonderfully Made: A Protestant Theology of the Body

John Kleinig, Lexham Press, 2021
ISBN 978-1683594673, 256 pages, Hardcover, $27.99

In bioethics, one’s views are shaped by one’s view of anthropology—what is it to be a human being? In Christian approaches to bioethics, teleology—the purpose of human beings—is central. If one’s view on anthropology is incorrect, then this can lead to assumptions that devalue the dignity of humans. It can also lead to their harm. Judeo-Christian bioethics in particular focuses on anthropology as found in the Word of God. In his book Wonderfully Made: A Protestant Theology of the Body, John Kleinig, a Lutheran minister and retired professor of Old Testament and biblical theology at Australian Lutheran College, draws on a Lutheran reading of Scripture to elucidate a biblical theology of the human body regarding its purpose and meaning for the Christian life.

Written in a pastoral tone, Kleinig writes to encourage Christians to have a positive, biblical view of the human body: “This book is meant to be a rhapsody on the human body—the body created in God’s image, redeemed by Christ, and sanctified for eternal life with God” (p. 148). Focusing on this positive view of the human body, Kleinig intended to “not use God’s word to critique the abuse of the body but to provide a positive theological vision of its creation by God, its redemption from corruption by Jesus, and its renovation by the Holy Spirit” (p. 17). Central to Kleinig’s approach is his affirmation, with Reformed Protestantism, of the inerrancy of Scripture, with a secondary emphasis on the Lutheran tradition, with quotes from Martin Luther, and reason to trace embodiment from creation to consummation.

Kleinig asserts that God’s Word reveals the importance of the human body:

The sacred Scriptures show us how much the human body matters to God, and why. From Genesis to Revelation, Scripture paints two pictures of bodily life on earth. On the one hand it shows us how God regards the human body, the body that he creates in his image, redeems by the incarnation of his Son, and sanctifies for life with him through the Holy Spirit. On the other hand, it also shows us how completely it has been corrupted by rebellion against God, how badly it has been misused to damage other people and the world around it, and how tragically it is doomed to die (pp.13–14).

The centrality of focusing on human beings as created by God and purposed to live their lives in their bodies as imitators of Christ, who is the true image of God, is apparent throughout Kleinig’s text. Kleinig’s main thesis is that God created humans with souls in bodies to live out their embodied lives in honor of God with their identity in Christ. Because of the fall, Kleinig purports that God sent his Son to become an embodied human to redeem us, body and soul, while we are still earthly creatures, and to restore us and to later grant us perfect spiritual bodies in heaven. This identity in Christ reveals that “our personal identity is fixed. . . . Ultimately, God gives me my name so that he can call on me by name, introduce himself personally to me, and interact personally with me (Isa 43:1)” (p. 11). Therefore, Kleinig rightly asserts that God created humanity to live life in our bodies as “embodied spirits, or, if you will, spiritual bodies. . . . They are not just what we are as people but an essential part of who we are. That is why the body is so important” (p. 4).

This leads to significant implications for Christian bioethics and theological bioethics through a theology of embodiment. First it means humans in relationship with Christ are purposed for redemption and ought to view their bodies as God does—holy: “He regards them as holy, just as holy as the human body of Jesus, for he does not consider us apart from Jesus” (p. 92). God made humans to be embodied souls. Therefore “human life on earth is, always and only, life in the body. . . . So we as Christians always have life in the body, from its inauguration to its consummation” (pp. 216–17). So, Christians ought to live their embodied lives in honor of Christ by carrying out the great commission, honoring sexual chastity, and selflessly giving their bodies to their spouse.

Another implication is that instead of thinking that our identity is changeable to our whims, it means that God created and purposed sexuality to be only the sex that we were born into and identity is only found in Christ. This also means that God made men for women and women for men. In Kleinig’s theological account, there is no such thing as gender identity or sexual orientation. There is no permissibility of transgenderism or homosexuality, as these are understood then as false identities. Kleinig argues that instead of affirming others who struggle with these sins, Christians ought to love them and share the gospel, because these embodied souls yearn for their true identity in Christ. After all, we are all sinners in need of a savior.

The general Christian reader will appreciate Kleinig’s intentional pastoral style. Kleinig’s purpose is to be positive and to love others by sharing a biblical view of the human body and what God desires for his embodied creatures. Another strength is that he focuses primarily on biblical passages and utilizes Luther’s theological reflection to interpret many of them. Within this strength is that he asserts the inerrancy of God’s Word and does not bypass the clear implications of the biblical text for personal preference. This also leads to one of the weaknesses. Given that the doctrine of the inerrancy of Scripture is not universally agreed upon within Christian theology and the broader Christian church, it would have been helpful to develop this doctrine in more detail to demonstrate the distinct approaches to biblical interpretation in light of this doctrine for passages relevant to Christian discussion of homosexuality and transgenderism. Furthermore, this could have demonstrated how one might develop what would be characterized as a biblical view of what it means to be human and its relation to the issues of homosexuality or transgenderism versus looking to justify one’s personal beliefs by finding a few suggestive passages of Scripture.

Furthermore, as a medical professional, one of the more glaring weaknesses of the volume is the absence of employing reason with science immediately after Kleinig developed excellent biblical reflections and discussed their implications of embodiment. While the Scripture alone is sufficient, Kleinig could have reached a greater audience by showing the agreement of science with a biblical perspective. One might also have liked to see his discussion—largely addressing sexuality and marriage—broadened to apply his biblical view of embodiment more generally to matters of ethics in medicine and biology. As it is, Kleinig offers only a short sentence condemning euthanasia and abortion. Despite these shortcomings, overall, Kleinig’s text is encouraging and a worthy recommendation.

Kleinig’s main point is humans are made in God’s image as embodied spirits to live their bodily life in thankfulness to God for salvation and to live their new life embodied in reflection of Christ in their witness, work, churches, marriages, and sexuality. Despite a few minor weaknesses, Kleinig’s exegetical skill and pastoral encouragement make this book helpful to assist Christians in understanding biblical anthropology and its implications.

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