A Theology of Sex
No better way to get the year started, aye?
Instigated by my recent foray into the theology of the Old Testament under professor Ian Provan, I found myself fascinated by a number of things – his perspective on Ezra / Nehemiah / Esther for one – but also the look into the wisdom lits, particularly Song of Songs. Long been held an allegorical reading of the love of Christ for the Church, I’ve always walked away thinking that was a stretch; it always seemed to me a pretty obvious picture of one thing: eros. Defining songs as allegorical just never really convinced me as I can’t seem to see that as the author’s intent. At any rate this is not so much about splitting hermeneutical hairs as much as it is about the deep redemptive value of a theology on sex; Songs has the potential to address the neurotic dysfunctionalism of our view on sex today; the problem is the allegorical message of Christ and the church keeps getting in the way – it seems to be blinding us to the more obvious – the literal interpretation of songs as a theology on the “healing of sex”. But at any rate:
Is there indeed, such a thing as a “theology of sex”? Is it in there, in the text? Is it an a priori of secularism? Is it relevant, devotional-type material? Can you make heads or tails of it? Does it speak to the church or the individual?
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Good Morning,
Okay foot in mouth syndrome before I go to work. I believe the Song of Solomon addresses both, and shows there is no shame in sex with your beloved. To me it speaks of the beautey that can/should be found in relationship (legal/marriage). I also think it speaks to the total passion the Lord has for the church. As we (I) seek to grow closer tot he Lord, and intentionally make Him, and keep Him in my first love position of my life – how far will I go? What will I risk?
How do I change this lil’ green picture – this really isn’t me
Depending on how you define theology, I think you could make a case for there being a theology of everything; a theology of sex, a theology of coffee, a theology of computers, whatever. I think you can systematically apply God’s revelation to any contemporary or ancient situation, and call it a theology. It might be a wrong theology in some cases, but it is a theology nonetheless.
Thanks for your words.
-Sol
http://www.calebandsol.com
@Jay – u can’t change that picture unless you sign up an account @ WordPress. Sorry I can’t do anything on my end either
@ Caleb – thanks for visiting – yea we wanna be careful of doing eisegesis – and reading our own interpret in to the text… still I wonder what exactly they were thinking when they first canonized Songs? I really think they thought it was allegorical… or maybe not?
On a sidetone, that’s a beautiful print.