The long-standing hypothesis that Christian theology is antagonistic towards the body can no longer be considered valid. Instead, the body has become pervasive in contemporary theological discourse (David et al., 2021; Jax/Wendel, 2021; Etzelmüller, 2021; Rieger, 2019). However, the philosophical concept of the body is often vague, and the manner in which it is employed for theological purposes varies considerably. Some scholars have derived clear philosophical-political theses from corporeality, positing that corporeality can be regarded as both an advocate of classical humanism and a bulwark against transhumanism (Fuchs 2020). These theses have been taken up by theology (Dürr 2021). Conversely, the concept of the body's strangeness (Waldenfels 2006), woundedness (Nancy 2014, Dahl et al. 2019), and radical openness (Nancy 2014) has been identified as central by other theologians (Klein/Ulrich 2024). This has resulted in a broad field of body concepts being brought into conversation with biblical theology (Etzelmüller 2021), hermeneutics (Körtner 2024), idealism (Dierken 2021), or phenomenology (Falque 2016). In this extensive and interdisciplinary discourse, the present paper firstly offers a typology of concepts of the body and their reception in theology. The subsequent focus will be on the reception of 4-E embodiment research in theology, with particular reference to the contributions of Mühling (Mühling 2023) and Etzelmüller (Etzelmüller 2021). The reception of embodiment discourse in theology will then be addressed in its limitations through critical phenomenology that takes the strangeness and openness of the body into account. The outcome of this critical analysis is the proposal of a constructively critical concept of the body, which is expected to make a novel and potentially significant contribution to the field.