Dr. Gill Atkinson writes in her review of Adrian Thatcher's book: “Vile Bodies” is an extraordinarily well researched and in-depth study.   As the title suggests the book is an account of the human body as a disgusting thing in Christian teaching, faith and practice; the term “vile” used by St Paul to describe his own body.  An historical, theological and sociological approach is taken to the examination of cultural norms, taboos and practices which have resulted from, and fed into, Church scripture and teachings. In the introduction the author tells us that, the all-powerful idea in the Christian tradition that the body is vile has had a huge negative influence on millions of people past and present and that the purpose of the book is to explore why this happened, continues to happen and what can be done about it. ...