June 01, 2006
Skin Deep Identity
I recently attended the Body Worlds 2 exhibit at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. The exhibit consists of over 200 donated bodies and body parts that are preserved by replacing bodily fluids with reactive fluid plastics, a technique called Plastination. As I looked ‘in and through’ authentic human bodies I tried to balance my thoughts between the macabre and David’s Psalm praising God because he is “fearfully and wonderfully made…” (Psalm 139:14-15). Stripped of skin and hair, it is strange to look upon the lifelike poses of bones, tendons and tissue which are empty of their soul. David says, “My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth…” (Ps 139:15) Rationally, I know my identity is not in skin and hair, but without them, but I’m unrecognizable. Hum…, makes you wonder about all the effort put into suntans, tattoos and body piercing!
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Gail;
----I have come to learn that identity markers are important to people because of the difficulty involved in getting to know the character and personality of another. Ponder sometime upon how incredibly slow the process of communication is. Most of us read at no more than a couple hundred words per minute and retain only a tenth of what is read. Up to and through this sentence I have stated only five bits of information and have used eighty words. Think of how many bits of information are required to form even a rudimentary knowledge of a stranger's personality and character. And we talk slower than we read. Our only practical means of gathering information besides writing and listening is by sight. And that requires us to be around the subject of our interest hoping to catch sight of some activity or behavior that might be telltale of personality or character.
----People don't come with brochures or CD's that serve as an introduction to who and what they are. Even if they did we would not spend the time it would take to read or listen to even the most basic ones. So our first knowledge about the stranger comes from visual impressions, and that is where people write their "brochures" and record their "introductory CD's." They dress and adorn themselves in a manner that associates them with the norm of some group, ie cowboy, Goth, countryclubber, punk, skater, jock, jerk, Mr. Sunday School, etc.
----But the mistake in the whole system that makes the "brochure and introductory CD" so important is the failure to relate to the simple truth about God and Jesus Christ meaningfully in the heart. We want to build our relationships with the people based upon familiarity and commonality, so we adorn to give indication of who and what we are. But the few things that everyone has in common without adornment are pains and sorrows, hopes and ambitions, most always a few people who hold a warm hearted love for the person, a few people for whom the person holds a warm hearted love, and a God who loves them all. These are some of the things that God looks upon. And they are crosscultural things. If we were more interested in these as our initial criteria for giving and receiving deeper attention, the clothes, the skin tones, the jewelry, hairstyles, and body piercings would become much less important, and perhaps somewhat less excentric.
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