A Culture of Sex in Writing
- A Pushback on What is Being Written
Now that I got your attention with the title... let me explain a few things before going further. First, I am a Christian. Everyone who reads anything I write know this. I won't hide that fact ever. Second, I have a problem with traditional western church views on many subjects because I know what the biblical text say based on scholars.
Let's begin with morals. Are all morals the same? What about ethics of a society? Who gets to define these ideas? A group of people? God? I ask this because of a simple fact of life. While God's morals in life never change, man's do. And you can actually see this happen.
Michael S Heiser, a biblical scholar, brought this up on his podcast, "The Naked Bible Podcast" some years ago. When the Apostle Paul writes his letters to the Corinthians and especially on modesty, he says something I never quite understood even as a child reading this. He calls a woman with long hair shameful if not covered. For the man if he had long hair, it was shameful as well. And then he says, it's because of the angels? How does one even begin to wrap their minds around such a thing? Well, Michael tackled it in his famous way of exegesis, following the rabbit trail so to speak. To be frank, no commentary even comes close to believability except his because he pours on the data, the source material, all of it.
And the results are wild.
To make sure you know I'm not making this up, this article is based on a publication from Troy W. Martin called, “Paul’s Argument from Nature for the Veil in 1 Corinthians 11:13-15: A Testicle Instead of a Head Covering”. This is not from Christian Middle Earth, the wild world of the Internet. This is from the Journal of Biblical Literature, which is one of the premier journals in biblical studies.
Seven years later, this article got a response from a fellow scholar, Mark Goodacre, and they went back and forth where in the end, Mike Heiser points out, Troy obliterates Mark's view with primary sources. In a footnote to his article, Troy says this.
"This article interprets Paul's argument from nature in 1 Corinthians 11:13-15 against the background of ancient physiology. The Greek and Roman medical texts provide useful information for interpreting not only Paul's letters but also other New Testament texts.” (1)(2)
"Tertullian’s analogy and exhortation presume that hair becomes a functioning part of a young woman's genitalia at puberty similar to the way testicles begin functioning at puberty as part of the male genitalia in facilitating the dissemination of semen. Prepubescent girls, therefore, need not cover their hair, but pubescent young women should, and Tertullian recommends that the extent of the veil be "co-extensive with the space covered by the hair when unbound" (Virg. 17 [ANF 4:37]).
"The masculine functional counterpart to long feminine hair, then, is the testicle. Aristotle calls the male testicles weights that keep the seminal channels taut (Gen. an. 717a.30-717b.5). Their function is to facilitate the drawing of semen downward so it can be ejected. Without them, the seminal channels draw up inside the body, and the male becomes unable to dispense semen into the female. The female is not given such weights but instead develops a hollow uterus and appropriate vessels to draw the semen upward (Gen. an. 739a.37- 739b.20). Thus, testicles do not develop at puberty for females as they do for males. Long feminine hair assists the uterus in drawing semen upward and inward.
"This ancient physiological conception of hair indicates that Paul’s argument from nature in 1 Cor 11:13-15 contrasts long hair in women with testicles in men. Paul states that appropriate to her nature, a woman is not given an external testicle (1 Cor 11:15b) but rather hair instead. Paul states that long hollow hair on a woman's head is her glory (1 Cor 11:15) because it enhances her female nature, which is to draw in and retain semen. Since female hair is part of the female genitalia, Paul asks the Corinthians to judge for themselves whether it is proper for a woman to display her genitalia when praying to God (1 Cor 11:13).”
So, after going through that absolutely bizarre article that shows how ancient Greeks and Romans thought of hair, reread 1 Corinthians 11. This is the worldview Paul was writing in. Now ask this question. Do those same verses apply to men and women today? What changed?
The morals based on understanding of that time does not apply for today. God's morals do. He has stuff to say about men and women, about sex. But in this particular idea, it does not.
Why do I bring this up? Because I think in our western, isolated church body, we did a grave disservice to the Bible and God. And we continue to do so. We've shut the door on the world and put walls up on everything we don't like to talk about. There are things the church fathers wrote on (and I have a list of these too), where a modern church pastor will NEVER address. Sex is just one of these things. So naturally, this pours over into everyday life, a soft taboo on certain subjects are enforced while it's all over the biblical text.
The result is what we see today. The church as a whole avoids all taboo subjects (sex being a major one) while the world around us explodes with that subject and morphs into a degenerate generation void of all godly morals. They demand answers to hard questions and the church has shut its doors. We refuse to address the issues, going so far as to ban it from being written on. Christian Publishers will not accept writings that engage with these themes. They refuse to.
In its place has exploded multiple genres of fiction, a lot primarily in the fantasy realm that borders porn for women. And within this genre, a very twisted reality that praises domination and beating, rape, many variations of Beauty and the Beast turned brutal and unconsenting sex. And somehow, the story turns these things into something the woman accepts as right and good. These aren't written by men either. These are women authors that are now dominating the fantasy genre. Porn is overtaking the fantasy realm with women praising rape. Go down the book aisle at Walmart, Meijer, Target, any giant superstore, you will find these women authors who subtly write into their stories what people coin the term, "spice". It's another word for pornographic writing in mainstream books. You just have to go on Amazon and look at the comments to know this. The readers, mostly all women, will rate the spiciness of the book and many times demanding more. It's like women today are starving for something that is backwards, a hunger for BDSM, while their own world may perhaps be lived in despair and darkness, a need to feel something to be alive.
And it all culminates around sex with writing becoming a major vehicle to push the envelope further. Our culture is saturated to the extreme in sexual talk, perverse and twisted views of what is right about such things while demanding violence to anyone who opposes them.
I have to wonder, is this what Genesis 6 kind of looked like in the beginning stages?
More importantly, why doesn't the church address this?
Perhaps because leaders are fearful of repercussions from their congregations or it's so taboo and so untouched, they just don't know what to do.
Nobody is fighting back with the most obvious answer.
The one thing writers know above all else is this. "Show, don't tell." That is the key to writing well.
For the Christian writer, that's hard to do if you want to combat this culture of sex. No traditional Christian Publishing company will promote your stuff if you do this. Even if it doesn't have "spice." Mentioning sex is an immediate "No" from most. And the world knows this. It's why Christian books are looked down on and laughed at. It's well known this happens. People hate Christian books because publishers don't want reality written about.
In its place is a twisted version of reality where sex is now dominating all media while perverting love at its very core.
I believe this is deliberate, a destruction of order to bring about chaos and destruction. This has always been the war within the Bible.
I have a question that nobody answers. Why is it the biblical authors wrote about sex a lot and didn't cover it up...but the English translators do? Look at Ezekiel and you'll find many words don't match the original text. It's blatantly covered up with lesser words that camouflage the overly sexual word in the original language. Are we moderns somehow better than the original author so have to right to change things? How about the Book of Solomon? Why do we change its meaning? I've seen it done many times when the text is plain as day. We KNOW what's being written about. Sex!!
In a world of perverted reality and depression, loneliness, sex has become the god. And in its place of high importance, twisted the reality of what love is. It says "I want you, you want me. Let's make each other feel good." It devalues love to such a cheap level based on what "I" want. It's a symptom of a culture swimming in narcissism and using each other, abusing each other for the sake of awakening dead emotions. And no matter what others say, based on the enormous readership of women, this is where the target hits most. Women.
Personally, I feel if the church at large refuses to address this issue, it's the writers who need to stand up and give an account of love. The media dominates with their twisted perverse ideas. But for the Christian writer, we need to take a stand and say no more! You want to know what love really looks like? You want to know how God views sex? Let me show you! And then paint a picture in words as the Biblical authors did before. Write a story that reveals the beauty of vulnerability, the sacrifice love is, and the connection of a husband and wife. You don't need "spice" and explicit detailed descriptions of every move made, every sound uttered. But you do need reality! You do need to show that you're not a prude who's going to be so clean about everything you don't even sound real!
I've often pointed out in recent years this simple fact. Ever since I realized what's actually in the biblical text, I can't justify the idea of Christians only writing clean stories. Because the Bible is NOT CLEAN! It has everything under the sun in its pages. For us to hide behind our church walls and let the world spiral into the abyss because we labeled something taboo is beyond foolish. I'd call that a sin. It's disobeying God when He said to go into all the world. You don't do that by hiding from reality and never addressing it or showing a better way, a way of love that is appealing, that is healing, that is beautiful to look at.
Most people see Christianity as a sexless, boring community who's afraid of their partner. I've heard that said multiple times. Christians are lame, judgmental hypocrites who can't ever have fun. And they point at sex as the prime example of this. Their view of happiness and love involves sex and an abundant amount. The stories pushed out tell a view that distorts love to its very core though. It's a praising of abuse towards women for the most part and for them to accept it as normal.
I'm saying, this is not normal, is very evil and deliberately done. It must be countered with good storytelling that showcases God's view of love and what true happiness looks like, what true relationships are. It's not domination and it's not finding value based on how well the other wants you sexually. That is a major theme in most all these books. Finding value based on man's view of you sexually. That's the sign of a very unhealthy person but is what is praised.
It's twisted and morally corrupt. It's destructive and devaluing of your own worth. But again, this is the draw of the books, the theme and moral taught.
The Biblical authors were never afraid to write on this subject. It's throughout the Bible as it was a key point in Israelite history. It was a major part of pagan worship and their own as they were drawn away to become embroiled in the sexual rituals over and over and over. This is why Ezekiel was written. It wasn't simply to give a metaphor but partly to show what the people had actually done physically. If God was ok in going over the top in describing in detail Israel as a whore that at times bordered erotic imagery, why is the church afraid to do the same? God is not at all tame in his words within Ezekiel. He will turn your face several shades of red reading what is said.
This culture needs the true definition of love to be spread out. Their view is saturated in abuse and a hatred for order. But if we showcase it in a true beautiful relationship that God outlines in Genesis and continues, that beauty can transcend barriers. It doesn't need to be overly graphic but needs to be shown in a true to life scenario.
I heard from a few Christian women authors that they felt their own real life stories weren't allowed to be shared. These were women who were abused sexually. Anytime a Christian author would write on the subject, they cringed because it was so unreal, so degrading in its untruthfullness. They wanted their stories heard as a way of healing, to know they weren't alone in the world. This is a scenario that happens much more than we think and is disgusting to know this. They want to be heard but in their own words, the church has silenced their voices.
I find it offensive and wrong not to hear their stories as Christians. We need to be part of the healing, especially for men who do know what love looks like. We need to show women (as from these women's own words) that there are men who will love them in a good way. When asked what they wished for, their response was that men themselves would write about this subject from their own viewpoint and let women know they're not alone, that men do care and will share their burden.
I believe this is a key Christian men need to hear and respond to, especially now when love is weaponized by women authors as being good when used abusively.
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2 Stuckenbruck - Why Should Women Cover Their Heads Because of Angels