{"id":22056,"date":"2019-03-07T12:05:30","date_gmt":"2019-03-07T20:05:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=22056"},"modified":"2019-03-07T12:05:30","modified_gmt":"2019-03-07T20:05:30","slug":"divine-appointment-reading-divine-sex-for-just-such-a-time-as-this","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/divine-appointment-reading-divine-sex-for-just-such-a-time-as-this\/","title":{"rendered":"Divine Appointment: Reading Divine Sex For Just Such a Time as This"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sometimes the title of a book can say a lot.\u00a0 But in the case of\u00a0Divine Sex: A Compelling Vision for Christian Relationships in a Hypersexualized Age\u00a0<\/em>by Jonathan Grant, it turns out to be a bit misleading.\u00a0 It was probably conceived as a \u201cshocking\u201d or attention-getting title, something that would catch the eye of the casual consumer.\u00a0 However, this is a much more helpful, challenging and timely book than this silly title would indicate.<\/p>\n

This book is a healthy mix of social-science research, case studies and stories, and of practical teaching around the area of human sexuality.\u00a0 Specifically, this book seeks to articulate a vision for a distinctly Christian understanding of sex and sexuality.<\/p>\n

In chapter 5, the author gives a succinct and clear working definition for a Christian understanding of sex.\u00a0 He writes, \u201cChristianity views human identity as holistic, in that our sexuality is an essential part of who we are.\u00a0 Despite attempts throughout history to place sexuality at the edge of human personhood, the doctrines of creation, incarnation, and resurrection\u2014as well as the divine blessing of marriage\u2014all affirm our embodied existence, including sexuality as essential and ongoing, although we will express it differently in the age to come.\u201d<\/a>[1]<\/p>\n

This is a great starting point for any discussion of sexuality from a Christian point of view.\u00a0It affirms the goodness of the body and says that our bodies are not just \u201cthings\u201d to consume or please, but are important parts of a larger whole.\u00a0 At the same time, this description doesn\u2019t fall into the Christian trap of overly spiritualizing sex.\u00a0 As if we lived in a Christian fairytale world, where our bodies or desires don\u2019t really matter much, which would be a kind of sexual Docetism.<\/p>\n

The author writes that \u201cchurch leaders have often failed to understand how distinctive the Christian vision of sexuality really is and to articulate this vision as a convincing alternative to secular norms.\u201d<\/a>[2]\u00a0 What are those secular norms?\u00a0 He suggests that they have to do with two keywords: \u201cacquisition <\/em>and consumption<\/em>.\u201d<\/a>[3]\u00a0In Chapter 4, the book follows the writing of James K.A. Smith on a tour of the \u201csecular liturgies\u201d<\/a>[4]that take place in the modern shopping mall.\u00a0He is describing the way that the context of the mall shapes our thinking and beliefs about what we want, what we desire, what we will pay or sacrifice to get it, and also, ultimately, how disposable it all becomes.<\/p>\n

He says, \u201cthe mall taps into legitimate human drives such as the quest for happiness, progress, and beauty, but it exploits these desires by creating a sense of insufficiency in our lives that need to be filled\u2026 as with all idolatries, consumerism is a corruption of something good.\u201d<\/a>[5]<\/p>\n

This connection between sexuality and consumerism really focuses on those words \u201cacquisition\u201d or what you can get or buy or attain, and then \u201cconsumption\u201d, where the purpose of all of this is really just your own satisfaction or enjoyment.\u00a0 These stand in stark contrast to a fully expressed Christian sense of sex.<\/p>\n

But what was most striking to me as I read these pages is how familiar it all seems.\u00a0 How right on cue much of the description in this book sounds not only for my community setting, but also for my church, our youth group and young adults, friends my age, and truly, for myself.\u00a0 This book is a helpful resource to understanding what is going on \u201cout there\u201d, but also to trying to apply it \u201cin here\u201d, in the places where I actually live and move.<\/p>\n

One application for this reading for me would be to bring some of it to various groups of our church.\u00a0This exploration of a full Christian understanding of sexuality that goes way beyond the usual thinking of our culture would be important.\u00a0 It would be good for them to hear and know, but also (maybe more importantly), for me to spend the time thinking, preparing, and learning this for myself.<\/p>\n

This title is purposefully suggestive and provocative, but it also belies the point that the topic of sex and sexuality is an uncomfortable one to many of us in the church to have in an honest way.\u00a0 It is a major part of people\u2019s lives, but because of the history of shame, guilt, secrecy, and judgment, it is hard to bring it into the light and have good teaching or discussion on this topic.<\/p>\n

Sometimes I have an honest conversation with a member of my church who is struggling in some way and some of the chapters in this book would be helpful resources for that.\u00a0 In my context, we are no longer \u201cstuck\u201d in the 1990\u2019s church purity ring\/\u201dtrue love waits\u201d milieu in which I was raised.\u00a0But the danger is that we are simply soaking in the surrounding cultural attitudes toward sex and not speaking with a zesty, distinctive Christian message.<\/p>\n

In the last chapters of this book, especially 8 and 9, Grant offers some practical ideas for how to re-position ourselves for talking about sex in church.\u00a0 He writes, \u201cour pastoral approach should be double-edged, seeking to challenge our culture\u2019s worship of sexual desire and personal fulfillment while offering a different vision of human flourishing.\u00a0 Christian formation involves both resistance\u00a0<\/em>and redirection<\/em>\u2026. Especially within our sexual lives, our hearts must be truly captivated by the goodness of the Christian vision of life, so that our whole self is drawn toward it.\u201d<\/a>[6]<\/p>\n

This is the kind of holistic Christian message that I seek for my church community, as well as for myself and my family.\u00a0 There is much to be learned from this book informationally, but there is also a lot here for those who want to be formed or even transformed by this call toward the higher goals of the Christian life.\u00a0 This includes and takes seriously all the good gifts that God gives.\u00a0 Even divine sex.<\/p>\n

<\/a>[1]Jonathan Grant,\u00a0Divine Sex: A Compelling Vision of Christian Relationships in a Hypersexualized Age\u00a0<\/em>(Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2015), 97.<\/p>\n

<\/a>[2]Jonathan Grant,\u00a0Divine Sex: A Compelling Vision of Christian Relationships in a Hypersexualized Age\u00a0<\/em>(Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2015), 63.<\/p>\n

<\/a>[3]Jonathan Grant,\u00a0Divine Sex: A Compelling Vision of Christian Relationships in a Hypersexualized Age\u00a0<\/em>(Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2015), 74.<\/p>\n

<\/a>[4]Jonathan Grant,\u00a0Divine Sex: A Compelling Vision of Christian Relationships in a Hypersexualized Age\u00a0<\/em>(Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2015), 76.<\/p>\n

<\/a>[5]Jonathan Grant,\u00a0Divine Sex: A Compelling Vision of Christian Relationships in a Hypersexualized Age\u00a0<\/em>(Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2015), 77.<\/p>\n

<\/a>[6]Jonathan Grant,\u00a0Divine Sex: A Compelling Vision of Christian Relationships in a Hypersexualized Age\u00a0<\/em>(Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2015), 186-187.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sometimes the title of a book can say a lot.\u00a0 But in the case of\u00a0Divine Sex: A Compelling Vision for Christian Relationships in a Hypersexualized Age\u00a0by Jonathan Grant, it turns out to be a bit misleading.\u00a0 It was probably conceived as a \u201cshocking\u201d or attention-getting title, something that would catch the eye of the casual […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":103,"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":[1477,1480],"class_list":["post-22056","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-grant","tag-jonathan","cohort-lgp8"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22056","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\/103"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22056"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22056\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22057,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22056\/revisions\/22057"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22056"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22056"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22056"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}