Roaming in Romans

At my church, we are working our way through the book of Romans and yesterday we briefly looked at Romans 12:1, and as we read it some thing hit me for the first time ever. When we think about the Roman culture of the time, what Paul is suggesting to the Romans was very counter culture.

At this point in history, the Romans have been heavily influenced by Greek philosophy and would have likely been dualists, viewing the physical world as evil, and awaited the release of their "soul" from its physical prison, then they read this letter from Paul, and it says:

....offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship (NIV).

I wonder how "weird" or insane this would have seemed for them to be told to offer their "evil bodies" as living sacrifices to God. It may have been more understandable to them for Paul to tell them to kill their bodies as a sacrifice to God so their souls would be free, but for them to give their "bodies" as a living sacrifice?!

Then Paul tells them that this living sacrifice of the body is holy, pleasing/acceptable to God. I would think this would only further confound them as it goes against their basic understanding of the body being evil. Paul is telling them that living in this "evil" body for God is actually a holy and pleasing act of worship to God. Not only is this an act of worship, but Paul takes it a step further and contrasts the physical against the spiritual. Stating that this physical act of living in the body as a sacrifice to God is a spiritual act of worship.

This is all well and interesting, but what application does it have for our lives? It leaves me wondering what presumptions and biases in my own worldview have hindered me in my pursuit of truth.