Star Wars and Christian Lesbians (714 hits)
Category: RomanceRating: -0.2 on 7 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by David Saint Hubbins (View user info) at 2005-05-10 11:21:04 EDT
This is for all you God fearing dykes out there who can't get enough of the holy trinity: God, Pussy and of course Star Wars...
Queering the bilble:
The Song of Songs, known traditionally in some Bible translations as the Song of Solomon, is literally translated as The Most Sublime of Songs, The Best Song of All Songs, or The Most Excellent of Songs. Were this poetic expression of human love read as an independent literary writing it would most likely be described as sensual, erotic, romantic, lustful and even hot! But the Song of Songs by it's admission into the canon of the Hebrew Testament was elevated to that of a sacred text and this meant to both Jew and Christian it must logically possess a sacred meaning and so multiple allegorical layers was bestowed upon this passionate dialogue between two lovers. For Jewish scholars the Song of Songs offered a glimpse of God's intimate and covenantal relationship with Israel. This is why Rabbi Aquiba declared in the first century "the entire world, from the beginning until now, does not outweigh the day in which Song of Songs was given to Israel." For the Jews of the first century, this was indeed the Best Song of all Songs, for as an allegory it proclaimed the God's special love for the Chosen People.
The Early Church fathers, with their contemporaries back to the Apostle Paul, were heavily influenced in their understanding of human sexuality through Plato's popular theory of dualism. What Plato did was separate humanity into two separate parts, the physical body and the spirit being. Anything of the spirit was holy but anything that came through the body was corrupt and had no part in the spiritual world. This included human sexuality and just how did this view impact the Early Church fathers? Well, Chrysostom held sex to be so corrupt that prior to the Fall, the event considered to be the entrance of sin into the world, he believed that children, rather than being conceived through sexual intercourse were planted into the woman through the ingestion of certain plants. Not to be outdone in his repulsion, Tertullian found sex to be such a vile act that he stated his desire that the human race die out rather than for people to continue in such evil acts. Origen went a step further in his commitment to the evils of human sexuality by castrating himself rather than to risk personally participating in such obscene impurity. To these early and sexually-confused theologians the Song of Songs was unapproachable as a literal story of human love and intimacy and so following the lead of the first century Jewish scholars Origen originated the Christian allegory of Christ and the church as the intended message of the Song of Songs.
While there's no proof historically or within the text itself that the writer of the Song of Songs ever intended this poetic work to be a spiritual allegory, it still provides allegorical meaning for us that can enrich our spiritual understanding. Compare it to other stories of more recent origin, stories like Stephen Kings "Shawshank's Redemption", the classic "Les Mis" or even the Star Wars Trilogies. Each of this are rich with Christian themes of salvation, forgiveness and redemption. While in Bible college many years ago I went with a group of students to see the newly-released Star Wars. Following the movie we went out to eat and over the dinner table a deep theological critique of the film by this collected group of amateur film critics commenced. "When Luke Skywalker led the fighter jets against Darth Vadar did you notice the doves on their helmets? Don't you think that was symbolic of the Holy Spirit and how we are empowered by the Spirit of God to do battle against evil?" "Speaking about Darth Vadar, the parallels between his fall from grace and that of Lucifer is remarkable." After about fifteen minutes of this I finally spoke up and said "Hey, I just thought it was a really great space movie and was that R2D2 cool or what?!" While layer after layer of Christian symbolism could be projected on the movie, there seemed to be a dishonoring of the writer by ignoring his original intent altogether.
So I believe it is with the Song of Songs. Some Christian theologians have called the Song of Songs the most biblical of all the Bible. Why? The Bible is a collection of books that tell stories gathered across centuries. Stories of battles won and heroes born, stories of miracles and healings, stories of life and death and resurrection, but above all these stories the central story to the Bible is the story of God's love. And the Song of Songs, the story of erotic passionate human love can serve as a rich metaphor for the love of the God for humanity even if that wasn't the original intention of the writer. But first, let's begin by exploring the literal narrative and it's rich and rewarding implications to us as Christian women.
The Literal Meaning of the Song of Songs and It's Value to Women:
1. Positive Portrayal of Women and Women's Sexuality
In the Song of Songs we have a much needed counterbalance to the negative view of women and women's sexuality as portrayed in other portions of the Bible. Consider the whore of Proverbs, chapter two, who spends her nights roaming the streets to lead young men away from wisdom. Here in the Song of Songs, the young female lover goes out into the city streets searching for her beloved so they might come together in love. The young woman of this story speaks boldly of human sexuality and her womanhood is celebrated. (We know she's young because when her brothers speak of her they refer to her as their little sister who has yet to physically develop, 8.8).
Elsewhere in the Bible, a woman is viewed as the passive object of sex through phrases such as "he knew her," and "he went into her." In the Song of Songs the woman eagerly seeks and initiates sexual encounters, boasting of waking her lover up in the night, of leading him to bed, and arousing him from dreams. Likewise, male-gendered language dominants the biblical landscape but here again the Song of Songs offers a rich counterbalance by replacing the common term "my father's house" with "my mother's house," and the brothers of the young woman aren't "my father's sons" but are "my mother's male children."
2. Love is Love's Reward
The Song of Songs is the love story of an intimate relationship, where love has no higher purpose than love for the sake of love alone. To them, love is its own reward. They have no concern with a marriage of tribal alliances or the exchange of property as is typical of their culture. There is no mention of children now or in the future. Within the text itself there is offered no proof that the two lovers are even married. While he calls her his bride he also calls the young woman his sister and a dove. These are words of endearment and intimacy. What else might lead us to believe the two aren't married?
The lovers come together for love making in the night and part by morning.
In Song of Songs 1:6 the young woman says that her brothers are angry with her and are punishing her by making her the keeper of the family vineyards. Why are they angry? Because she's failed to keep her own vineyard, a figurative symbol for her own sexual virtue. If she were married, why would her brothers punish her for not 'keeping her garden'?
In Song of Songs 8:8-10 the brothers voice their intentions to protect their little sister until the day time when she is promised to another and in response she declares that she has already found favor in the eyes of her beloved. Why would the brother's be asserting their determination to protect their sister's virtue until she's spoken for if she is already spoken for in marriage?
While it's not uncommon in evangelical Christian or conservative Christian circles to hear Song of Songs used as some kind of 'manual for Christian marriage', there is not explicit anywhere in the text that leads us to interpret this as representative of a marriage. The entire thrust of this passionate book is for the purpose of love and love alone.
3. Erotic Love is Joyful and the Human Body is to be Celebrated
The setting of the story is Spring time when all of creation is bursting forth with life, a time of great celebration, abundance and fertility among a pastoral people in love with their land. While the relationship is clearly heterosexual, gender or male-female relations aren't the focus of the story but rather human love. The lovers rejoice in their lovemaking and desire for the other. There's no hint of guilt or shame. There's no talk of right or wrong, of holy or evil. Their desire drives the story, desire that's often portrayed as an unbridled and evil human drive elsewhere. Eros love is presented throughout the Bible as something to be regulated and guarded against but here are two people reveling in their lovemaking.
4. Sexuality is Spiritual
There's no religious language, no mention of God, no talk of the divine in explicit terms or even implied for that matter within the Song of Songs. The conversation is sexual, sensual, passionate, and hot. It breaks down the borders between sexuality and spirituality, between the physical and the spiritual. Dualism doesn't belong here among these two lovers nor should the separation exist in our lives. Is there something we need to do to make sex between ourselves and the woman we love spiritual? Do we need to include prayer into our foreplay? Does each orgasm need to end with a benediction? No. Sexual expression between two people in love is spiritual. Where love is, there is God. I'm not being flippant here. The lovers we see in Song of Songs didn't meet in a bar and have a chance encounter. There's nothing casual about their relationship. It's a relationship of commitment and fidelity but it's also playful and flirtatious and sexy. I would suggest that though God is never mentioned, the two lovers encounter the divine each time they come together.
Considering how repressed we often are around sexuality and our bodies, and all the crazy messages we've taken in over the centuries, if the Song of Songs served no other purpose than providing us with a healthy, glorious, joyful celebration of what it means to love another person and to be loved, it would be enough. That in itself would make it sacred and holy. The love between two people is sacred and holy and the reason I believe it is, is because it serves as a reflection, however dim, of a greater and more passionate love story, that between the lover and the beloved, between God and you.
You and I have been called to live in a Sacred Romance with God and it's that sacred romance that we're going to be exploring but first we need to catch a glimpse of the sacred longing that serves as the background and the yearning behind our great love story with God.
Did you dig all that, great, now let's get down to some serious lezzing!!!
User Reviews
Submitted by Zombie_Reagan (user info) at 2005-05-10 15:20:43 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
FUCKING BIBLE-BASHERS => BANNED
HAVE YOU NO RESPECT FOR RELIGION?
Submitted by BillsSBChamps (user info) at 2005-05-10 14:46:47 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
if the title contains the word lesbian there sure as hell better be some hot girl on girl action.
Submitted by congo (user info) at 2005-05-10 14:34:28 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
liked it.
Submitted by Teephphah (user info) at 2005-05-10 11:38:08 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
I don't get the Maddox reference, but I think your name is a Spinal Tap reference, no?
Submitted by professorfuckface (user info) at 2005-05-10 11:25:25 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Why would ANYONE want to immitate maddox?
Submitted by Adamdidit2u (user info) at 2005-05-10 11:24:15 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by knucklesnelson (user info) at 2005-05-10 11:23:22 (#)
Ranking: -2
I'm not reading all of that.
GO HEAT WOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
Submitted by knucklesnelson (user info) at 2005-05-10 11:23:22 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
I'm not reading all of that.
GO PISTONS WOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!