Letters the week of 2/19/04

God, sex and the body

I was in Boulder recently and was drawn to your cover story "Sex as Prayer" by Pamela White (Feb. 5). I found the article illuminating but felt compelled to clear up a few misconceptions.

Early on, White writes that the world’s major religions "tend to separate sexuality from spirituality," and that these religions "burden sex with a host of rules," which the author goes on to list. I cannot speak for other religions, but this tendency in Christianity originates from the influence of Gnosticism, which teaches that the body is inherently evil. The church also considers such teaching heresy.

The Christian faith actually places a special significance on the body, starting "In the beginning…" with the creation of Adam and Eve in the likeness and image of God. Male and female, God created them for a reason. In Jesus Christ, the body was redeemed, both through his incarnation and his resurrection. This is not a faith that is shy about the body, despite the reticence we have all witnessed among some Christians.

But the Christian understanding of the body and of sexuality goes much deeper than this. White writes that with tantra, "when it is healthy and holy, sexuality is salvation."

I’m certain that White and most Boulder Weekly readers would be shocked to know that Pope John Paul II has written similar things. In fact, JPII spent the first five years of his pontificate developing and teaching what he terms the "Theology of the Body." In this teaching, John Paul explains that God designed male and female to reflect and express the divine love that exists in the Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This love is free, total, faithful and fruitful, in that it produces new life. While sexual union by itself does not produce salvation in the Christian faith, by mirroring the love of God, it is intended to point humanity back to the source of salvation, the love of God and the sacrificial love of Christ.

The ideas represented in White’s article drastically diverge from the Christian faith, however, in the understanding of where the divine resides. Tantra places the divine within each person, whereas Christianity recognizes that the divine image stamped in every person points beyond the self to the Creator. These differences are also seen in that the Christian understanding of conjugal union leads the participants to experience God through service to another, rather than focusing inward toward oneself.

One final thought: The "rules" about sexuality that White describes are often disparaged needlessly. One could view highway guardrails as either restrictive or protective. The reason some people still subscribe to the Christian "rules" about sexuality is because we value ourselves and others. Embracing those situations in which love is not complete, free, faithful and fruitful leads to a lot of hurting people.

Daniel Weiss/media and sexuality analyst, Focus on the Family

I read Pamela White’s "Sex as Prayer" article with interest. The article quotes Caroline Muir, stating that men are misinformed about sex due to learning values and ideas about sex from their fathers, who learned about sex from John Wayne. Unfortunately, women are as misinformed about sex, procreation and "self" as men. The article generally underscores the sacred space represented by the vagina but neglects to highlight the respect and reverence which "true" tantric yoginis have for Lord Shiva and Shiva’s lingam. The article written by Amy Brouillette, "Sexual healing," in the same issue, does a better job, in my view, of explaining the respect and reverence which true tantric yoginis have for Lord Shiva and Shiva’s lingam. In general, society’s woes today stem from both a lack of devotion to "Shakti," the manifest, the creation, kundalini and that which is "female," and an equally abhorrent lack of respect for the "absolute," the unmanifest, represented by Lord Shiva and Shiva’s lingam, and that which is "male."

Jim Meyers/via Internet

Fabulous article. It was very interesting and informative. It captures our culture and gives the message that the three mentioned are discussing. Thank you for printing it.

Maura Doherty/via Internet

The right to toke

(Re: "Decriminalize it," Liberty Beat, Feb. 5.) Many kudos must go to Ari Armstrong for his article on the decriminalization of drugs, marijuana specifically. He shows intelligence and depth in his articles.

My sister died a little over a year ago, and she thanked me often in the two weeks before she died for providing her a day of relaxation, a meal she could keep down and laughter. She had never done drugs or alcohol in her 52 years.

Complete legalization of drugs should be sought, especially marijuana (to be treated no less liberally than alcohol). Yes, some will abuse, and some will die. One can easily predict that a surge in use will occur, then decline, to a plateau relative to other "controlled" substances that are just as "dangerous," or more so.

It’s not up to the nanny state to dictate what we shall see, hear, taste, feel, touch or ingest, whether it is drugs, alcohol, coffee, sugar, fat, meat, carrots, pornography, adrenaline and so on. It’s up to us, period!

Deb Hamm/via Internet

As a retired police officer, I appreciate your thoughts on reducing police time used to enforce marijuana prohibition. Indeed, the Thin Blue Line has much more important tasks, like DUI enforcement, etc. I urge the Boulder City Council to enact a "Seattle 75" type of policy. Until marijuana is again a legal, regulated and taxed product, we should do all we can to focus my colleagues on public-safety threats.

Officer Howard J. Wooldridge (retired)/via Internet

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