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A Body of Praise: Understanding the Role of Our Physical Bodies in Worship Paperback – March 28, 2023

by W. David O. Taylor (Author)
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 20 ratings
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Do our physical bodies really matter in corporate worship? Isn't our soul the most important part of us? Aren't our bodies, at best, negligible to worship and, at worst, a hindrance? The answer to this last question is categorically no, as Christians have attested throughout history and across the global church. The purpose of the body instead is to offer to God in worship what only it can offer--and what must be offered to God.

By drawing on the wisdom of the Bible, church history, and theology, and by taking advantage of the unique insights of the arts and sciences, ethics, and spiritual formation, a respected theologian and pastor argues in this book that there is something for our physical bodies to do that decisively forms Christlikeness in us within the context of corporate worship. What we do with our postures, gestures, and movements in worship matters. How our senses of sight, scent, sound, taste, and touch are involved in worship matters. How our spontaneous and prescriptive activities form us in worship matters. All of it matters to faithful and fulsome worship for the sake of a body that is fully alive in the praise of God.
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  1. Print length
    224 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Baker Academic
  4. Publication date
    March 28, 2023
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 0.75 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1540963098
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1540963093
  8. See all details
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From the Publisher

Copy: What we do with our physical bodies in worship is everything

"Thoughtful and highly readable." Simon Chan, Trinity Theological College

"A lifetime of scholarship and reflection now brought together." Constance M. Cherry

"An indispensible resource." Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury

W. David O. Taylor author bio

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

"An excellent, nuanced, and well-timed study"

Theologian and pastor David Taylor argues that there is something for our physical bodies to do that decisively forms Christlikeness in us within the context of worship.

"An excellent, nuanced, and well-timed study. As we wrestle with the long-term impact of the pandemic on our worship practices, this work is an indispensable resource."
--Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury

"The role of the human body in Christian worship has been neglected for too long but is now significantly enriched by Taylor's work. His writing displays a lifetime of scholarship and reflection, now brought together in mature form for the benefit of worshiping communities everywhere."
--Constance M. Cherry, Indiana Wesleyan University (emeritus); The Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies

"Taylor reminds us that to be human means not merely to have a body but to be embodied. And at the heart of God's design for embodied persons made in his image is worship."
--Joel Scandrett, Trinity School for Ministry

"The collective minds and hearts of Christians need this book as we learn and relearn what the body has known all along."
--Lore Ferguson Wilbert, author of A Curious Faith and Handle with Care

"Taylor's thoughtful and highly readable work shows that holistic worship must engage the whole body in all its senses. This book should effectively put to rest the notion that online worship can be an adequate substitute."
--Simon Chan, former lecturer, Trinity Theological College, Singapore; editor of Asia Journal of Theology

"This book will be useful across a wide variety of worshiping traditions."
--Beth Felker Jones, Northern Seminary

"A well-written, vivid study. Taylor correlates the theological and pastoral wisdom of the church with the findings and insights of the arts and sciences to show how the triune God interacts with his people bodily in worship and engages them spiritually with their physical senses."
--John W. Kleinig, Australian Lutheran College (emeritus); author of Wonderfully Made: A Protestant Theology of the Body

"This book invites us into newness and renewal."
--Cecilia González-Andrieu, Loyola Marymount University; author of Bridge to Wonder: Art as a Gospel of Beauty

About the Author

W. David O. Taylor (ThD, Duke Divinity School) is associate professor of theology and culture at Fuller Theological Seminary. An Anglican priest, he has lectured widely on the arts, from Thailand to South Africa. Taylor has written for the Washington Post, Image Journal, and Religion News Service,among others. He is the author of several books, including Glimpses of the New Creation: Worship and the Formative Power of the Arts and Open and Unafraid: The Psalms as a Guide to Life. In 2016, he produced a short film on the psalms with Bono and Eugene Peterson. He lives in Austin, Texas.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Baker Academic (March 28, 2023)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1540963098
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1540963093
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.1 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.75 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 20 ratings

About the author

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W. David O. Taylor

W. David O. Taylor

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Born in Guatemala City, W. David O. Taylor is Associate Professor of Theology and Culture at Fuller Theological Seminary, and is the author of "Open and Unafraid: The Psalms and the Life of Faith" (Thomas Nelson: 2020), "Glimpses of the New Creation: Worship and the Formative Power of the Arts" (Eerdmans: 2019), and "The Theater of God's Glory: Calvin, Creation and the Liturgical Arts" (Eerdmans: 2017). He is also editor of "For the Beauty of the Church" (Baker, 2010) and co-editor of "Contemporary Art and the Church: A Conversation between Two Worlds" (IVP Academic, 2017) as well as "The Art of New Creation: Trajectories in Theology and the Arts" (IVP Academic, 2022). He has published articles in the The Washington Post, Religion News Service, Christianity Today, Calvin Theological Journal, Christian Scholars Review, Books & Culture, Theology Today, and Image Journal, among others. He serves on the advisory board for Duke Initiatives in Theology and the Arts as well as IVP Academic’s series, “Studies in Theology and the Arts.” A pastor for ten years in Austin, Texas, he has lectured widely on the arts, from Thailand to South Africa. In 2016 he produced a short film on the psalms with Bono and Eugene Peterson. Twitter: @wdavidotaylor; Instagram: @davidtaylor_theologian; Facebook author page: @wdavidotaylor2020.

Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
20 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Glenn Packiam
5.0 out of 5 stars A stunning and comprehensive theology of the body
Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2023
Verified Purchase
Exceptional study and synthesis with lyrical writing and practical and pastoral admonition. Highly recommend. Even if you choose to read a few chapters, each stands with remarkable weight.
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Karen Killian
5.0 out of 5 stars Bodies Belong in Worship
Reviewed in the United States on June 17, 2023
Verified Purchase
I recommend this book for worship leaders, planners, pastors and fine arts ministry leaders. It is important to understand that our whole selves and senses are created for worship.
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Olivia Phillips
5.0 out of 5 stars A Celebration of Embodied Faith
Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2023
W. David O. Taylor invites the reader to a rich exploration of our understanding of faith and the human body in the book, A Body of Praise.
________________________________________
Reading Level: Easy to Moderate
This book is written for adults seeking to better understand how our bodies intertwine with our experiences of faith in God.

Faith Engagement Level: Easy/Moderate to Digest
There are certainly aspects of this book that will challenge us as readers in our understanding of the role of the human body in worship, but this is a necessary and wonderful challenge to embrace.

Reader Age Recommended: Ages 13+
The contents of this book are safe for younger readers to explore and absorb. In fact, some aspects of this book may even be a healthy choice to invite younger readers to engage.

WHY SHOULD I READ THIS BOOK?
How often have we stopped to consider how our bodies engage in worship of God? Do we consider how our aches and pains, our joint inflammation, our injuries, differences of ability, and our experiences of the physical world impact and enrich our journeys of faith? This book is a call to meaningful engagement of our bodies – and not just our minds or spirit within the context of worship.

As a note for those who might not feel incredibly comfortable with charismatic embodied worship – do not fear. This is not a book that is trying to say that one method or practice of worship is superior. This book is simply calling us to embrace a holistic experience of the body, mind, and soul in relation to one another. Liturgy and the body are as equally intertwined as the charisma of the Spirit and the body.
________________________________________
WHAT DID THIS BOOK CHALLENGE ME TO DO?
Don’t sleep on this opportunity to challenge your view of the interconnectedness that exists within your own experience of faith and life. I was deeply challenged by this book to explore my own understanding of worship and the connectedness of my own body. In fact, I also found myself challenged theologically – does my practice of worship reflect the truth of Scripture or a gnostic separation of body and soul?

This book was a critical call to reflection on my practices as a believer, and one that I encourage other readers to immerse themselves in as a means of enriching your faith in a world that is increasingly moving to a disembodied metaverse. As a pastor whose responsibilities include creating points of connections for our online congregation, I was also challenged to consider the ways in which I can encourage those who cannot gather in the physical assembly of believers to embrace the importance of hands and feet beyond the seemingly intangible body of Christ.
One person found this helpful
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Tamara Murphy
5.0 out of 5 stars Readers will leave the book feeling invigorated and blessed in their bodies, hearts, and minds
Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2023
At the beginning of the first chapter of Taylor's excellent book, as the author asked questions about what was lost in not being able to attend his aunt's funeral because of pandemic protocols, I began to recognize the importance of this subject (the body in worship) for this time (the disembodied church community). In a pastoral sense, the gentle reminders that this conversation matters as much and more than it ever has helped me keep connecting my fatigued church-leader's heart.

Because of the context of our current moment, I especially found Taylor's thesis for A Body of Praise highly compelling (evoking Irenaeus) that "a body that is fully alive in the Spirit-ed company of other bodies who have gathered to worship God as Christ's own body. The second part of his thesis that we "must...need...and get to" worship God with our bodies made me want to keep turning pages. And throughout the book, in a thorough yet stimulating overview of all that it means to inhabit bodies as ones made in the image of God, Taylor delivers a multi-faceted benediction to be blessed in our bodies.

Readers will leave the book invigorated to worship the Creator who became a body in order to restore the body in all of its marvelous capacities--especially the capacity to "worship the Holy Trinity with the totality of our bodies" and to demonstrate love to the bodies of others and our own selves.
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Jenny
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Read
Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2023
David's heart comes through in the first few pages of this book. It caught my attention and I immediately started using quotes form the book and discussing it with my kids. So many interesting points of information and thought provoking content.
One person found this helpful
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Traci Rhoades
5.0 out of 5 stars A thorough look at worship with our bodies.
Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2023
Very good for leading a discussion on worship. Taylor definitely spoke more to an evangelical audience with this one, as Catholic, Orthodox, and many mainstream traditions do a better job of incorporating our bodies and the five senses in worship. A well-researched contribution to the ongoing conversation.
One person found this helpful
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