Comments on: Sex is God’s Way of Humbling Us

By: ric booth

ric booth — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 16:50:09 +0000

odgie, I’m trying to work it into a poem. (now what rhymes with nads…)

Larry Crabb devoted an entire chapter of one of his books on this analogy… I have to det back to you on the title later. I just remember that chapter. Vividly. duh. The rest of the book was pretty good too. I just don’t remember any of it. Or the title. (I hope Larry isn’t one of your readers John.)

cads, dads, fads, hads, lads… two lads?

By: odgie

odgie — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 22:01:41 +0000

"And voila! Gonads."

I have got to work that line into the next Bible study or class I teach.

By: Sex reminds us? « Significana

Sex reminds us? « Significana — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 15:31:10 +0000

[...] a comment » John Shore at Suddenly Christian writes about Sex yesterday. Sex as a metaphor for God. For those with strong drives this will certainly hit a [...]

By: R. Eric Sawyer

R. Eric Sawyer — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 14:53:33 +0000

Two of the interesting things about sex for me (and there are PLENTY of interesting things!)in relationship to God are that the line between selfishness and giving becomes so blurred (when everthing is going right) as to almost evaporate: to give is to receive. Seeking my own pleasure gives pleasure. Seeking my partner's delight is delightful beyond expression. Aside from reflections on all Jesus' moral teaching, this leads me into a contemplation of how marriage is like the Trinity; in particular, how when my wife and I are most united, most "one" we are also intensly individual. We often (usually?) fall far short. But it comes right often enough that we can see the heights from where we are, and taste the fruit. It starts to become a little clearer about being plural, and yet united: a "Plural-Unity" neither confusing the persons nor dividing the essence.

I think this understanding of relationship, which Theologically is painted in the doctrine of the Trinity, and experientially in fully sexual marriage, is close to the core of God's ultimate design for all people in the Kingdom of Heaven. It is not for shallow reasons that the marriage metaphor is used for the church as the "bride of Christ." Nor is it by accident that so many non or pre-Christian religions had a sexual component. Even "through a glass darkly" something of the significance of sexuality was apparent.

By: John Shore

John Shore — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 10:54:52 +0000

Judy: Yeah, for some reason your comment yesterday ended up being marked as Spam. Sorry I didn't check that folder sooner.

I didn't actually mean that people can't think about sex without going "bonkers." I just meant that the GENERAL idea of people's sexuality—the whole of it—tends, in the main, to be something too core to people's very being to be subject to much if any rational control.

By: Judy

Judy — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 10:49:09 +0000

Ah, you changed the title. I commented earlier, but it didn't show up.

Colleen, I like that story.

John, I don't think everyone goes bonkers when they think about sex. Men and women are definitely wired differently. Sex is powerful and a gift from God, to be sure. I think about it, but I'm not consummed by it. Quoting Charles Stanley, "God designed us with a desire for intimacy—to connect, to know and be known. " Not only with our mates, but with God. Sex and God go together, but I can't say when thinking about sex, I've thought about God at the same time. Well, rarely, anyway! Interesting piece.

By: John Shore

John Shore — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 06:59:13 +0000

Free: No, I'm not saying that at all. Nice thought!—but, alas, not mine. I'm saying … well, what I said. But maybe I wasn't clear enough about it.

By: FreetoBe

FreetoBe — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 06:54:52 +0000

To answer your last question, Mara, NO. To expand, if you are in a loving, committed relationship, sex need never be impersonal. It's warm, wonderful, and brings you as close to another human being as you will ever be.

John, I'm having a hard time wrapping my thoughts around this one. Are you comparing the closeness and intimacy of sex with another person to God's desire to show us, in just a miniscule amount, of what He feels for us? That's just way out there…..I'll be thinking of this for a long time today.

By: Christine

Christine — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 19:16:26 +0000

Yeah, totally agree. You will never know everything there is to know about sex or God, and woefully we are lost in both areas

By: Mara

Mara — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 18:42:09 +0000

Wow, that’s a pretty broad statement, that all of us are driven bonkers by sex. Makes me feel very fortunate to be female and in my late 30s. I was married for many years, and enjoyed the sex while we were married. I even thought of myself as addicted to sex for most of those years, and wondered what I would do if I lost him. Well, I did, and the fact is, I rarely think about sex anymore. I have a life full of meaning, purpose, intellectual challenges, friendships, coworkers, etc. Sex is such a small part of my life anymore. Every so often, maybe every two weeks, something will remind me of what it used to be like, but it doesn’t cause any kind of craziness, just a quiet stirring, and is easily quenched.

To tell you the truth, looking back on my marriage, a large part of the time my sex drive was more of a desire to be loved, than actual lust. I think that a lot of women give into sexual advances out of a need to be desired, adored and loved, rather than the sheer desire for sex that men have. What do you say, women. Isn’t it more of a feeling of needing to be loved than needing pure, impersonal sex?