Pastor Thabiti Anyabwile has just posted a quick bit at his Gospel Coalition blog, the blog being called Pure Church and the post The Artistry of Sex Forgotten in the World. In it he says that sex is supposed to beget not only children, but artistry. I find it interesting that he doesn’t say “fun” or “joy” or “recreation” or “communion”. He says “artistry”.
I would absolutely love to read your comments on the worth of that statement. Half of his post was this Francis Schaeffer quote:
How often do Christians think of sexual matters as something second-rate. Never, never, never should we do so according to the Word of God. The whole man is made to love God; each aspect of man’s nature is to be given its proper place. That includes the sexual relationship, that tremendous relationship of one man to one woman. At the very beginning God brought Eve to man. A love poem can thus be beautiful. So if you are a young man or a young woman and you love a girl or you love a boy, you may indeed write beautiful love poetry. Don’t be afraid. That too can be praise to God. And when the two people are Christians it can be a conscious doxology (Art and the Bible).
Given that I recently posted an erotic poem at my blog, you will not be surprised to know that such words please me. What is your degree of comfort with such things? Do find them to be a good at all? The response to my poem at the blog and on social media platforms was all positive, those who didn’t like it presumably maintaining a kind silence.
But there was one dude whose response was “uuunsubscribe”.
So what do you think? Can your sex be a doxology? Can your love poetry be a doxology? Or am I just being silly?<>
I would definitely agree with you!
Whenever we turn to the scriptures on the subject of sex we find striking words. In some cases the sexual union is seen as a great mystery (Eph. 5), in other places it is exalted in poetry (Song of Solomon), and, from a negative light, the abuse of this topic is given the highest regard of warning (1 Corinthians).
A subject of such a comprehensive scope should undoubtedly be a subject that great artist should be able to create great art about.
The problem in our day is that we have lost a Christian understanding of art. By and large Christians have adopted popular culture and tried to paint a Christian veneer over it. The result has been mainly vague and vulgar when Christians try to address sexuality through the same lens that popular culture does. Christian pastors often practice “one-up-menship” trying to outdo the culture’s idea of sexual delight.
Even though Biblical sexuality does truly “One-up” the sexuality of popular culture, it does so in ways completely averse to the sensibilities of popular culture. It does so by casting an air of sacredness, mystery, and uniqueness around sexuality. Popular culture, to the contrary, exalts sexuality through mass production.
Thanks for the post!
Michael Hansen
Twitter: _Michael_Hansen
Blog: MichaelAlanHansen.WordPress.com
Um, Thabiti made his point tastefully. You. Not so much. Do you really think Schaeffer meant that you should share your poetry with the world? I’m in the middle of reading my second book of letters by Edith Schaeffer, and amazingly so, she doesn’t share the private details of her love life with Fran, as she called him. Nor does she share any erotic poetry he might have written her to make a point that sex is beautiful. Your sharing of your poem reminds me of the Reformed young men I once knew who liked to drink beer and smoke their pipes in front of the church–just because they could. I think that behavior and yours are immaturity at its finest, and it’s certainly not behavior I’d want my sons to imitate. May they abundantly enjoy the wives of their youth, but may they not sketch out the details for all the world to see. What amazes me is the presence of pastors on this blog, and yet, none evidently felt the need to counsel you regarding discretion. Sex is beautiful, and it’s a beauty to be shared between man and wife, and there’s a beauty in the mystery that is shared just between the two. As Jane Austen would say, “Badly done. Badly done.”
Well, since you’ve spoken bluntly, I will speak bluntly. That’s ridiculous. I’m not handing out my poetry in the church narthex; I’m posting it on blogs. I don’t smoke in front of the church, but I do smoke publicly. My marriage, like all marriages, is a public sexual relationship.
Have you read John Donne? Do you despise John Donne?
Or Shakespeare or Dante or Song of Solomon or Canterbury Tales…