For those extremely bored, my thesis, Just Sex: Sexual Ethics for Twentyfirst Century Christians, is now available online through digital commons. Here is the abstract:
This thesis addressed nonmarital sex from a Christian perspective. It questioned the traditional rule of “no sex before marriage” and attempted to define a broader guideline for moral sex that is not dependent on one's marital status. It drew upon five sources for ethical reflection: Scripture, tradition, secular knowledge, experience, and moral discernment. By examining the Biblical commandments concerning sex, this thesis found that the inspiration behind many of the commandments limiting sex to marriage is androcentric and patriarchal. Because of this, the commandments should no longer be accepted with little reflection. Drawing on James Nelson's work, the importance of mutuality and proportionality in relationships was developed. Proportionality presumes that the level of sexual activity in a relationship is commensurate with the level of commitment. Mutuality combined with proportionality provide the foundation for an ethic that allows for nonmarital sex so long as these two concepts are present.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Monday, January 16, 2012
Romanticizing Outliers
So I've been watching a lot of How I Met Your Mother since Christmas break started. Netflix streaming has revolutionized watching TV. How else could you watch an entire 6 seasons worth of TV in a couple weeks? (Well OK, my wife watched 6 seasons of Bones in about 1 week -- but she made it a full time job. She doesn't read my blog so I can say that :)).
I love the show. Very funny. Neil Patrick Harris is great. But here's the problem: these people drink a ton and have a lot of sex. And I just said NPH is great -- he has the most sex. As an adult, I watch the program and I realize how silly those parts of it are. But at times while I stream it my teenage stepsons watch with me. And it occurs to me: do they think this is what REAL adults do? Are they going to think that people like Barney really are cool? Or that drinking a lot everyday is normal? That kind of scares me.
Surely there are people that drink that much and have that many sexual partners, but they're outside of the bell curve. They're outliers. Does the curve shift, though, if the bell thinks those outliers are "normal"? Some research shows it does. Market studies on sex on campus are an example (see Premarital Sex in America and here). But if we don't romanticize outliers, who are we going to romanticize? Life inside the bell simply isn't exciting enough, now is it? ;)
I love the show. Very funny. Neil Patrick Harris is great. But here's the problem: these people drink a ton and have a lot of sex. And I just said NPH is great -- he has the most sex. As an adult, I watch the program and I realize how silly those parts of it are. But at times while I stream it my teenage stepsons watch with me. And it occurs to me: do they think this is what REAL adults do? Are they going to think that people like Barney really are cool? Or that drinking a lot everyday is normal? That kind of scares me.
Surely there are people that drink that much and have that many sexual partners, but they're outside of the bell curve. They're outliers. Does the curve shift, though, if the bell thinks those outliers are "normal"? Some research shows it does. Market studies on sex on campus are an example (see Premarital Sex in America and here). But if we don't romanticize outliers, who are we going to romanticize? Life inside the bell simply isn't exciting enough, now is it? ;)
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Book Review: Blessed to Follow by Martha E. Stortz
To see my used books for sale, click here.
I have run across Stortz's writing before in The Promise of Lutheran Ethics and Faithful Conversations. Her contributions to both were among my favorite essays in each collection. So I added Blessed to Follow: The Beatitudes as a Compass for Discipleship to my Christmas list. Not only did I like Stortz from what I had read previously, but the Sermon on the Mount is central to my faith.
This book is from the Lutheran Voices series which offers shorter, easy to read, and easy to use in group study resources for congregations and individuals. It's also priced right. Of the 10 chapters in this book, three stood out for me. The Introduction is an excellent introduction to Lutheran theology and cites Luther quite a bit given it few pages it takes up. The chapter on "blessed are those who mourn" and "blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake" stand out as well not only for their theological insights, but for the personal narratives Stortz weaves into her writing. In many ways, she reminds me of Dorothee Soelle who is able to draw upon medieval poetry and 60s folk music in the same paragraph.
There was one glaring omission. In the "blessed are the peacemakers" chapter, Stortz avoids war and peacemaking almost entirely, deciding instead to focus on interpersonal peace. This is certainly important and central to discipleship, but peace on the national and international level is equally important. I suppose the literature already available on pacifism and peacemaking is already substantial, but a nod to these works could have been sufficient to note how important the cessation of war is to this beatitude.
This subject also raises a few interesting questions for me. Is Jesus's salvific power found in his life or in his death and resurrection? Should we focus on his 3 years of earthly ministry or on his 3 days in death's bondage? I admit this is probably a false dilemma. After all, as Bonhoeffer points out, following the Sermon on the Mount inevitably leads to the cross. But where should our focus be: on attempting as best we can to place our faith in Jesus's message -- the one that preaches the beatitudes, or attempting to place our faith in the cross? I imagine a well-developed personal spirituality would resolve the apparent dichotomy. But I wouldn't know -- I'm developing as opposed to developed.
I have run across Stortz's writing before in The Promise of Lutheran Ethics and Faithful Conversations. Her contributions to both were among my favorite essays in each collection. So I added Blessed to Follow: The Beatitudes as a Compass for Discipleship to my Christmas list. Not only did I like Stortz from what I had read previously, but the Sermon on the Mount is central to my faith.
This book is from the Lutheran Voices series which offers shorter, easy to read, and easy to use in group study resources for congregations and individuals. It's also priced right. Of the 10 chapters in this book, three stood out for me. The Introduction is an excellent introduction to Lutheran theology and cites Luther quite a bit given it few pages it takes up. The chapter on "blessed are those who mourn" and "blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake" stand out as well not only for their theological insights, but for the personal narratives Stortz weaves into her writing. In many ways, she reminds me of Dorothee Soelle who is able to draw upon medieval poetry and 60s folk music in the same paragraph.
There was one glaring omission. In the "blessed are the peacemakers" chapter, Stortz avoids war and peacemaking almost entirely, deciding instead to focus on interpersonal peace. This is certainly important and central to discipleship, but peace on the national and international level is equally important. I suppose the literature already available on pacifism and peacemaking is already substantial, but a nod to these works could have been sufficient to note how important the cessation of war is to this beatitude.
This subject also raises a few interesting questions for me. Is Jesus's salvific power found in his life or in his death and resurrection? Should we focus on his 3 years of earthly ministry or on his 3 days in death's bondage? I admit this is probably a false dilemma. After all, as Bonhoeffer points out, following the Sermon on the Mount inevitably leads to the cross. But where should our focus be: on attempting as best we can to place our faith in Jesus's message -- the one that preaches the beatitudes, or attempting to place our faith in the cross? I imagine a well-developed personal spirituality would resolve the apparent dichotomy. But I wouldn't know -- I'm developing as opposed to developed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)