The Song of Songs is said to be the most erotic and exciting book in Scripture yet its contents are hardly preached on. When the book is taught in church, it is usually taught as an allegory, and not literally as an intimate relationship between a husband and a wife.
Although sex and intimacy are subjects many ministers feel uncomfortable with, Mars Hill Church pastor Mark Driscoll says they exceedingly important to preach on especially at a time when Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, and Lindsay Lohan are promoted as examples for girls and porn stars like Jenna Jameson are featured in video games for boys.
"At Mars Hill Church, we believe that 'all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable' (2 Tim. 3:16), therefore we do not hesitate to discuss anything that the Bible addresses," stated Mark Driscoll, preaching pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle.
And that includes sex – of course, within the context of marriage.
"We got a whole book of the Bible talking about this issue, and even sometimes good faithful Bible teachers won't touch this book and I've asked them why. And they're like 'because it's got some parts in there that are pretty dicey,'" Driscoll said early on in his "The Peasant Princess" sermon series, which launched in September.
Sex sermons are nothing new but more pastors have decided to deal more frankly and openly with the issue, some even advertising their teaching series to the public and others challenging the married couples in their congregations to be intimate every day for a week or a month.
But Mars Hill's Driscoll is hitting more touchy topics through the study the Song of Songs, giving "MH-17" warnings for some of his sermons.
In his latest sermon last Sunday, Driscoll preached on what he believes is the "most erotic, passionate, free section in all of Scripture" – Song of Songs chapter 6.
"Before we get into the details, this is a Bible, OK?" Driscoll made clear, as he reiterated the church's belief that all Scripture is divinely inspired by God.
In this chapter, the wife dances for her husband and is "exceedingly visually generous to her husband," Driscoll explained. All the while, the husband is verbally generous as he pays her compliments of her body and then "proceeds forward."
"Your first reaction: this is inappropriate," Driscoll said to thousands of congregants in Seattle and at satellite campuses.
"It's in the Bible," he stressed. "This is an example of marital freedom."
The 10-week "Peasant Princess" sermon series comes at a time when traditional marriage is being challenged in courts, Americans are daily inundated with sexual images, and more money is being spent on pornography than foreign aid.
Driscoll believes sex is the greatest threat to Christianity and wants to replace Christian porn, adultery and divorce with "hot, hetero, covenantal monogamy."
According to Driscoll, sex has three "denominations," which are Straight, Gay and Bisexual, each of which have websites, "houses of worship" (bars, clubs, strip joints), and "followers who vigorously evangelize and recruit new members."
Through the Song of Songs study, he says people can learn "how to have sex that is free – free from sin, idolatry, guilt, shame, condemnation, death, and separation from God – by having free and frequent marital intimacy." At the same time, Christians can learn "how to worship God the Creator and enjoy his creation and not worship his creation (our bodies and their pleasures) as a false god."
"Our study of the Song of Songs is meant neither to kill our desires nor permit them to flow into deadly sin. Rather, this series is an attempt to cultivate our desires and channel them toward our spouse according to the wisdom God gives us in his Word," he explained.
In addition to preaching, Driscoll and his wife, Grace, are taking questions from congregants via text and e-mail immediately after each sermon – a daring session of unscripted answers that began at Mars Hill in January. With a no-holds-barred attitude, Driscoll has answered some of the more explicit sex questions on his blog.
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ozark, are you saying God's original and only design for marriage as that of one man and one woman united in His sight for life is no longer valid?
"conflict with God's design ..." I see that my comment generated the knee-jerk reaction that I expected. Didn't say that I endorsed extra-marital sexual relations (I don't), just that as people of the Word, we really should carefully examine what the Word actually says, and not perpetuate claims of special knowledge of the mind of the Creator based on cultural interpretations. We should be honest and say that our Church mores are often not directly based on Scripture but traditions. Maybe Driscoll is trying to get his listeners to become critical thinkers in the context of reaching a generation that has very little familiarity with older Christian church cultural rules that have little or no Scriptural basis. Give me some Scripture references, then I'll believe your criticism.
"Frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me, I am from Missouri, you must show me" THB
I was teasing earlier as I am now....
Shall we only read about it, but not speak about it?
Just read the Theology of the Body, that's all you need to understand God's view of Human Sexuality...
It seems pastors aren't the only ones having a difficult time having the "sex talk". ;-)
First: If this is the actual version of the article that Lillian Kwon submitted, then the editor really needs to review things more carefully.
On the surface, the title of the article is quite misleading. And it makes it look like Driscoll is just out for higher ratings than Oprah or Osteen.
Second: No doubt that Pastor Driscoll has an uphill battle against the secular world, but its amazing the battle he is having just within the Christian community itself.
Driscoll is simply hoping that this biblical teaching, which is avoided by most Pastors, is more solid and truthful than some of the stuff Oprah or Osteen dish out.
Why not teach about intimate sex in the confines of God's word?
Tallguy, not meaning to contradict you, it's just that is this pastor's main goal really to be bigger that Oprah and the other guy there or to bring people back to God's way to fulfillment (maybe a better word is joy) in life, marriage and sex?
ozark, maybe that's why he's doing the series to do away with views such as you are putting forward that conflict with God's design for sexual intimacy which is reserved for the marriage bed of one man and one woman who are united as one in the sight of God for life through marriage.
Why limit it to marital sex? If he really wanted to correct the problem that the average Amerucan church has with sex, he'd do the exegesis to show the real meaning of "pornea" and that the limitation of sanctified sex to marriage is an extra-Biblical construct.
Let me say it again, " Give me a break.
Gee, maybe they can all "just do it" at Church.
My guess is this pastor has a lot of pride, especially when his main goal is to become more popular then Oprah and Joel Osteen. You go Mark, this is exactly why Jesus opened his arms to you on the cross...
kit kat bar?