{"id":37414,"date":"2024-04-11T17:29:13","date_gmt":"2024-04-12T00:29:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=37414"},"modified":"2024-04-11T17:32:59","modified_gmt":"2024-04-12T00:32:59","slug":"the-triumph-of-the-erotic-and-therapeut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/the-triumph-of-the-erotic-and-therapeut\/","title":{"rendered":"The Triumph of the Erotic & Therapeutic"},"content":{"rendered":"

Carl L. Trueman, as a professor of biblical and religious studies, provides a commendable analysis of our culture and its current views on sexuality in his book <\/span>The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self<\/span><\/i>. [1] He paints a history of how pornography has impacted how we now think and behave in the chapter entitled \u201cThe Triumph of the Erotic and the Triumph of the Therapeutic.\u201d Whoever has the power to define words and make legal decisions based on these definitions has the power in our society, Trueman argues. Due to our \u201cculture of psychologized selfhood and an ethics based on personal happiness,\u201d \u201cthe key issue is not philosophical consistency in the interpretation and application of the law but the therapeutic result that needs to be achieved by any plausible means necessary.\u201d[2] So what does he mean by \u201ctherapeutic result\u201d?<\/span><\/p>\n

In the chapter on the Triumph of the Therapeutic, the author brings little definition to the word \u201ctherapeutic.\u201d Greater definition of this word would have helped readers understand the different ideas he proposes. I believe he interprets this word to mean how people define themselves, what he calls this \u201cexpressive individualism.\u201d [3] In a therapist’s office there is a driving force for the individual who deems what is best for them personally, and this is what is widely accepted as what is \u201cbest\u201d or the cause for the greatest good.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So what is the greatest good and how do we evaluate this \u201cexpressive individualism\u201d?\u00a0 In this blog I will look to ancient wisdom for a better definition of relational terms, explain how we traumatize ourselves personally, and pinpoint the missing ingredient of intimacy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ancient Wisdom<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I would assert that what is most therapeutic can be found in the Old Testament in Leviticus 19:18: \u201clove your neighbor as yourself, I am the Lord.\u201d In this command, the individual’s role in human relationships is addressed. God\u2019s commandment provides a dynamic \u201cinterdependent relating.\u201d First, God is the one giving this command in how relationships are to work; clearly He is the ultimate authority. Second, the individual is being charged with seeing him\/herself as the other. We can conclude then that we must take into account God\u2019s command and the others’ best interest. How is a person to have God as the authority and considering the other first?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Personal Trauma<\/b><\/p>\n

Having an honest evaluation of how we love God, ourselves and others has great value. I believe it is personally damaging when we are not honest with ourselves when exercising or demonstrating love in relationships. Often, we are unable to make an honest evaluation due to the choices we have made.\u00a0 Sometimes an honest evaluation is difficult due to the trauma we have suffered. A woman who has undergone an abortion may be a good example of this. Trueman gives a good idea of having to look honestly in evaluating a child in the womb. \u201cSonograms have significantly changed attitudes to abortion: they have not changed the nature of the child in the woman, but they have changed the aesthetic experience of such children by adults.\u201d [4]\u00a0 How we choose to treat the unborn child is important as it relates to how we love God, ourselves, and others. If a woman chooses to abort her baby, she traumatizes her relationship with herself. Similarly, a \u201cdetachment of sex from interpersonal narrative\u201d will create personal pain.\u00a0 Pornography presents a similar pain. [5] If we are honest with ourselves, we will admit to not wanting sex with detachment. We incur personal injury when we think that pornography will not have consequences, personally and in our relationships. We need to stop self-harming by having a healthy view of God, self, and others. Liberation and fulfillment will come when we embrace responsibility and self sacrifice.<\/span><\/p>\n

Intimacy is missing<\/b><\/p>\n

Narcissism can be defined as \u201cself importance, antagonism, and sense of entitlement.\u201d [6]\u00a0 If narcissism is rooted in a person’s personality and ways of thinking and behaving, true intimacy is extinguished. Intimacy is a feeling of closeness and sense of attachment to another person. In the therapy office, I am grieved to know that couples are choosing to let pornography into their lives. They struggle to see it as an imposter in their relationship when it has become an accepted menace. Trueman quotes Roger Scruton who encourages \u201creal sexual encounters” which are \u201cinterpersonal.\u201d [7] True intimacy can not be found if sex is \u201call about the individual and what personal satisfaction and pleasure he or she can derive from it without reference to other.\u201d [8]\u00a0 Intimacy begins in discovering what will demonstrate the most love for the other person, this can be by seeing a baby in the mothers womb, loving one’s partner unconditionally, or by talking with God.\u00a0 In the counseling office, I attempt to strengthen a foundation of trust and commitment in relationships, promote negotiation and compromise as operative interventions, and propose forgiveness and kind communication for intimacy.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1] Carl R. Trueman, <\/span>The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution<\/span><\/i> (Crossway: Illinois), 2020<\/span><\/p>\n

[2] Ibid. p.307<\/span><\/p>\n

[3] Ibid. p.302<\/span><\/p>\n

[4] Ibid. p.317<\/span><\/p>\n

[5] Ibid. p.290<\/span><\/p>\n

[6] W. Keith Campbell, <\/span>The New Science of Narcissism <\/span><\/i>(Sounds True: Colorado),2022. p.6<\/span><\/p>\n

[7] Carl R. Trueman, <\/span>The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution<\/span><\/i> (Crossway: Illinois), 2020\u00a0 p.289<\/span><\/p>\n

[8] Ibid. p.289<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Carl L. Trueman, as a professor of biblical and religious studies, provides a commendable analysis of our culture and its current views on sexuality in his book The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self. [1] He paints a history of how pornography has impacted how we now think and behave in the chapter entitled […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":165,"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":[2454,3185],"class_list":["post-37414","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-carl-trueman","tag-pornography","cohort-dlgp01"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37414","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\/165"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37414"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37414\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37417,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37414\/revisions\/37417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}