Those who believe in a creating God must acknowledge that a bodily existence—our sexuality—and our spiritual essence—our souls—are both part of God’s creative action in bringing forth into existence human beings.
We are human because we are embodied souls. Jesus was incarnated, becoming an embodied spirit, and, thereby, fully human.
Our sexuality and spirituality are both gifts from God integrated in our being; they cannot exist in us as separate entities. But this is not what the church has emphasized historically. Its teaching has encouraged the idea that somehow our bodily and spiritual existences are separate, that the one is superior in worth and value over the other, the spirit over the body. Hence our sexuality has not been emphasized in our teaching and preaching. So a void of silence has been created in which a number of negative societal issues have emerged and been allowed to flourish unaddressed and unchallenged by the church.
This need not be. To our detriment, we neglect to wrestle in Christian communities with what it means to be gifted with both soul and body, inseparably integrated, as we live as disciples of Jesus Christ and believers in our creating God. The silence must be broken and the dialogue opened up. Sexuality: God’s Gift is a doorway through which those who fear the conversation, or who do not know where to begin, or who even deny the need for it, can enter the struggle and begin the dialogue.
This book is an important contribution in helping Christians connect their spirituality and their sexuality. May the dialogue break forth among all Christians!
Add new comment
Canadian Mennonite invites comments and encourages constructive discussion about our content. Actual full names (first and last) are required. Comments are moderated and may be edited. They will not appear online until approved and will be posted during business hours. Some comments may be reproduced in print.