Bodybuilding & Religion, Disciplines A.A.'s can make use of.

Bodybuilding and Religion
What’s the Relationship?
It has been argued that bodybuilding is tantamount to worship of the body and thus fundamentally antireligious. Attitudes toward the body vary considerably in different religions, but the basic objection to bodybuilding seems to rest on the assumption that things of the flesh and things of the spirit are incompatible. Bodybuilding is thus seen to shift attention from worship of God to worship of self.
It has to be admitted that, for some people, bodybuilding can become an obsession, followed with such fervor that nothing else matters. Sadly, this is all too often the prevailing image giving the public the idea that bodybuilding amounts to little more than a pagan religion in which Joe Wieder is the appointed prophet, with Muscle & Fitness magazine serving as the bodybuilder’s bible.
Let’s dispel some of the confusion underlying the view that bodybuilding is antireligious. Indeed, bodybuilding not only can be consistent with religious belief, but the reverence and respect for the body characteristic of serious bodybuilding can enhance and strengthen religious belief. This explains in part why a number of top bodybuilders continue to profess their religious beliefs and why others have been drawn to religion through bodybuilding.
Creation Story
To understand the extent to which religion has influenced social attitudes to the body, there is no better place to begin than at the beginning – the creation story itself. Although not all religious systems imply creation by a Divine Creator, a substantial number do. It is a feature of the great religions of Judaism, Christianity and also Islam, for example, that the Creator-God is the source of all states of affairs but not Himself one of them. There is a distinction between the world of spirit on the one hand and the world of matter on the other. For according to the "creation" religions, the creation of man is the entwining of the spirit with the flesh. The human body and the human spirit are created not as a duality but as a unity. Man is a "living soul"(i.e., a body animated with spirit). The natural body of man is a form constituted by the creative act of God to be adapted to the conditions of earthly life – and for this reason Biblical writers often use the word body with the sense of self, person or personality: The human body is an organ of personality, both expressing and helping to define it.
Personal Development
The doctrine of creation implies and is consistent with self-development. We are not created as finished beings. The body, not unlike the intellect or any other of our natural talents, develops as a consequence of our efforts at self-improvement. The purpose of human existence (including its religious purpose) is attained through the realization of our potentialities. In religious terms the development of the body is no different in principle from the development of the intellect, or any other natural talent (e.g., a good voice). Just as there is nothing contrary to religion in the full development of, say, mathematical ability or linguistic ability, there is nothing contrary to religion in the full development of the body. One might even claim that it is as much a religious duty for human creatures to develop the bodily gifts bestowed on them by God as it is for them to develop the mental attributes (or "talents," as the Bible refers to them) with which the Creator has endowed them. The cultivation of our talents, including the development of the body, can be seen as the proper husbanding of the resources with which the Creator has equipped us to our natural environment. Likewise, the neglect or abuse of the body can seriously inhibit the furthering of that human potential which is an important part of God’s creation and of His purpose for us. The notion of developing our human talents implies, first, the existence of a particular talent, and second, that it should be developed in a way that furthers rather than detracts from the rest of our human potential.
Wholeness
According to the doctrine of a creation, human beings are created as a unity of body, mind, spirit and soul, and the harmony and balance of these elements are important. Disunity and fragmentation of the personality result when the delicate equilibrium among these elements is disrupted. To emphasize one of these facets of human personality at the expense of the others is not only harmful to the integrity of the human personality, it also contradicts the spirit of the doctrine of creation. To nurture the intellect, for example, while allowing the body to languish is as destructive of wholeness as is the obsession to develop the body at the expense of the mind. Psychosomatic unity (i.e., the unity of body, mind, spirit and soul) figures prominently in the creation religions. A break in this unity can be deleterious to the wholeness of the human person (who is meant to love God with all his soul, heart, mind and strength – i.e., integrating all the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspects of his being toward a single end).
But not only is this a principle maintained by a number of religious faiths, it is also increasingly being recognized as a fundamental principle of human well-being generally, as psychiatry and medicine have in recent years become aware. This essential unity of the human person is recognized particularly in the holistic approach to medicine – an approach based on creating healing practices that draw together rather than fragment the various aspects of human nature. Holistic health thus presents a challenge to the traditional view of man as having distinct divisions – mind, body, spirit and soul – each of which has given rise to a specific professional group (i.e., psychologists, physicians and clergy – priest, minister or rabbi) trained to deal with a particular division. The new focus is concerned with treating the whole person, not just the individual parts as though they existed in isolation. The emphasis involves also a shift from the treatment of disease to the maintenance of health, thereby maximizing the individual’s responsibility in the process of treatment and health.
Principles fundamental to the new holistic orientation to medicine have long been recognized in religious healing. Disintegration of the human defenses against disease and illness results when one of the elements (i.e., mind, body, spirit or soul) takes precedence over the others and seeks to function as though it were supreme and self-sufficient. Both medicine and religion recognize that this is the case with the activities of the body (sleep is good, sloth is not; appetite is good, gluttony is not), though in the more purely religious area there are also spiritual dangers when the limitations of our created nature are ignored (e.g., limitations of knowledge, judgment, will and spiritual apprehension). Religious writers such as St. Paul distinguish between "life in the flesh" (which is morally neutral) and "life according to the flesh" (which regards bodily existence as self-sufficient). It is significant that, in the Bible, the same word ("whole" – salvus) is used to refer to physical or mental well-being and to the state of salvation. The etymology of the English word holism confirms this link. Deriving from the Indo-European root word kalio, meaning intact or uninjured, the Indo-European root gave rise to a family of related concepts (e.g., health, whole, holy, heal and even hail). In the terms of its linguistic heritage, holism implies a connection between the religious quality of internal harmony and a person’s general well-being.
Discipline
The conceptual connection between bodybuilding and discipline is important in showing the fallacy of the major religious objection to bodybuilding as a form of self-worship. Because religious believers see the development of human potential as pointing beyond itself, control, direction and dedication are essential for the cultivation and realization of inherent abilities or talents. Control, direction and dedication entail the possibility of self-sacrifice and often require the deferring of immediate pleasures for long-range goals. In this sense discipline is diametrically opposed to egoism and self-worship. Indeed, self-centeredness and complacency erode the foundation upon which discipline itself is built. The concept of "sporting discipline" appears in the writings of St. Paul, for example, and indicates the need to go beyond self-centeredness and to keep a sense of purpose (i.e., working toward a goal beyond mere self-satisfaction). There is perhaps no better example of sporting discipline than bodybuilding; for in the development of the body the demand to forgo self-comfort and push beyond the pain barrier features conspicuously, as any serious bodybuilder knows. Similarly, it is of paramount importance in bodybuilding to develop self-control and disciplined approach – mental as well as physical – inside and outside the gym. The goal of developing the body holistically requires a dedication to total wholeness of being, which involves mental concentration, control of physical processes and the rejection of the easy gratification on which much of the contemporary materialistic lifestyle is based.
Bodybuilding is not just a matter of regular and intensive exercise; it requires knowledge of diet and discipline in eating. The adage ‘We are what we eat’ is perhaps more relevant to bodybuilding than any other sport. Serious bodybuilders also make it their business to know about stress – what causes it, how to minimize it, and the extent to which it inhibits growth and weakens the immune system. In sum, bodybuilding is a sport which inspires a life orientation in which there is a balance among the elements that comprise the human personality.
Proportion
Concentration on the development of the body to the exclusion of other concerns is certainly a form of egoism, which creates the kind of human imbalance that religious belief condemns as sinful. This is not an objection exclusive to bodybuilding. The same condemnation applies equally to any activity performed to the exclusion of the complementary dimensions of our humanity (including our spiritual). A sense of proportion is therefore necessary, but as we indicated previously, holistic balance is what serious bodybuilding requires by its very nature. Because man is a unity of body, mind, spirit and soul, one cannot develop the body and maintain that development without disciplining oneself sufficiently to accommodate the contributions that the mind and the spirit inevitably make to it. A disciplined attitude to body thus spills over into our other activities and fosters a healthy harmony in our general attitude toward living.
Recent studies have shown, for example, that our mental abilities may depend largely (especially as we grow older) upon bodily well-being. Because of the systemic character of human organism, the subtle interconnections among its mental, physical and spiritual components, development of a healthy body influences the state of health of the mind and spirit. Holistic bodybuilding involves developing the body by engaging these varied facets of human potential, keeping each in perspective. It does this by fostering a lifestyle in which the aim of developing a better body is best served by the concurrent development of the mental and spiritual faculties that contribute to and sustain it.
It is to be admitted – and indeed, it should be stressed – that not all bodybuilding is holistic bodybuilding. When drugs are used to abuse the body into growth, a price must be paid in health terms. The same applies to any approach that leads the body to burn out after a few years rather than foster its long-term well-being. Bodybuilders who come to the sport with an emphasis on developing their created potential holistically will benefit in general health terms well beyond the years in which the body is at physical peak. In addition to the maintenance of mental capacities, the most recent research suggests that sensory faculties such as sight and hearing can also be better maintained into old age by bodybuilding holistically. In this sense, holistic bodybuilding is one of the best investments you can make in your future.
Holistic bodybuilding promotes qualities such as moderation and discipline, the value traditionally associated with many of the great religious systems. More than this, however, if undertaken as part of a total life orientation involving mental and spiritual aspects as well, it can serve to advance rather than impede the religious attitude to life. The aim of holistic bodybuilding is not just to build champions; its aim is to build more complete human beings.