{"id":17369,"date":"2018-04-05T21:03:29","date_gmt":"2018-04-06T04:03:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=17369"},"modified":"2018-04-06T16:18:44","modified_gmt":"2018-04-06T23:18:44","slug":"god-wants-you-to-be-healthy-wealthy-and-sexually-fulfilled","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/god-wants-you-to-be-healthy-wealthy-and-sexually-fulfilled\/","title":{"rendered":"God wants you to be Healthy, Wealthy, and Sexually Fulfilled"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Last year I wrote more than one article about prosperity theology.\u00a0 Some of the books that our doctoral cohort has read touched on the subject.\u00a0 These included <strong><em>Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics<\/em><\/strong> by Ross Douthat and <strong><em>Nation of Rebels, Why Counterculture Became Consumer Culture<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0by Joseph Heath and Andrew Potter.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>It is no secret that I am not a fan of prosperity theology.\u00a0 The \u201chealth and wealth\u201d gospel is counter to my understanding of the message and example of Christ.\u00a0 It amazes me how prosperity theologians could take certain scriptures like John 14:14 (\u201cYou may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it\u201d) and make a case that God is a cosmic Genie\u2026 waiting for you to ask for that new Mercedes.\u00a0 At the same time, they seem to ignore other verses like Matthew 6:19 (\u201cDo not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven\u2026\u201d). It is clear that these theologians begin with a goal in mind (justification of getting rich off of peoples offerings) and reinterpret the scriptures in order to come up with a \u201cbiblical\u201d justification for their greed.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>My mind kept coming back my assessment of prosperity preachers as I read this weeks\u2019 book: <strong>God, Sex, and Gender: An Introduction<\/strong> by Adrian Thatcher.\u00a0 Before I delve into my critique, let me give you some positive reflections that I have about this book.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Thatcher is clearly brilliant. His knowledge of history, sociology, and theology is obvious.\u00a0 He is a clear and engaging writer.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>There is an absence of serious theological works on human sexuality and gender. This is really amazing because gender issues and sexuality issues are some of the hottest topics in our society.\u00a0 These topics are frequently discussed in the media, popular culture, and our legal system.\u00a0 Yet, courses in human sexuality \/ gender issues are traditionally not core requirements for most seminary degrees. \u00a0\u00a0Some preachers avoid preaching on the subject because it is so controversial.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>This book has some valuable insights. The concept of only \u201cone sex\u201d in ancient thought was intriguing and, to be honest, I am still processing the implications of this paradigm.\u00a0 The historical understanding of sexuality and gender was fascinating. \u00a0Most college history classes don\u2019t cover these issues.\u00a0 \u00a0It was clear that Dr. Thatcher is an accomplished researcher.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>I also appreciated Thatcher\u2019s honesty as he began the book. He writes that his \u201csympathies generally lie with progressive or revisionist themes\u2026\u201d (introduction. x). This book is not a \u201cbait and switch.\u201d\u00a0 He does not claim to give an unbiased overview. \u00a0In this book, he clearly states his beliefs that the traditional views of sexuality and gender need revising.\u00a0 Thatcher\u2019s view of sexuality is one where past Biblical restrictions are seen as outdated.\u00a0 While lessons can be learned from these passages, they are not authoritative in today\u2019s context.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Finally, I want to be clear that I am not an accomplished theologian, especially in the area of human sexuality and gender issues. Having said that, there are many brilliant theologians out there who do take a more traditional approach to these issues.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>With all of these things in mind, Thatcher\u2019s book felt like he started with his conclusions and worked backwards.\u00a0 The following are my summaries of some of Thatcher\u2019s ideas:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>People are getting married much later in life. It is unreasonable for young Christians to remain sexually chaste until they marry.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Engaged couples are very committed to one another. When they have sex, it is not the same as casual sex.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Since so many people in our society get divorced, the church should revise its expectations of a marriage as being \u201cto death do we part.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Many people in our society do not identify as heterosexual. God is loving and just.\u00a0 It is neither fair nor loving for the church to restrict LGBT people from sex and marriage.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Biblical restrictions in regard to sexuality were written in the context of a society that existed thousands of years ago. Instead of embracing these outdated restrictions, these issues need to be reevaluated in the context of the major themes of the Bible&#8211;love, justice, freedom, and grace).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>While Thatcher did a very thorough job in making his case, the book reminded me of prosperity theology in that certain verses that reinforced the author\u2019s bias were lifted up, and verses that countered his bias were explained away.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Having said that, I want to be careful that I am not guilty of the same thing.\u00a0 If I hold to a traditional view of human sexuality, am I completely closed to considering Thatcher\u2019s ideas?\u00a0 I hope not.\u00a0 If I fail to take seriously the theological arguments of people I disagree with, I learn nothing.\u00a0 Our theology, if it is to mean something, should be tested and examined with the understanding that no one person on this planet has perfect theology.\u00a0 In regards to our theology, I believe that each of us will arrive in Heaven and say \u201cWow, I really got that one wrong!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Yet, my understanding of following Jesus is very different than many Christians in our society.\u00a0 I am sure that part of this is my upbringing.\u00a0 I a part of Generation X, a generation known for being risk-takers and trailblazers. I was influenced as a teen by many who lived and taught that the radical Christian lifestyle was the normal Christian lifestyle.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Keith Green, Jesus People USA, Winkie Pratney, \u00a0Brother Andrew, and Tony Campolo were all influences in my teenage years. In college, I was a part of a group of students who spent our Friday nights ministering to the homeless while other students were out partying.\u00a0 I spent all of my college summer breaks doing ministry in places like the Philippines and England. \u00a0I got to know Christians who had suffered for their faith.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>More recently, I have been influenced by the house church movement in China in the 1970s and 1980s.\u00a0 I have read many books and watched testimonies of Christians who were tortured and killed for their faith.\u00a0 I think about China\u2019s Brother Yun who was arrested on his wedding day and his wife entered their marriage with a crisis instead of a honeymoon.\u00a0 \u00a0I reflect on my trips to Laos when I met many Christians who were arrested for their faith.\u00a0 I think about my friend M. (<em>name withheld<\/em>) who gave up her affluent life in southern California because she fell in love with a Christian Lao pastor\u2026 she now lives in a bamboo hut in very meager circumstances.\u00a0 I could go on and on about the refugees, missionaries, and seminary students that are a constant inspiration to me of what a \u201cnormal\u201d Christian life is supposed to be like\u2026a life that says \u201call to Jesus, I surrender.\u00a0 All to Him I freely give.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>God did not promise that we would be rich, healthy, or sexually fulfilled in this world. \u00a0The &#8220;normal&#8221; Christian life is about dying to self&#8230;not about demanding our rights.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>On the other hand, I have seen many examples of &#8220;Christians&#8221; who have focused their lives on personal happiness and sexual fulfillment.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>I have known men and women who have cheated on their spouses when they did not get their sexual needs met.\u00a0 It has become the norm for a Christian couple to live together before becoming married.\u00a0 There are Christians I know who have married, divorced, and remarried numerous times.\u00a0 It is not uncommon to hear that a pastor was able to keep his job even though he had a child out of wedlock or was caught with a prostitute. \u00a0One man I know sat his wife and children down and told them that God had revealed to him that he was born gay, and he was leaving them to live the life that God created him to live.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>If you hold to a revisionist theological view of human sexuality, things that were unthinkable in the past are now permissible (or at least excusable). \u00a0As much as I would like God\u2019s standards to be altered to meet my expectations, I believe that God\u2019s \u201cnormal\u201d expectations are radical in our current culture.\u00a0 We are called to be a peculiar people (1 Peter 2:9) and living for Jesus is sometimes really difficult.\u00a0 God promises us joy, but He does not promise health and wealth&#8230;or sexual fulfillment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; Last year I wrote more than one article about prosperity theology.\u00a0 Some of the books that our doctoral cohort has read touched on the subject.\u00a0 These included Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics by Ross Douthat and Nation of Rebels, Why Counterculture Became Consumer Culture\u00a0by Joseph Heath and Andrew Potter. &nbsp; [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":87,"featured_media":17371,"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":[868,94,127,957,1224],"class_list":["post-17369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-gender","tag-god","tag-sex","tag-stu-cocanougher","tag-the-sevens-are-ready-to-write-a-book","cohort-lgp7"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17369","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\/87"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17369"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17369\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17406,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17369\/revisions\/17406"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17371"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}