I'll admit, I feel like one of those people whose already seen the movie and telling others to go see it. Many of these teachings I have heard, so when I first heard the title of the book, I knew it was not going to be about what people might be looking for.
I'm sure many of you who are not familiar with the teachings of Rob and Mars Hill will approach this book looking for a certain framework of what sexuality is, and in it you're going to find something completely different.
I have already read a review like this.
However, what I hope you will find, as Rob is pointing out in the introduction, that sexuality is much more than we thought. That it has very important connections to how we are human.
This is really a book about the new humanity. About what it means to be fully human.
Rob mentions the story of Jacob, how for years he pretended to be someone he was not (being Esau). I'd like to add that it wasn't until the dream of the ladder until Jacob finally admitted who he really was. God asked him what his name was, and he finally said Jacob.
Then God said He's calling Him Israel. I was just rollin' on the floor.
Anyway, Rob mentions that Jacob started building an altar at the spot where the dream occurred, and as the years went by, when he walked his children passed it, he had to tell the story again.
Rob plays a hypothetical dialogue and imagines his son saying, "Dad, what's the big deal? They're just rocks." (p. 12) To which Jacob replies, "Yes, you're right, they're rocks, but they're more than rocks. You have to understand, I was on the run and thought my brother was going to kill me. My life was over. And God saved me." (p. 12)
They're not just rocks anymore, right?
Rob then connects this with trophies and pictures. Why do you keep them? Because it's not just a trophy and it's not just a picture. It's pointing to something bigger. The physical thing is about something else.
"This is actually about that," Rob says.
"What we do with our energies or how we feel about our bodies or wanting to have the control in our relationships or trying to recover from heartbreak or dealing with our ferocious appetites or the difficulty of communicating clearly with those we love or longing for something or someone better...much of life is in some way connected with our sexuality. " (p. 13)
So when we talk about sex, we're talking about something much more, something else. "You can't talk about sexuality without talking about how we were made. And that will inevitably lead you to who made us. At some point you have to talk about God." (p. 15)
Sex and God are connected. They cannot be separated.
And off to the adventure that is "Sex God."
Coming up, ch. 1: "God Wears Lipstick."
I enjoyed the thoughts. I'm blogging through my own on it as Amazon just delivered it to my doorstep, in the event you want to know. =)
As for podcasting - best of luck. There is a talk given by the author of podcasting for Dummies given at BookExpoCast that was pretty good on how to get started if you are new to it. http://bookexpocast.com/2006/05/30/bea-3-best-way-to-leverage-podcasting/
Enjoy -
AJ
Posted by: Anonymous John | February 14, 2007 at 12:22 AM