A Theology of Embodied Presence: God with Us through Translation

“They will call him Immanuel, which means God with us” (Matthew 1:23) and, in John 1:14, “the Word became human and made his home among us.” Christians through the ages have recognized the Incarnation as a core belief. The introduction to this paper will explore theological understandings of the Incarnation and connections authors like Sanneh and Walls have made between the Incarnation and translation. These connections will then be evaluated through historical, theological, and missiological reflections.
Part 1 of the paper considers several questions: What does embodiment have to do with the Incarnation and what is Embodied Presence? The first step toward answering these questions is to define embodiment from the perspective of Cognitive Studies and other disciplines. This definition, then, provides an entry point for developing a theology of Embodied Presence, highlighting the significance of the Incarnation for understanding embodiment.
Having established the concept of Embodied Presence, Part 2 of the paper contemplates several implications of this concept for Translation. Is embodiment merely a fleeting trend in academia or does it provide a way of enriching our notions of translation? How does Bible translation benefit from expanding our understanding of embodiment? How does the concept of Embodied Presence guide us into a deeper theology and practice of translation?
The paper concludes with several summary statements and recommendations for further research.