Spirituality and Sexuality Belong
Together by Kaye Wray, Ph.D.
Quality, passionate sexual
intimacy, especially for women, requires an integration of body, mind and
spirit. Yet that intersection of body and spirit has often been frustrated by
religious tradition.
Some religious teachings separate body from Spirit, declaring body to be bad and
spirit to be good. Any commitment, therefore, to the good things of the Spirit
requires (according to these teachings) one to avoid the feelings and passions
of the body, or at least to keep them under tight control.
While the western culture nurtures a certain "macho" sexual bravado in men,
women who care for things of the spirit are still expected to remain chaste and
generally uninterested and uneducated in things erotic or sexual. This
expectation has contributed, however, both to a reduction in the woman's sexual
joy experienced within marriage and to frustration on the part of both partners
within a relationship.
As a Christian and as a Christian woman, I urge the re-evaluation of theologies
of body that have forced a separation of body from mind and spirit. The doctrine
of the Incarnation (that is, the Christian assertion that God became flesh /
human being in Jesus) reminds us that God has honored and made holy the human
body. The human body is holy, not because it is kept separate from the spirit,
but because it is integrated with Holy Spirit.
Eros (the Greek word generally understood to mean erotic, physical love) and
agape (the Greek word generally understood to mean spiritual love) are not two
different kinds of love. They are, in their essence, two manifestations of the
one Love, who is God.
To reclaim our bodies as good and to reclaim sexual passions as good reaffirms
both creation and redemption. Christian responsibility in areas of sexual
intimacy can then include response-ability, the ability to respond with joy to
the ecstatic possibilities of erotic love.
Let this be a call for a new model of intimate relationships. Spirituality and
sexuality belong together. Stop separating the love of God from the love of our
bodies. Start celebrating passionate intimacy. By doing so we honor the Source
of all Love.
About the Author:
Intimacy Educator Kaye Wray,
Ph.D., a teacher and researcher, has spent over 35 years paying attention to
women's sensuality and sexual responses. She shares that information with women,
men and couples who are serious about improving their relationships. Women, to
learn more, go to
http://www.thepassionyoudeserve.com.
Men, go to
http://www.thepassionyoucrave.com.
Source of this article:
www.goarticles.com
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