As western society lurches further and further out of control in a spinning vortex of hedonism, throwing more and more restraints to the wind until little more than a diaphanous film covers the overt manifestation of the most base and brutish of instincts, the Christian believer is challenged to make right decisions regarding the expression of his inherent human sexuality that are based on a clear and balanced understanding of the Holy Scriptures rightly divided. One cannot arrive at such an understanding, however, unless he first has a basic knowledge of the Hebrew foundations of Christian faith and their effect upon this most intimate area of human life.

Sexuality Is God’s Idea

A point of beginning is to recognize that human sexuality is God’s idea, not Satan’s, and not man’s. Every human being is distinguished by sex, either male or female, and that distinction is based on bodily parts that God, himself, created. Why is it, then, that so many Christians are afraid to discuss this part of human life? Why should believers be ashamed to discuss what God was not ashamed to create? Sex is God’s idea. It is not, no has it ever been inherently evil. Satan is not the creator of the bodily functions of human beings, nor is he the author of the passion that attracts male and female to one another. When God finished his work of creation on the sixth day, a work that was crowned with the formation of man and his distinct sexual features from the dust of the earth, God for the first time saw that what he had created was "very good" (Genesis 1:31).

From the time that Adam was first made, he was both male and female, formed in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). Both masculinity and femininity are parts of the image of God. Some time later, God separated the female part from Adam and formed Eve, a being equal to Adam in humanity and as such qualified to be his mate. The physiology of their bodies was designed by God, himself, so that they fit and so that one was incomplete without the other. This was done so as to make procreation possible; however, mere animal procreation of the species was not the total reason for man’s being endowed with sexuality. This, perhaps most gratifying of human experiences, was to cement a lifelong bond between the man and the woman that would provide a sense of togetherness, belonging, and companionship, an ongoing, balanced interaction of mind, soul, and body in heightened awareness and pleasure.

When Bible believers think about human sexuality, they most often dwell on the seventh of the ten commandments: "Thou shalt not commit adultery." It is very interesting, however, that the first commandment that God ever gave to mankind in his Word was to engage in sexual conjugation. "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it," he enjoined them (Genesis 1:28). This injunction was given to Adam before Eve was separated from him. After Eve was "taken out of man," Adam said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh," prompting God’s Word to remark that "for this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh" (Genesis 2:23, 24). The word united literally means to become glued, and the "one flesh" is achieved when the physical members of the body are joined together in coitus (I Corinthians 6:15, 16).

As with everything else that God created, he established certain parameters within which human sexuality was to be expressed. These limitations were established and placed as a hedge within which man could rightly enjoy the pleasures that God had provided for him without being subject to the evils and their attendant curses that awaited unrestrained enjoyment of those pleasures. This is why God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Eve and Mary, or Adam and Steve, or Alice and Eve. It was God’s intention that sexual relations should be the expression of one man and one woman who were joined together in a covenant that actually involved three persons: man, woman, and God, himself. Any expression of sexual pleasure that could be experienced outside of this model would bring about the destruction of the family and the disintegration of society. While God later very specifically proscribed various manifestations of sexuality in forms that were beyond the boundaries of lawfully contracted marriage, he never forbade the intercourse of husband and wife.

The Church’s Perverted World View

Christians have been conditioned by centuries of tradition taught by an over-Hellenized, over-Latinized church to believe that human life is separated into two parts–the spiritual, which is inherently good, and the material, which is inherently evil. This dualism presents a bifurcated view of life that leaves most Christians confused, often living a lie, and bearing the burden of unnecessary guilt. Many view their bodies–particularly their sexual functions–as inherently evil, emotion-filled casings in which their spirits and souls of divine origin are trapped.

Dualism crept into the teachings of the church as quickly as Gentiles came to dominate it in demographics and leadership. The Greek and Latin fathers of the ante-Nicene, Nicene, and post-Nicene eras progressively introduced Greek philosophy into the church, seeking to reconcile neo-Platonic rationalism with the Hebraic teaching of Jesus and the apostles.

Among the first heresies that challenged the very existence of the nascent church was Gnosticism, which built upon the foundation of Platonism the concept that man was saved by secret knowledge, not by faith, as the New Testament writers declared.

Among those who were most heavily influenced by Gnosticism was Marcion who was eventually excommunicated from the church by his own father for believing that Yahweh, the God of the Old Testament was the Demiurge, the evil god who created the material world and trapped the sparks of divinity of the human spirit in the evil of material bodies. He taught that Jesus was the good God who magically appeared on earth in the form of an apparition so that men might see him and follow his example. Jesus was not human, the Jewish Messiah born of a virgin in the fulfillment of the Old Testament, for the good God could not be trapped in an evil body, Marcion declared. He repudiated all of the Old Testament and most of the New Testament writings in favor of his own truncated canon that included an edited Gospel of Luke and some of Paul’s epistles.

Of course, Marcion was repudiated as a heretic by the church, which sought to maintain continuity with the Old Testament by proclaiming Jesus as the fulfillment of the Hebrew scriptures prophecies of the Messiah. The seeds of the perversion of truth were sown, however, and they have continued to produce fruit over the centuries even to the present time. While outright Gnosticism was rejected by the church, many of its ideas, particularly those borrowed from Platonism, gained increasing acceptance by its leaders.

Some of the Greek fathers of the church were converted neo-Platonist philosophers, who brought with them the baggage of their culture and upbringing. One of these was Origin who consciously sought to reconcile the Scriptures with Platonism. The Latin fathers were equally diligent in attempting to meld Platonism with the faith of Jesus. St. Augustine was among the most prominent of these. Later St. Thomas Aquinas took an even greater step in that direction when he sought to reconcile Aristotelian philosophy with the faith of the Bible.

Let’s face it: some things just don’t mix. Such is the case with oil and water. Such is the case with Greek philosophy and the religion which God gave to his people. Platonism and Judaism (and Christianity which sprang from its matrix) rest on different foundations. Greek philosophies are rooted in dualism, the idea that there are two realms–the material which is evil, and the spiritual, which is good. It upon this basis that perverted views of good and evil have been propounded. It is on this basis that the natural desires of men’s bodies came to be considered evil and the way to greater acceptance before God was attained through self-abnegation, the denial of the flesh. This was the foundation for monasticism and vows of celibacy that came to be forced upon the clergy of the western church.

The foundation of Platonism and the prevailing view of the Hellenic thought that dominated the Mediterranean basin prompted many in the church to view women as inherently evil, a creation influenced by the devil to distract men from their pursuit of God. Feminine fecundity was looked upon with disdain, a clear manifestation of their evil nature. This allowed women to be dehumanized and looked upon a mere chattel, lesser creations than lofty men. A high achievement in the life of a "man of God" was his overcoming the desire for sexual fulfillment. Women and human sexuality were looked upon as necessary evils for the procreation of the species; however, the super-righteous would not stoop to engage in marriage or sexual relations. Sex came to be viewed as inherently evil, with some going so far as to say that this was the sin in the Garden of Eden between the serpent and Eve and between Eve and Adam.

When the church allowed such a perversion of the truth of Holy Scripture to be established in Christian faith, is it any wonder, then, that men and women have wrestled with their God-given sexuality, even refusing to express this entirely natural human practice in lawful marriage. As so often is the case, that which is not expressed lawfully will find fulfillment in unlawful actions. As history proves, this was too often the case in the church with its hierarchical concubinage and outright sexual perversion. Men have attempted to be more righteous than God, and the result has been their own destruction. Guilt ridden, they have been ineffective in their interpersonal relationships. Some gave way to adulterous relationships, others to homosexuality and even zoophilia. The best and most brilliant of minds have been consigned to lives of mental anguish because they have denied the expression of what God created in them.

Misconceptions Based on Paul’s Teaching

Many honest Christians have had their lives wrecked by misconceptions based on Paul’s writings and their failure to rightly divide what the Apostle to the Gentiles said. Some have thought that Paul elevated celibacy to the normative experience for Christians. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is unthinkable that this disciple of the great Hillel by way of Gamaliel could have espoused such an unbiblical teaching. His instructions that as many as could should remain as he was (unmarried) were only for the then present distress–the persecution of the Roman empire against the church (I Corinthians 7:8, 26). He always concluded that "it is better to marry than to burn" (I Corinthians 7:9) and that if one marries, "he has not sinned" (I Corinthians 7:28).

Paul was not opposed to free and proper expression of sexual relations between husband and wife. He instructed the believers in the Corinthian church not to "deprive one another [of sexual intimacy]", except it be by mutual consent for a time of prayer and fasting, after which they should come together again (I Corinthians 7:2). His command was that in order to avoid fornication, every man should have his own wife, and every woman should have her own husband. Both should fulfill their marital duty to their mate, for the "wife’s body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband’s body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife" (I Corinthians 7:3, 4).

Paul, then, rather than being a proponent of priestly celibacy, continued to teach the balanced Judaic understanding of marriage that he had learned from his teacher. He even went so far as to condemn those who would come after him who would "give heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils . . . forbidding to marry . . ." (I Timothy 4:1, 3). Paul was a good Pharisee, a Jew who believed that marriage was God’s will for all men so that they might fulfill God’s commandment to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.

Judaism’s Biblical World View

Judaism is founded on the holistic premise that everything in the universe was created by God and is good. Even Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles understood this basic foundation of Biblical religion: "I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself . . . All things indeed are pure. . . Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth. . ." (Romans 14:14, 20, 22). Everything is theological, from the loftiest of spiritual thought to the most mundane of human bodily functions. We are told by Jewish wise men, sages, and apostles to "bless the Lord at all times," a concept most succinctly stated by Paul, "In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you" (I Thessalonians 5:18).

The Judaic world view allows us to understand that human sexuality is a gift from the one God who created man in his own image. It is intended to sustain the human race through procreation, but it is also intended to bring joy, happiness, and fulfillment to marriage, the foundation of family, which is the foundation of society. When properly and Biblically expressed, sexual relations are blessed by God.

Biblical Judaic Guidelines for Safe Sex

Many prudish, Victorian Christians are surprised to discover that the Bible has so much to say about human sexuality and its proper expression. First of all, the Jews understand that engaging in sexual relations between husband and wife is the fulfillment of a mitzvah, a commandment. This is especially true when the relationship is enjoyed on Sabbath.

Secondly, Jewish tradition teaches that the partners in coitus should be completely unclothed, with nothing between them (like Adam and Eve), a provision that promotes openness and honesty in the marital relationship. The bed should be covered, however, out of respect to the Creator. This is in sharp contrast to the Victorian practice of having sexual intercourse while clothed, with only slits in the bed garments facilitating the physical contact of organs.

A third important of the Jewish understanding of sexual relations in marriage is that it is the responsibility of the husband to ensure the physical and emotional satisfaction of his wife. This understanding is based on the scriptural injunction that the husband is responsible to "make glad the heart of his wife" (Deuteronomy 24:5). This is in open contrast to historical concepts among much of Western society that women should not have sexual needs, much less have them fulfilled. With this kind of thinking, most Gentile men came to think of their wives as mere receptacles for their lust. There was no thought of fulfilling the sexual needs of wives.

The truth is that women are just as much sexual beings as men. Thinking, considerate men are those who take the time and patience to learn how to provide fulfillment for their wives. This includes orgasm, which many in past centuries thought impossible for all but the most base of women. For the Jewish people, this provision is a commandment from God. It provides for fulfillment of both partners of a marriage in such a way that the marriage bond is strengthened and sustained by the emotions that God has created in both husband and wife.

A fourth part of Jewish understanding about sexual intercourse is that it is to be experienced within the guidelines of times specified in Holy Scripture. When a woman is in menses, she is considered niddah, forbidden. This condition continues until seven days after the end of the menstrual flow. When this prescription from God is followed, a woman is forbidden to her husband for some fourteen days each month, or half of the month. This separation helps keep the marriage fresh and, therefore, more exciting. It also allows time for the cervix and uterus to be refreshed, unimpeded by outside influences introduced by intromission and ejaculation.

It is this practice that is largely responsible for the relatively low incidence of uterine and ovarian cancer in Jewish women when compared to women in Gentile cultures. The observance of the time of niddah, coupled with the fact that Jewish men are circumcised (which removes the foreskin of the penis which in the uncircumcised permits the buildup of smegma, a breeding ground for bacteria), promotes safe, healthy sex.

A fifth part of Jewish understanding about sexual intercourse is the ability to recognize it as an integrated part of a normal, healthy life and to approach it from a logical, Biblical perspective. It is not just a naughty manifestation of evil thoughts that happens without much thought when people are driven by their hormones rather than by their heads. It is a carefully considered part of the lives of healthy, happy people. The concept of "falling in love" after being smitten by Cupid’s arrow is a Greco-Roman idea that is nowhere expressed in Holy Scripture. Healthy marriage is that which is based on a covenant in which partners grow to love one another as they understand and determine to meet one another’s needs. Sexual relations are just another part of this complex understanding.

Learning To Do Things God’s Way

How much better it is when we learn to do God’s thing God’s way rather than stumbling along in our own ways, falling prey to the devices of Satan. When we reject the goodness of what God has created and call that which is good evil, then we open ourselves to the potential of calling that which is evil good. With the lessons of the church’s dismal history in the Middle Ages, when sex was evil and women were subhuman because of their fecundity and all Jews were rapacious because of their healthy attitude toward sex and marriage, is it not time that we take a fresh look at the Scriptures in the light of their Jewish matrix and Hebrew foundation and find a balanced Biblical view of safe sex? We would free ourselves from so much unhealthy stinking thinking and the overwhelming burden of the guilt of being more righteous than God. And, we would find ourselves coming to peace with ourselves, promoting mental health and security.

When we read the Bible with the grammatico-historical hermeneutic that the reformed church has espoused (but not practiced), we will exegete scripture in the light of the grammar and history of the text–the Hebrew language and the Jewish culture in which it was written. When it comes to this most intimate of personal expressions–sexual relations–we will discover God’s creation and God’s guidelines for its exercise, and we will be healthy and happy.