Thursday, October 09, 2003
(11:51 AM) | Adam Kotsko:
God and sex
In Genesis, after the destruction of Sodom, Lot's two daughters get their father drunk and take turns sleeping with him, believing that they have no other opportunity to have children. One of their children becomes the father of the nation of Moab. In the book of Ruth, the title character is a descendent of this product of incest, and she is inserted into the line of David, and thus, in terms of the New Testament, into the line of Jesus.
Later in Genesis, Judah's son dies, leaving his wife, Tamar, childless. His other son, Onan, sleeps with his sister-in-law but refuses to get her pregnant, as was the custom of the day. Realizing that she is getting the run-around, Tamar dresses up as a prostitute and seduces her father-in-law, getting pregnant by him. Her son is in the line of David, and thus in the line of Jesus.
In Joshua, two spies go to a brothel, where they meet a prostitute, Rahab, who knows about the crossing of the Red Sea and realizes that her city is doomed. According to rabbinic tradition, she knew about this because there wasn't a prince in the region who hadn't been with Rahab. She is saved when Jericho is destroyed, and she, too, becomes part of the line of Jesus.
Then, when Jesus was actually alive, he spent a big chunk of his time hanging out with prostitutes, and he chose to reveal himself to a Samaritan woman who had been in a string of failed marriages. He saves from stoning a woman who was clearly guilty of adultery. The first person who sees him after his resurrection is a woman who was formerly demon-possessed and who is certainly not married. He encourages people to abandon their families, men and women alike, and dismisses one potential disciple as a coward for wanting to do his duty toward his father. Although his love for all his disciples is as deep as love can be, he still singles out one male disciple who is designated as "the disciple whom Jesus loved," with whom he has a relationship that includes physical affection that straight men in our day would never show to each other.
So it's pretty clear to me, from all this overwhelming evidence, that one of God's biggest priorities is to make sure we have sex in the right way. In fact, making sure that everyone fits into a particular mold in sexual practice is perhaps the most important and most foundational aspect of Christian morality. Certain behaviors are clearly so far beyond the pale that God would at least turn a blind eye to the murder of people practicing that, and certainly would not allow them to remain in the church or have leadership roles.
"Your name is Sex, and against this rock I will shatter my church."
