Tired of Politics? How about sex??
Well, I have been waiting for the right motivation to pen another socially relevant blog, but there haven’t been any major political debates to ignite the passion within. So, how can I still be interesting? What sensational or taboo topic could I come up with to stir the pot?
I know a topic sure to be quite thought provoking and emotional: the subject of sex. Don’t get me wrong, I am a big time supporter and proponent of sex. Honestly, I think one of the failings of many churches, indeed even many families, is the “taboo” of talking openly about sex.
There are so many topics and viewpoints on sex this could turn into a series of blogs. But, first I will begin by writing about the stigma the topic gets today from so many in the religious community and how many academics and educators are ruining our society (with their treatment of sex) as well. There needs to be balance on the topic given its elevated importance in our culture, and much like the political arena today, it is a topic which breeds extremism. So, I will try and walk the line (or maybe the plank in some people’s eyes).
I will begin with the church side of things, since that side of the aisle is where my seat will be found. Please Christians, get over it. Sex is not the big dirty 3-letter word you make it out to be. God created sex. It was His idea. He designed it. So, if God designed it, can it really be nasty, dirty and vile? No, it is mankind’s perversion of the gift which makes it unseemly sometimes. So, what do we do in church? Bury it. Never talk about it. Stick your head in the sand and pretend it isn’t there. This is why we are doing ourselves a HUGE disservice.
Think sex isn’t mentioned graphically in the Bible? Read Exekiel 23:19-21.
Yet she became more and more promiscuous as she recalled the days of her youth, when she was a prostitute in Egypt. There she lusted after her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of horses. So you longed for the lewdness of your youth, when in Egypt your bosom was caressed and your young breasts fondled.
Wow! That is more graphic than most cable movies.
If we don’t talk openly about sex, where do you think your children are going to get their information? I can tell you: from their friends, from movies and television, from biology teachers, and from the internet. For the record, none of those are good sources.
Now, before any Puritans or supremely devout Christians out there get their collective panties in a wad, I am not advocating weekly sermons on sex. I am not suggesting we start teaching 4-year olds about the birds and the bees. But, we need to be open and willing to talk with our kids about sex.
For the purposes of this blog, I am not going to tackle the discussion of what to say and when, that might be a whole book. I may come back in some other blogs and try and espouse my own views. I just think so many churchgoers treat the entire topic as dirty and taboo, and that is just simply wrong.
Now, before I close this blog out, I have to bring the word guns to bear on the other side of the street: educators, activists and other non-Christian groups which seek to deliver sex education in the schools and community using ONLY their views. Thanks for making sex something so benign, clinical and certainly not something to be treasured (Yes that is sarcasm, about the size of Texas). What I really want to say is “Sit down and shut the #$%@ up!”
Am I totally against sex education in schools? No. But, it has to be done the right way. How many of you remember those discussions? Everyone snickered over the clinical terms for the various body parts. When your biology teacher described the act itself, it sounded as exciting as changing a spare tire and really nobody got much of any value out of it. The schools deal only with the mechanics of sex. Nothing about the emotional (and heaven forbid: spiritual) aspect and this dooms them to failure. Sex is not simply a physical activity like walking on a treadmill.
If you are going to actually discuss the topic, make it an ‘optional’ topic and well, talk about it honestly, with some actual emotion involved. If educators spoke about sex ed the way they do “global climate change” think of how much more interesting and meaningful the discussions might be.
Now, I will admit this idea has its hurdles. Most meaningful goals have obstacles and roadblocks. But for crying out loud, we need to do something!
Look talking about sex isn’t just designed to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies or reduce the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. Quite honestly, the bigger problem is how our society views sex itself. There can be no doubt our culture treats having sex as no big deal anymore, and I will argue to my last breath that is contributing greatly to the decline of our society and the further erosion of the family in America.
So my fellow Christians, wake up. At least the schools realize there is an elephant in the room so to speak. We have to be willing to cover the topic somewhere. You know the schools will not address the spiritual element, and certainly if you want to have your kids make the right choices, you have to talk to them at home and get some reinforcement somewhere. Why not the church?
Okay, I need to stop somewhere. For now, I have thrown down a few thoughts. I will likely come back later and find some colorful comments or find a Facebook friend or two has gone and left the reservation. But for now, I imagine I have stirred the pot. Discussion must begin somewhere. So, now is everyone ready for me to go back to politics? ;-)
I know a topic sure to be quite thought provoking and emotional: the subject of sex. Don’t get me wrong, I am a big time supporter and proponent of sex. Honestly, I think one of the failings of many churches, indeed even many families, is the “taboo” of talking openly about sex.
There are so many topics and viewpoints on sex this could turn into a series of blogs. But, first I will begin by writing about the stigma the topic gets today from so many in the religious community and how many academics and educators are ruining our society (with their treatment of sex) as well. There needs to be balance on the topic given its elevated importance in our culture, and much like the political arena today, it is a topic which breeds extremism. So, I will try and walk the line (or maybe the plank in some people’s eyes).
I will begin with the church side of things, since that side of the aisle is where my seat will be found. Please Christians, get over it. Sex is not the big dirty 3-letter word you make it out to be. God created sex. It was His idea. He designed it. So, if God designed it, can it really be nasty, dirty and vile? No, it is mankind’s perversion of the gift which makes it unseemly sometimes. So, what do we do in church? Bury it. Never talk about it. Stick your head in the sand and pretend it isn’t there. This is why we are doing ourselves a HUGE disservice.
Think sex isn’t mentioned graphically in the Bible? Read Exekiel 23:19-21.
Yet she became more and more promiscuous as she recalled the days of her youth, when she was a prostitute in Egypt. There she lusted after her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of horses. So you longed for the lewdness of your youth, when in Egypt your bosom was caressed and your young breasts fondled.
Wow! That is more graphic than most cable movies.
If we don’t talk openly about sex, where do you think your children are going to get their information? I can tell you: from their friends, from movies and television, from biology teachers, and from the internet. For the record, none of those are good sources.
Now, before any Puritans or supremely devout Christians out there get their collective panties in a wad, I am not advocating weekly sermons on sex. I am not suggesting we start teaching 4-year olds about the birds and the bees. But, we need to be open and willing to talk with our kids about sex.
For the purposes of this blog, I am not going to tackle the discussion of what to say and when, that might be a whole book. I may come back in some other blogs and try and espouse my own views. I just think so many churchgoers treat the entire topic as dirty and taboo, and that is just simply wrong.
Now, before I close this blog out, I have to bring the word guns to bear on the other side of the street: educators, activists and other non-Christian groups which seek to deliver sex education in the schools and community using ONLY their views. Thanks for making sex something so benign, clinical and certainly not something to be treasured (Yes that is sarcasm, about the size of Texas). What I really want to say is “Sit down and shut the #$%@ up!”
Am I totally against sex education in schools? No. But, it has to be done the right way. How many of you remember those discussions? Everyone snickered over the clinical terms for the various body parts. When your biology teacher described the act itself, it sounded as exciting as changing a spare tire and really nobody got much of any value out of it. The schools deal only with the mechanics of sex. Nothing about the emotional (and heaven forbid: spiritual) aspect and this dooms them to failure. Sex is not simply a physical activity like walking on a treadmill.
If you are going to actually discuss the topic, make it an ‘optional’ topic and well, talk about it honestly, with some actual emotion involved. If educators spoke about sex ed the way they do “global climate change” think of how much more interesting and meaningful the discussions might be.
Now, I will admit this idea has its hurdles. Most meaningful goals have obstacles and roadblocks. But for crying out loud, we need to do something!
Look talking about sex isn’t just designed to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies or reduce the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. Quite honestly, the bigger problem is how our society views sex itself. There can be no doubt our culture treats having sex as no big deal anymore, and I will argue to my last breath that is contributing greatly to the decline of our society and the further erosion of the family in America.
So my fellow Christians, wake up. At least the schools realize there is an elephant in the room so to speak. We have to be willing to cover the topic somewhere. You know the schools will not address the spiritual element, and certainly if you want to have your kids make the right choices, you have to talk to them at home and get some reinforcement somewhere. Why not the church?
Okay, I need to stop somewhere. For now, I have thrown down a few thoughts. I will likely come back later and find some colorful comments or find a Facebook friend or two has gone and left the reservation. But for now, I imagine I have stirred the pot. Discussion must begin somewhere. So, now is everyone ready for me to go back to politics? ;-)
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