Karl raised an interesting question in his comment on my last posting. He asked, “Does Satan claim a spiritual part in the procreation process since the inception of sin?” There is more than one way to answer that, but I am not sure I can give an answer that is both definitive and defensible. From one angle, the answer is self-evident. Satan has taken charge of sexual practices in our world, thus claiming a default control over the procreation mechanism. In this line of thought, it is he who directs the cavalier behaviors that produce unplanned children. From another angle, it is still a miracle of God that creates life in each embryo and they are still humans (made in God’s image) who choose to participate in the God-given process that produces life. Whatever Satan’s claims, my initial thoughts leave Satan as an outsider who wants in but can do nothing more than influence humans to choose poorly.
I am intrigued by the question but can’t currently think of direct biblical data that bears on it.
Since I am not writing a dissertation on the subject, I’ll move on from biblical sexuality soon but not without exploring the biblical magna carta on the subject. Song of Solomon is the most explicit sexual material in Scripture. For this reason, church leaders through the centuries have forbidden the youthful to read it.
The most popular approach to the book is to make it symbolic. In this scenario, the love relationship between the man and his bride parallels the relationship between God and his church. But the only justification for making it symbolic instead of literal is the popular aversion to sex. And, really, these symbolic interpretations should make it more disturbing to those who fear sex because it puts God into sexually explicit terms.
Instead, this book should be taken literally, and the simple fact that it is part of Scripture suggests that sex is (or should be) a godly act. In it, we find references to almost every aspect of healthy sex-play. Perhaps the suppressive influences of the past are still too strong in me but I am hesitant to include a list of these things here. Just read the biblical book and take care to note what the metaphors are suggesting.
Based on the information in my previous posts, I think the real tragedy of sexual distortion is that it keeps sex from reaching its incredible potential for understanding God (a concept that probably still seems weird to most of us).
Maybe I’m too much an idealist but I think we can right this wrong, with God’s help. I am starting to believe that we have reverse thinking about sex. We see it as something we want but shouldn’t have (at least in many situations). I think if we begin to see the truth, we will be less tempted to indulge in distortions of this gift. We must not see it as a pleasant thing we can’t have but as a wonderful ideal that is only grasped and enjoyed to its fullest in its proper place. Do you see the reversal? Instead of fighting against our desire for a lesser thing we encourage our desire toward a greater thing.
For too long, this incredible gift of God has been hijacked by Satan. Let’s take it back. Even in the marriage context, there is work to do. Instead of the “one flesh” moment being our most godly moment, most of us shut God out because of a subconscious guilt linked to sex. Reverse thinking again.
There is a need to reverse our thinking about sex.
I’m still thinking about sex. My purpose for discussing sex in the Bible is to elevate it. I do know that, given common patterns of relating to sex, I risk being misunderstood. But I think the gain is worth the risk. So, here I go again.
God introduced the gift of sex with the words, “Be fruitful, and multiply…” (Genesis 1:28). In other words, sex is first linked to the idea of creating new human beings. Here we see just how profoundly true it was that God made mankind in his image (verses 26-27). It didn’t just mean physical resemblance. Rather, since God creates others in his image, we create others in ours (through sex; 5:3). The implication of this is incredible: Sex is the means for living out the creative aspect of God’s character. It completes God’s image in us through the trait that most defines our link with him–Creation.
But sex completes the image of God more profoundly at another level. An accurate translation of verse 27 reads, “So God created humanity in his own image, in the image of God created he it; male and female created he them.” For human beings to form God’s image, it took both male and female (see also 5:1). So, it is only at the point the two become “one flesh” (2:24) that human beings fully complete God’s image (and understand him to the fullest human capacity). The expression “one flesh” is not limited to the sexual union but it could be argued that, since it says “one flesh” and not “one heart” (or something similar), that sex is the best symbol of joining for completeness (Paul understood the expression in terms of sex; see 1 Corinthians 6:16).
What does all this mean? Let me suggest that the one flesh moment can be your most godly moment. The moment of sexual ecstasy is meant to give you a window into God’s heart (through completeness with the opposite sex and its link with procreation). This doesn’t mean God is a sexual being (the book by Davidson that I mentioned in my last post establishes that fact well). It is simply the gift he gave us through which to understand him. The most intense physical pleasure humans can have, God attached to the act that creates others in our image. Through this, he meant to give us a glimpse of his pleasure in creating us.
I know I just dumped a lot out here. Share your thoughts or questions with me by clicking the “Comment” link below this post.
I have been thinking about sex. I know that’s quite an admission for a pastor. I have long thought that Christians lack a biblical theology of sex. It’s one of those vicious circles. Our views of sex are suppressive, so they keep us from discussing it and exploring it enough to learn that the Bible doesn’t support this suppressive stance.
The Victorian era, along with the Greek view that the flesh is evil, has bequeathed to us a general suspicion that sex is bad (both conscious and unconscious). This is so strong that it’s not uncommon for good Christians to get married and still experience a subliminal sense of guilt in their sex lives.
Current trends are toward openness. But, I think these miss the mark too. For example, one product of this openness, that I observe in entertainment media, is to separate sexual looseness from personal integrity. The Bible does make this an issue of spiritual integrity (see Matthew 5:28 for example). We don’t only need to talk more about our sexual behavior but also to evaluate, understand, and adjust it.
I have a growing sense that this issue matters. Of all the elements in the Creation order, it could be argued that Satan has worked hardest to distort sexuality. For some reason, the enemy has made sex a prime front in his attack on God. This suggests to me that the sexual gift must have incredible value to God and to our understanding of him.
I have begun reading a book by Richard M. Davidson called Flame of Yahweh: Sexuality in the Old Testament that promises to give great insights into the subject. This 800+ page book is probably the most thorough treatment of sexuality by a Christian scholar, and certainly by an Adventist scholar.