Entombment: Into the Light

Much of our semester has been conducted around the very illusive word ‘embodiment,’ whether in context with N.Katherine Hayles and her temporal debate on when does a person become machine or vice versa? or in relation to the spirit’s manifestation within the body as something entirely alien and foreign to earthly bound rules, there has always been argument to spare concerning this term. Exactly when I thought harmony was lost to the perfection of technology and the preservation of a species, I was rewarded with a return to the earth in the most dismal of methods. Finally enlightened, this week’s readings of Julian of Norwich and Margery Kemp guided my critical eye to focus on a different phrase, entombment. Continue reading

Holy Wars

“The more the human will becomes conformed to what God wills, the more free human beings are to become who they truly desire to be” (189). This quote from Nuth’s essay at the end of The Showings of Julian of Norwich is, to me, a very interesting approach to life. It would seems logical that one would sacrifice anything and everything (even kill) in order to carry-out God’s will (and this has proven true countless times in the past).  But what happens when the rules of one’s faith become obsolete? Continue reading

Mind over matter

In our discussions this week on The Showings of Julian of Norwich and The Book of Margery Kempe, I was struck by the idea that religion could define someone entirely. While this is certainly not just a medieval notion, especially as it still exists today for many people, this concept is a difficult one for me to fully understand. My brother is very orthodox, and his identity is largely shaped by his religion, but the nature of the selfhood suggested by Margery and Julian is a step beyond this.

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