Reviewed Book: Monick, Eugene. Evil, Sexuality and Disease in Grünewald\u27s Body of Christ. Dallas: Spring Pubns, 1993

Peters, Diane E.

English

Wilfrid Laurier University

ConsensusVolume 21Issue 2 Aspects of Ecumenity Article 1811-1-1995Evil, sexuality, and disease in Grünewald's Body ofChristDiane E. PetersFollow this and additional works at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensusThis Book Reviews is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Consensus by anauthorized editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact scholarscommons@wlu.ca.Recommended CitationPeters, Diane E. (1995) "Evil, sexuality, and disease in Grünewald's Body of Christ," Consensus: Vol. 21 : Iss. 2 , Article 18.Available at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus/vol21/iss2/18130 ConsensusMozart himself referred to as “the mystical sanctuary of our religion” thatso frequently occurs in Mozart’s religious music. Kiing concludes with achapter analyzing the entirety of Mozart’s great Coronation Mass.This is a fine and wonderful little book that will be read with appre-ciation by theologians, musicians, untrained lovers of music, and Christianlaity alike. It is certainly the best examination of Mozart’s musical religios-ity to date.Richard A. MullerCalvin Theological Seminary,Grand Rapids, MichiganEvil, Sexuality and Disease in Griinewald’s Body ofChristEugene MonickDallas: Spring Publications, 1993XV + 189 pp. $18.50 U.S.Eugene Monick’s book is a thought-provoking study of the links be-tween sexuality, sickness and religion. His major focus is the violentlygraphic crucifixion scene of the Isenheim altarpiece, completed by MattiasGrunewald around 1515. The work was commissioned by members of theOrder of St. Anthony, for the chapel of a monastery which had become ahospice for victims of plague, leprosy, syphilis and the “burning sickness”,a form of gangrenous ergotism.The painting features a grotesquely twisted Christ, whose body isriddled with wounds and festering sores. Monick arrives at the ratherstartling conclusion that this Christ—like many of the original viewers ofthe painting—suffers from the effects of syphilis. This image is one whichis far removed from that of orthodox Christianity, where the perfect persontakes upon himself the sin and suffering of the outside world; Griinewald’sChrist embodies corruption literally as well as figuratively. Of particularnote is the suggestion that his disease is one linked to sexual activity, tra-ditionally considered evil in orthodox Christian thought.The notion of Jesus as a sexual being is not new. It appears as earlyas the second century in gnostic literature and in modern times has beenexplored by a diverse body of writers, from theologians William Phippsand Rosemary Ruether to art historian Leo Sternberg. However, Monicksuggests an even more controversial hypothesis—that Griinewald’s Jesushad a sexually-transmitted disease. This Christ has special relevance inthe age of AIDS.As a Jungian analyst, Monick believes there is an interlacing network ofgood and evil at the core of the human psyche. As an Episcopalian priest.Book Reviews 131this idea presents him with a moral dilemma when considering Jesus: ifChrist is fully human, a Symbol of the essential Self, then he must alsorepresent within himself both light and shadow. While this notion is adifficult one, its acceptance, as Monick notes, “can give an enormous senseof relief to bewildered and frightened persons. ..[Griinewald’s] image of Godshares with me a common nature; the evil I know as a reality in my ownlife is intrinsic to reality itself” (p. 25).In his final chapter, Monick leaves behind the stark horror of the Cruci-fixion and considers briefiy one of the images on the inside panel of the Isen-heim altar. Griinewald’s Resurrection reveals an entirely different Christimage—a resplendent figure, surrounded by an aureole of fire, who burstsforth from the darkness of the grave. One must see the crucifixion throughthe resurrection and vice versa: in both life and death, good and evil areintertwined.Monick’s book is less scholarly analysis than meditation upon an artis-tic image which had a profound emotional effect on the author. Whilethe Jungian language may present difficulties for the uninitiated, and thespeculations regarding Christ’s sexuality—especially the suggestion of hisbisexuality—may be disturbing to some, this book provides many usefulinsights. It would be of particular interest to those who must deal, eitherpersonally or in the context of a counselling relationship, with burdensof guilt associated with sexually-transmitted illnesses. The study is alsoworth reading if only to remind us of the power of visual imagery, not onlyin shaping our faith but also as a vehicle for spiritual understanding andpsychological healing.Monick is the author of two other pioneering works of “sexually con-scious theology”: Phallos: Sacred Image of the Masculine (1987) and Cas-tration and Male Rage: The Phallic Wound (1991).Diane E. PetersWilfrid Laurier University/Waterloo Lutheran SeminaryRemembering Esperanza: A Cultural-Political Theol-ogy for North American PraxisMark Kline TaylorMaryknoll, New York: Orbis Booksxii + 292 pp.Mark Kline Taylor opens this volume by refiecting upon his earliestboyhood memories of a Zapotec villager named Esperanza in Mexico. Helived there with his family for one year, while his father was doing anthropo-logical research. Esperanza is also the name of a barrio in Guatemala Citywhich infiuenced Taylor by their “life in Christ” (p. x). He then moves into

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