By Robert V. Thompson
Examiner
January 24 2009
http://www.examiner.com/x-1390-Chicago-Spirituality-Examiner~y2009m1d24-Sex-and-religionstrange-bedfellows
 |
Susan Sontag once wrote: Religion is probably, after sex, the second oldest resource which human beings have available to them for blowing their minds.”
When these two combustibles are combined heaven or hell can break loose.
Some practitioners of the eastern spiritual path known as Tantra understand the sexual connection as a vehicle of self transcendence. It’s about the unity of body, mind and spirit. Tantric practitioners say this yoga, this boundary free whole person yoking, is heavenly.
At its best and in its purest expression sexual connection and religious devotion symbolize the ultimate quest for intimacy. Whether physical, spiritual, or both--a moment of untainted intimacy is heavenly.
The desire for intimacy is the desire to be fully known. It is the desire to share one’s innermost self with another. To be open to intimacy is to choose vulnerability as a path to wholeness.
The flip side of intimacy through shared vulnerability is the use of power as a defense mechanism against true intimacy. When these two innate human impulses, sex and religion are used as a away of having power over rather than intimacy with—inevitably somebody gets hurt.
Intimacy and power, sex and religion. When these two become one, it's heaven—when either is abused, it’s hell.
There are countless stories about Guru’s, Priests, Ministers or other religious or spiritual leaders who use their power to exploit the intimacy needs of devotees.
Whether lesbian, gay or straight, it matters not. The issue is the use of power as an opportunity to exploit another regardless of the consequences.
The latest reminder is the newly surfaced story about evangelical leader Ted Haggard who resigned his position from the 10,000 member NewLifeChurch in Colorado Springs two years ago after allegations revealed a three year relationship with a gay prostitute. Having lived in self described exile Haggard is staging a comeback. HBO has produced a documentary which will air before the end of the month. Haggard confesses responsibility for his behavior. He’s been in the wilderness. Time to on. Problem is, revelations of other sexual misdeeds are beginning to surface.
Here is a religious leader who time and time again denounces gay sex as an abomination against God only to confess that he is guilty of that which he abhors--it's a classic.
It’s also a tragic story. One that is repeated countless times over.
The question of sexual orientation is irrelevant.
It’s about sex. It’s about religion. It’s about the deep desire for intimacy and the abuse of power.
All fo this provides not an occasion of smug finger pointing but of the need for a larger, more open and ongoing conversation about how the need for intimacy can be so easily manipulated those in power.
The question is never whether sex or religion is good or bad. Each represents a means to an end. It is time for those in the pulpit and the pew to engage in a deeper conversation about the use and abuse of power and sexuality.
In another time and a different context, Martin Luther King Jr, said;
“One of the great philosophical debates of history has been over the whole question of means and ends. And there have always been those who argued that the end justifies the means, that the means really aren’t important. The important thing is to get to the end, you see…There have been those who have argued this throughout history. But ultimately you can’t reach good ends through evil means, because the means represent the seed and the end represents the tree.”
This insight applies also to sex and religion—apart and together. Actually it is a question that applies to every aspect of our lives.
This would seem to be the ultimate moral question--means and ends.
It is perhaps a question we can ask ourselves when we're not at worship or not having sex. In every aspect of our lives is this not the question? What end do we seek and what means are we using to get there?
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.