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Still Journeying
Abstract: ELCA Sexuality Study Guide released.
The study guide for Part Three of Journey Together Faithfully, the ELCA sexuality study was published this past week. Its title is "Free in Christ to Serve the Neighbor", and it takes up issues of Sexuality in relation to culture, power, money, and economic justice using Paul's letter to the Galatians and Luther's essay "The Freedom of a Christian".
The guide comes at a time when our thoughts about power and sexuality drift inevitably toward the upcoming disciplianry action pursued by Bishop Ron Warren against Pr. Bradley SchmelingTwo passages stand out:
As Christian people we will reflect on correcting imbalances of power, protecting the vulnerable against violence and coercion, and preventing destructive behavior. This is why it is not possible to discuss human sexuality without discussing justice. It may seem a little strange at first to bring justice into a consideration of our most intimate relationships. But the intimacy of these relationships makes us vulnerable, and so justice becomes imperative. (p. 44)
Sexual ethics is therefore not so much about the management of private physical desire. It is about deploying social and individual power to create and sustain healthy networks of relationships. It is about helping persons who are bound closely together by ties of attraction and reliance to flourish. Or, as Luther puts it so simply in his explanation to the Sixth Commandment: �in matters of sex our words and conduct are [to be] pure and honorable.� As private and individual as erotic attraction and sexual expression seem to be, this feature of human experience has a profoundly communal dimension. Justice, equity, and interpersonal responsibility are equally important whether we are talking about dating, conduct between marriage partners, the state�s intervention in private conduct, or the church�s teaching and response on matters related to sexuality. (p. 47)
