By Bishop Dave Chikosi
I have written many articles to this newspaper. But this one I type with a grin on my face. I am not only amazed. I am also amused. I am both amazed and amused at how prudish many Christians are. Let me explain.
The wife of Zimbabwe Prophet Uerbert Angel recently wrote a public love letter to her husband on the occasion of his birthday. Prophetess Beverly Angel incurred the wrath of some Christians when she said this to her husband:
“I love the look in your eyes away from the world as we chase each other across our bedroom, or as we shower together or when we huddle up and watch a movie together.”
Among the responses in the Comments section under that article are the following sentiments:
– “What’s the point of writing bedroom stuff to the press?”
– “Christianity is all and only about Jesus not your so called ‘Prophets’ bedroom games”
– “The point is some things are best kept private. It’s like your parents do not have to discuss their sex lives with you to show that they are in love”
But the one objection that quickly caught my attention was this:
“chasing wife across the bedroom? hahahahahahha my goodness . . . You seem alien to THE HOLINESS OF THE LORD you claim to serve.”
According to this commentator, chasing your wife across the bedroom (along everything else that comes as a result of such a chase) is an unholy activity!
Now, before you laugh too loudly dear reader, please understand that this is not an isolated sentiment. Many Christians are quite uncomfortable reading or hearing anything that looks or sounds like sex talk. Sex is a taboo topic, especially among African Christians
For Adults Only
Let me ask you this: when was the last time your pastor preached from a book of the Bible called Song of Solomon? I am not surprised that your answer is: never. You know why? Because Song of Solomon contains some sexually explicit language that many believe has no place in the Holy Bible.
Some have said that the Song of Solomon is an X-rated, adults-only celebration of love and sex. It is so explicit about sex that some Jewish rabbis recommend that no one under the age of thirty be allowed to read it.
Joseph Smith, founder of The Mormon Church, is reported to have said that this “is the least inspired book in the Bible.” He was wrong of course.
Christian pastors for thousands of years have done their best to cleverly skip over this volatile material in their sermons. One preacher thought that this book is the “evidence that not all authors knew they were writing books of the bible while they were writing.” Really?
Here is an example of the Book’s objectionable erotic language:
3 Your breasts are like two fawns/like twin fawns of a gazelle.
7 Your stature is like that of the palm/ and your breasts like clusters of fruit.
8 I said, “I will climb the palm tree/ I will take hold of its fruit.” May your breasts be like clusters of grapes on the vine/ the fragrance of your breath like apples/and your mouth like the best wine. (S of S Chapter 7)
Clearly God is not an old prude. How could He be when He is the One who invented sex? But the S of S is not pointless eroticism. What the book amounts to is a graphic description of conjugal love between a bride and her groom.
I personally reject the facile, simplistic and prudish theological attempt to allegorize the book and strip the text of its humanity. The Song is a description of the integrity of both the human body and human sexuality. Both are viewed as a gift from the Creator to be celebrated not merely tolerated.
What you learn from the Song is the same thing you learn from Hebrews 13:4, i.e sex is “pure and undefiled” when celebrated within the context of marriage.
And so to all you prudish Christians who find yourselves in bondage about sex, do simmer down a bit. Zvibatei. It’s okay for married couples to chase each other across the bedroom, frolic and romp in the bathroom and then tell it from the rooftop. God knows we need to hear more about functional, happy marriages. We have enough negative news via tabloids about divorce, abuse and infidelity in marriage.
Long live the institution of marriage. Long live romantic love within that institution!
[Bishop Dave Chikosi is a published author. To see more articles and videos visit his blog at http://davechikosi.blogspot.com. He can be reached by email at [email protected]]
