Recovering the meaning of the body for Christians in the modern age.
Like the produce we bring home from the grocer, the human body comes with an expiration date. It is good for a short time, but eventually starts to go bad. Natural bruises. Sickness. Decay. Not to mention trauma, temptation, dysphoria, dissociation—and ultimately, death.
And yet, the inevitable decay of sun-ripened fruit does not diminish its goodness or our delight in it. So too with the body. Despite its weakness, vulnerability, and mortality, the body is a fundamental good that opens up the world, communicates the self, and reveals the glory of God.
In a culture in which the body has been denigrated and obscured, Perishable Goods is an attempt to articulate the goodness of the human body as an indispensable part of the self and an essential part of worship, a gift to be simultaneously enjoyed and mourned. To learn more about our work, subscribe or read more below.
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More About Us
We are a band of friends on a mission to recover—for ourselves, for the church, and for the world—a better understanding of our bodies and why they matter from a distinctly Christian perspective.
We believe
The body is a created gift that, with the rest of creation, is fundamentally good and naturally reveals God's eternal power and deity.
As told in the creation, affirmed by the incarnation, and foreshadowed by the resurrection, the body is essential to human nature and personhood.
Created male and female, the body's biological sex is a constitutive element of personal identity—as well as of masculinity, femininity, and sexuality.
The body is mortal: vulnerable, fragile, and subject to death.
For those in Christ, the body, though dying, is destined for glory.
Interested in contributing to our work?
Perishable Goods accepts submissions on a rolling basis. We publish nonfiction essays, articles, and personal reflections, that explore the theological and personal significance of the body as revealed in scripture, illuminated by the Christian tradition, and confirmed by experience. We welcome work that considers the body from various perspectives, including biblical and systematic theology, history, literature, philosophy, psychology, politics, and biography.
It is our desire to submit to Scripture in all things and abide by Christian orthodoxy. While it is our conviction that the “Reformed Catholicity” of historic Protestantism most faithfully articulates and interprets Scripture, we welcome any quality submission that adheres to the Nicene Creed.
We aim to feature work that articulates the body’s original goodness (creation) and anticipates its ultimate glory (redemption) even in its present, perishable form (fall). We seek written work that wrestles with the complex reality of our bodies, caught between “the now and not yet,” in a way that brings gospel hope to others and discovers the glory of God in the day-to-day.
We encourage our writers to be creative in their approach to this task. We look for writing that is clear, particular, surprising, and resonant. We’re less interested in hot takes than we are poignant applications of biblical orthodoxy.
Submission Categories:
Blog Essays/Articles: 800-1000
Book Reviews/Responses: 1250-1500
Quarterly Essays: 1500-2000
Don’t have a finished piece but have an idea? Pitches and queries may be emailed to us at pg@perishable-goods.com or by contacting us through our website.
