{"id":12448,"date":"2017-03-16T22:01:27","date_gmt":"2017-03-17T05:01:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dminlgp.com\/?p=12448"},"modified":"2017-03-16T22:01:27","modified_gmt":"2017-03-17T05:01:27","slug":"abc-123-or-is-it-save","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/abc-123-or-is-it-save\/","title":{"rendered":"ABC\u2026..1,2,3\u2026.or is it SAVE?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Jackson 5<\/strong> (of Michael Jackson fame) had a song in the 1970\u2019s that said: \u201cABC, it\u2019s as easy as 1-2-3, As simple as do re mi, ABC, 1-2-3, Baby you and me\u201d<\/em>.\u00a0 Oh, how times have changed.\u00a0 Now, it is not as simple as ABC or 1-2-3 or who gets to be \u201cbaby\u201d or even \u201cyou and me\u201d.\u00a0 Relationships, sexuality, morality, and normality have become quite convoluted.<\/p>\n

Throw in a Christian mindset, framework of the Holy Scripture, and you may be in for a battle on what is acceptable and non-acceptable.\u00a0 To help the concoction, mix in Adrian Thatcher\u2019s God, Sex, and Gender:\u00a0 An Introduction.\u00a0 <\/em>Thatcher\u2019s \u201cIntroduction\u201d asks two questions: \u201cWho are You?\u201d and \u201cWho am I?\u201d[1]<\/a>\u00a0 I have good bead on who I am.<\/p>\n

But who is Thatcher?\u00a0 Thatcher says, \u201cWell, no one can set aside who they are, especially if they are writing about sex and gender!\u00a0 Feminist theologians, lesbian and gay theologians, evangelical theologians, Catholic theologians (traditional and revisionist), queer theologians, and others are all writing in part of their own experiences.\u00a0 I am no exception.\u201d[2]<\/a><\/p>\n

This is where the truth flourished.\u00a0 We all write and think from our experiences, without exception.\u00a0 So, who has the right experience and standard of truth would be my next question.\u00a0 If this is a moving target, who determines how far you can more the moral boundaries and manipulate scriptures?\u00a0 Maybe the Jackson 5 were wrong!\u00a0 It is not as easy as ABC, 1-2-3!<\/p>\n

Thatcher tells us that he is \u201c\u2026male, straight, and a grandparent.\u00a0 It will become clear his sympathies generally lie with progressive or revisionist themes, as long as these are deeply rooted in traditional theological sources and doctrines.\u201d[3]<\/a>\u00a0 From this launching pad, Thatcher takes us on a journey of sexual theology and sexual history that is quite compelling and filled with blushes, if read in a mixed crowd aloud.<\/p>\n

My title comes from Thatcher\u2019s use of ABC<\/strong> = A<\/strong>bstinence; B<\/strong>eing faithful to one partner for life; Using C<\/strong>ondoms\u2026.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 SAVE<\/strong> = S<\/strong>afer practice, A<\/strong>vailable medical interventions, V<\/strong>oluntary counseling and testing, and E<\/strong>mpowerment.\u00a0 SAVE is more about public prevention policy, whereas ABC was about individuals\u2019 self-protection.\u201d[4]<\/a>\u00a0 I see the thoughts behind each, but the Jackson 5 leaned ABC.<\/p>\n

Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n

Quoting from the book may have its challenges for some.\u00a0 Using clip art in my post could result in some R-ratings in content.\u00a0 I have chosen to summarize the book by its chapters.<\/p>\n

God, Sex, and Gender:\u00a0 An Introduction<\/em> is written with five chapters:\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Part I \u2013 Sex, Gender, and Theology.\u00a0 Thatcher takes on a construct of sex, sexuality, and gender in biblical times and in late-modern Western societies showing us how churches and some theologians identify and use theological sources for thinking.<\/p>\n

Part II \u2013 Being Theological about Sex.\u00a0 Part II contains and analyses different forms of desires and links sexual desire with a desire for God (at first sounds awkward, but really it is not).\u00a0 It also looks at the concept and framework of marriage being the only place for Christians to have sex.<\/p>\n

Part III \u2013 Being Theological about Gender.\u00a0 Thatcher looks at the gender of God \u2013 masculine or feminine.\u00a0 The \u201cbody of Christ\u201d and how that relates to gender.<\/p>\n

Part IV \u2013 Being Theological about Same-Sex Love.\u00a0 Thatcher examines can long held views of same-sex relationships still be viewed the same today.\u00a0 He also examines the condemning of homosexual practice; is it justified or not.<\/p>\n

Part V \u2013 Learning to Love.\u00a0 Thatcher looks at sexual love in the eyes of virginity versus chastity, celibacy, contraception and the wedding vows.[5]<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>Analysis<\/strong><\/p>\n

I would say that ALL views on sexuality are being questioned by institutions.\u00a0 From our government to schools, to sports arenas determining which bathroom you can use, to churches being forced into abnormal choices that would have never been dreamed or imagined, we are in more than just a revolution \u2013 we are at a moral crossroads.\u00a0 I am not throwing stones because we all live in glass houses that are being impacted by these shifts.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Thatcher talks about \u201cIntersex and Transgender People\u201d.[6]<\/a> \u00a0This sounds like it is from a sci-fi, horror movie, until you know someone who is in this category.\u00a0 \u201cBy the 1930\u2019s however, \u2018medical practitioners had developed a new angle: the surgical and hormonal suppression of intersexuality.\u2019\u201d[7]<\/a>\u00a0 Yet having technology and advanced medical procedures available, it is not a panacea for success.\u00a0 Having knowledge of people in this position has been challenging for the individuals and their families.<\/p>\n

Thatcher refers to Harriet Bradley\u2019s book from 2007, Gender, <\/em>and makes the following overview, \u201cThe statements confirm that relations of gender are universal.\u00a0 <\/em>They are constructed, <\/em>like the discourse of gender that analyzes them.\u00a0 They are pervasive, <\/em>percolating down to habits of dress and speech.\u00a0 And they are mediated by institutions.\u201d[8]<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Over the last semesters, we have read books that have caused me to questions \u201cWhere do you draw the line?\u00a0 Who gets to be the one who determines where the line is?\u00a0 Is everything that is historical and dated wrong?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Last week\u2019s reading of Tanya Luhrmann\u2019s work, When God Talks Back: Understanding the American Evangelical Relationship with God,<\/em> brought us to the institutional Evangelical Church (Vineyard by flavor) and challenged us to where is the realness of God today?\u00a0 Even when it seems He is showing up and showing off.<\/p>\n

After reading the book and being open to Thatcher\u2019s research and processes, I fall closer to his \u201ccovenant\u201d analogy in Chapter 6.\u00a0 \"\"<\/a>As Thatcher made clear, \u201cA key doctrinal theme which blends together the relationship of God with the world, and the relationship of people with one another, is that of covenant\u2026\u201d[9]<\/strong><\/a><\/em>\u00a0\u00a0 We can change the language and we can improve surgeries that can alter genitalia, we can embrace oddities in relationships even if they break with traditional Christian views and interpretation of Scripture.\u00a0 But there is something to living and walking in covenant.\u00a0 God revealed Himself to us through covenants and I believe He is asking us to abide in Him and with each other and with our spouses in covenant.<\/p>\n

One of the lines in the Jackson 5 song ABC, 1-2-3 said, \u201cLet me show you what it\u2019s all about, Reading, writing, arithmetic, Are the branches of the learning tree, But listen without the roots of love everyday girl you education ain\u2019t complete.\u00a0 Teacher\u2019s gonna show you how to get a \u201cA\u201d, How to spell \u2018me\u2019, \u2018you\u2019, add the two, listen to me, baby that\u2019s all you got to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Adrian Thatcher, God, Sex, and Gender:\u00a0 An Introduction, <\/em>(West Sussex, United Kingdom:\u00a0 Wiley Blackwell, 2011 \u2013 Kindle Edition), location 144-197.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Ibid., location 172 \u2013 197.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Ibid., location 197.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Ibid., location 6846-6865.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Ibid., location 197 \u2013 226.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Ibid., location 541.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Ibid., location 512-541.<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> Ibid., location 710.<\/p>\n

[9]<\/a> Ibid., location 3018.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Introduction The Jackson 5 (of Michael Jackson fame) had a song in the 1970\u2019s that said: \u201cABC, it\u2019s as easy as 1-2-3, As simple as do re mi, ABC, 1-2-3, Baby you and me\u201d.\u00a0 Oh, how times have changed.\u00a0 Now, it is not as simple as ABC or 1-2-3 or who gets to be \u201cbaby\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[872,868,94,127,126],"class_list":["post-12448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-abc","tag-gender","tag-god","tag-sex","tag-thatcher","cohort-lgp6"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12448","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/68"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12448"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12448\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}