The S - word

They say there are two things that Presbyterians never talk about; evangelism and sex. I have discovered that the Apostle Paul must have been Presbyterian because in 1Corinthians 8:1-8 he uses the phrases: "to touch a woman," and "have his own wife and have her own husband" to mean sexual relations. So even though he is talking about sex, he is not using the S-word. Paul is talking about sex within the confines of marriage.He is pro-sex because he is pro-marriage and a healthy sex life is essential for a healthy marriage. In all three of his descriptions - or prescriptions regarding sex in a marriage, Paul is very particular to make sure that what applies to a husband, equally applies to the wife. A healthy marriage and for that matter a healthy sex life according to Paul is both equitable and mutual. In describing marriage and sex within marriage this way, Paul radically redefined marriage as it was known to the Greek and Roman culture at the time. Marriage to both Greek and Roman culture was hierarchical in nature. The husband had the seat of power and authority. However, at its center, a Christian marriage was a microcosm of the church as a web of complimentary relationships working collaboratively together. Whatever power and authority there was in a marriage, according to Paul, it was to be a shared power and a shared authority. What Paul is talking about is marriage as an equal partnership between a husband and a wife.

I don't think Paul invented this radical notion of marriage as an equal partnership. I think he went back to Genesis chapter one where God creates humanity- male and female and charges humanity to rule over the garden and all of creation.It was a shared throne, with men and women to function as king and queen ultimately accountable to God. Of course we remember that God says a husband would rule over his wife in Genesis 3:16b. Unfortunately over the years we have taken this to mean that God established patriarchy as the preferred norm. I think the writer of Genesis was describing patriarchy as a consequence of the fall. What Paul is describing in Corinthians, is equality in marriage as the redeemed reality. For Christians to support patriarchy in any form is to reinforce the curse as opposed to the original blessing restored by the work of Christ.