It is far more difficult to start to construct a new Christian sexual perspective than many think. Too often that act of construction begins with the assumption that the Bible is inherently misogynist and patriarchal, and must first be 'tamed' (have its authority reduced or eliminated) in favor of 'what science knows', 'liberation', or 'what works for me.'

That this may lead to a happier sexual life for a person beaten up by the Church cannot be denied. But it is fatal for the religion. Once Christianity abandons the primacy of God over all other forms of authority, it is no longer a religion. That is, of course, the actual goal for some. Refusal to submit to God is a universal problem, for those on the right and the left alike.

We know that if God is just and good, then that God cannot condemn half the race to the squashing of its true vocation. But we have that conviction of liberation from encountering God the Father and Jesus by means of the Holy Spirit in the Bible.

The next step is that if sexuality is created by God, then it cannot be intrinsically bad. Even if we see sexuality as contingent, arising from evolution (which we then further (falsely) say can't be God's work) God still must have a way to use sexuality for good.

Something so powerful, so life changing, must have a way to be used for God's purposes.

But the full task remains daunting. We must first prove to the traditional Christians that their misogynist readings of scripture are incompatible with the God revealed in Scripture's story of Israel and story of Jesus. Then we must convince the reductionists that Scripture reveals God. And then we must work out a theology of sexuality and make it applicable to the specific culture we find ourselves in.

Towards a Christian sexuality

What about homosexuality? While opposition to homosexuality is allegedly about fidelity to the Bible, I argue that true fidelity to the Scripture would lead the church to accept homosexuality. The question is the definition of sin. I've written a lengthy essay reviewing the Bible's definition of sin. I find that definition does not inherently include homosexual activity. [ More ]