Speaking of Sex: Why the Song of Songs is Apologetically Important

Offering balanced biblical teaching about sex is important not just pastorally but apologetically.  Sex can point beyond itself to the numinous and divine.  Our culture tells us we are “nothing but mammals”, but sex can offer hints that we are souls.  People want to know that Christianity is true in a modernist sense, but also that it is life-enhancing – that it ‘works’. When seekers are examining Christian sexual ethics, they may be really asking: is your God a cosmic killjoy or an all-wise friend in whose presence is fullness of joy and pleasure forevermore? That is a fair theological question which deserves both experiential and intellectual answers, and to which the Song of Solomon is very relevant. But does anyone teach it? In this talk the speaker will explore the Biblical view of sex, in contrast with other popular views, concluding that Christian ethics on sexuality are indeed life-enhancing, and thus reflect God’s character and good purposes.