Christian spirituality uses erotic language with regard to union with Christ God in both Baptism and Communion. Our natural desire for food is brought into spiritual contexts and we are reminded of gluttony and the poor regularly in the meal. Yet that other desire of sex remains hidden from view and remains unconditioned by our spiritual union with God. Bringing sexual desire under these conditions on a consistent basis is bound to have a profound effect on the health of marriage and this cycle of abuse we have given over to litigation rather than as a sacrifice to God. If we cannot name and express what makes us sexually aroused and even attracted to different people and different objects of desire, then the cycle of abuse will just continue. As a result the Body of Christ will continue to bear the scars of our culture and its socially mandated limitations that continue to constrict the love of God, a love that ought to exist in the very midst of our sexual union with another.
How does your church or faith approach the topic of sex? Is it open, repressed, healthy, or dysfunctional? Do you discuss and practice a theology of sexuality at all? How can we change and redirect our poor embrace of sex in the church?
Read more perspectives on religion and sexuality in the Patheos Public Square.
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Drew Tatusko is an academic administrator and grant activity director at Mount Aloysius College in Cresson, PA. He also earned M.Div. and Th.M. degrees from Princeton Theological Seminary where he also was awarded the Fellowship in Practical Theology. He is working on a Ph.D. dissertation in the study of Higher Education from Seton Hall University focusing on secularization and religiously affiliated higher education. He is also a semi-professional drummer and percussionist who has performed all over Pennsylvania, New York City, and New Jersey. He lives in Duncansville, PA. Drew also blogs regularly at Notes from Off Center.
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