Church Looks to 'Sex Revolution' for Solutions
Pastors: Church Can Heal Social Evils Through Sex
Sex is a topic best avoided if possible, according to the attitude most people have in conservative Kenya. Yet a small, unspectacular church is raising eyebrows and making waves in the Christian community for laying the issue of sex on the table and demanding that churches discuss how it can be holy.
“God created and defined sex,” said David Muriithi, senior pastor of Nairobi-based House of Grace Church, according to the Catholic Information Service. “If the church does not proactively address the issues surrounding human sexuality, then cultural and secular views, which are against biblical principles, will prevail to the detriment of society.
“Religious entities, as champions of morality, need to openly and unashamedly take a stand to correct the misperceptions on sex.”
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Hot topics such as “How we can bring sex to the church” and “Sex as a form of worship” were discussed during the weeklong “Sex Revolution Conference” hosted recently by House of Grace Church.
The conference, which concluded on Sunday, emphasized that for too long Christians and the Church have been silent on sexuality, indirectly contributing to problems such as AIDS, teenage pregnancies, rape, and divorce.
“We can’t continue pretending that these are not issues. We have Christian couples going to the secular world to seek help on how to improve their sex lives. People are suffering in silence,” said Muriithi.
The high rate of pre-marital sex among young Kenyan girls is among the issues troubling the church leaders. According to a recent survey by Oakland Media Services, more than half of the girls in Kenya have lost their virginity before the age of 16 and only a third of them had ever discussed sex with any family members.
Moreover, 96 percent of participants were either Christian or Muslim – faiths that forbid premarital sex.
“This is why we have decided to take the bull by the horns,” said Muriithi, referring to numerous problems resulting from ignorance on sex. “We are telling people that sex is not a new thing. It was created for us to enjoy. The challenge is how to enjoy it and at the same time be worshipping God.”
The Rev. Adeyemi Adefarasin from Benin, one of the key speakers at the conference, called for sex to go back “to where it belongs” – to the “marriage bed,” noting that “sex has gone out of hand.”
“We are now saying that the Church can bring sanity to a sexuality that has been liberalized to the extent that it poses grave danger to the survival of the society,” said Adefarasin, according to The Nation. “We can heal many of the social evils through sex.”
The pastor said that sex is important in building a strong family, which is the most important unit in society, and helps keep couples faithful to one another and avoid divorce.
Pointing to HIV/AIDS, which has ravaged the continent, Adefarasin emphasized that the Church must not remain silent but guide people to understand how God intended sex for man.
“The people struggling with sexuality and dying from HIV/AIDS are Christians,” he said. “We are saying that the Church must come out of its deep slumber. The Church must lead from the front.”
The conference took place Feb. 5-11
