Knees: Not Just for Prayer Anymore!

Why do we choose to take seriously certain verses of the Bible and completely ignore others? Many Christians currently focus their attention on supposed Levitical pronouncements against homosexuality and yet equally weighted injunctions against wearing fiber blends go completely unheeded. And who can say which is the greater threat to civilized society - gay sensibility or flammable textured polyester casuals?

In another example Jesus asks us to give away all our possessions and yet the religious right calls for boycotts of IBM and Disney. Excuse me? If they've given away all of their possessions how can they NOT boycott IBM and Disney?

The term for selective scriptural excision is 'hyperliteralism,' the act of focusing on certain biblical pronouncements and vesting them with more meaning than originally intended or more meaning than similar verses in the same context.

In the spirit of hyperliteralism this section of the Adult Christian Sex Tour looks at Christian concepts of submission, obedience, and discipline taken to their logical erotic ends. While there are ample examples of this throughout history this essay will focus on present practices and possibilities.

Losing It

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it."

Mark 8:34-35 NIV

In a culture based on individualism ("I think therefore I am") identity based on being a subject is valued while identity as an object is denied. But subjectivity has a weight to it that goes unnoticed because we can't imagine an alternative (at least not for ourselves though we seem to be able to imagine it for others. "I think therefore YOU are.")

Christians however, understand the value of completely subjecting the will to a higher power and the freedom that can entail. Christian activities that contribute to a loss of self include confession, mortification of the flesh, service and chastity.

Mortification, from the Latin mortificare - to cause to die, is mentioned only twice in the Bible and in both instances it refers to the cessation of behaviors rather than the death of the flesh itself. This has not prevented people throughout history from literalizing the idea of mortification and denying the flesh in various ways - fasting, hair shirts, flagellation, desert lifestyles, chastity, vows of poverty and other forms of deprivation.

If you've ever been on a diet you know that NOTHING makes one more aware of the flesh than denying it. Eroticism is heightened, spiced by subsequent guilt and then basted in the soothing tears of remorse. Add chastity to the mix and you get asceticism, a heady yet extremely physical and often erotic form of worship.

Hi, I'll Be Your Server Today . . .

"Submit yourselves therefore to God . . . Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up."

James 4:7, 10 NIV

Submission consists of obedience, humility and service. In Christianity we are asked to serve first God and then others. And our instructions are quite specific. We are to minister to widows and orphans, the poor, the sick, the imprisoned and the sorrowful. We are to put others first. We are to serve those 'under' us.

We are to obey God and others. If someone asks us to accompany him one mile we are to go the extra mile. We are to obey those in power over us, the government, and all our leaders. Slaves are to obey their masters. The armed services (dig a ditch and fill it), corporate America and the church all require mindless, unquestioning obedience to seemingly arbitrary requests designed only to break the will and ensure submissiveness.

The logical fulfillment of Christian submission would be for men to serve women. By constantly putting women first and honoring them in all situations they honor the words of Christ,

"If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all."

Mark 9:35.

Smack, Smack, Smack, Smack, Smack . . .

"My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction. For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth."

Proverbs 3:11, 12 NIV

Discipline includes testing, punishment and suffering. Pain also causes one to be very aware of the body. In terms of either attraction or avoidance pain can motivate behavior. Chastening is not always based on cause and effect, it is not necessarily administered due to bad behavior but to demonstrate who is in control and to remind the object of the punishment that their body is not their own. This also contributes to a loss of the sense of self.

In the essay, "Why Does It Hurt So Much," by Christian writer Ray C. Stedman he gives 4 reasons why Christians MUST suffer, 1. to discover the power of God, 2. so that we may comfort others, 3. to break the stubborn spirit of self-will and 4. to show that we are members of the same body of Christ. In Mr. Stedman's summation he promotes suffering as a total way of life.

"Now that is a Christian life style. It is about time that some of us Christians quit acting like the world around us, constantly complaining and murmuring and griping about everything that comes our way. We should see these as opportunities to display an alternative life style, and release in our own lives a quiet power that will keep our hearts at peace, because we know that an adequate God is handling the situation: he will take us safely though."

An essay on Christian discipline from the "Acts 17:11 Bible Studies Group" offers the following verses,

"Blows and wounds cleanse away evil, and beating purge the innermost being."

Proverbs 20:30 NIV

"Blessed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. For he wounds, but he also binds up; he injures, but his hands also heal."

Job 5:17, 18

For those of you who wish to better incorporate loss of self, obedience and discipline into their Christian lifestyle, Poppy Dixon's Adult Christianity humbly offers to help.

Fill out the following questionnaire and submit it. Though your responses will be posted in a public area your name and e-mail address will be omitted and these will remain confidential.

Submission Form

Your Assignment

Your current assignment is to listen carefully and attentively to the person you mentioned above. You will write down what they require of you and make it your number one priority to carry out their wishes.

You will write 100 times on a piece of paper,

"i am ashamed of my proud behavior and will honor and serve women [or others] from now on."

Mail this to:

Adult Christianity
PO Box 1666
Hollywood CA 90078-1666

All submissions become the property of Poppy Dixon and can be used in whatever way she wishes.

Humbling yourself to women includes but is not limited to the following:

If a woman wants to cut in front of you in traffic, let her.
If a woman ignores you, be grateful.
Open doors for women of all ages even if they don't appreciate it or get angry with you for doing it.
Never interrupt a woman that is talking. Ever.
Always let a woman go first, into or out of an elevator, onto or off of a bus, while walking on a street, in the checkout lane, at the bank, etc.
The category 'women' includes women of all ages, dykes, drag queens, and transgendered persons, and YES this includes Camile Paglia.

"For the Lord hath created a new thing in the earth, A woman shall compass a man."

Jeremiah 31:22

Christian Submission Links

Why Does It Hurt So Much?

by Ray C. Stedman, "[Affliction] is what ties knots in your stomach and makes you feel anxious or troubled about what lies ahead. It is what makes for hectic days and for sleepless nights. It gnaws continually at your mind and threatens your well-being; it refuses to go away and leave you alone; it depresses you and darkens the future with forebodings of disaster."

Discipline

From the sunny people at Acts 17:11, "Those who have been born again are seized by deep conviction when they sin, and if they do not repent they are always 'spanked' by God for it. Is this true in your life? Do you pass the family test?"

Death to Self

From the sunny people at Acts 17:11, "Christ says, 'Give me ALL. I don't want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work: I want You. I have not come to torment your natural self, but to kill it. No half measures are any good. I don't want to cut off a branch here and a branch there, I want to have the whole tree down. I don't want to drill the tooth, or crown it, or stop it, but to have it out.'"

EDITOR'S NOTE: Jesus didn't really say this.

Caning, Dentists and the Problem of Pain and Love

A truly bizarre essay from the "Stand to Reason" group on Christianity and pain.

Tortures and Torments of the Christian Martyrs

From someone who early on understood the importance of registering for a domain name.

Who's the Head of My House?

A Christian woman explains why submitting to her husband will eventually make him fit to be the head of their household.

Servant's Corner

A young Christian woman's web site.

Qualities of Christian Leadership

Leaders must act as servants and this site has all the rules.

Other Submission Sites

WHAP

Women Who Administer Punishment: includes essays on how to train your husband.

Second Comings, Christian Marital Aids

Saint Sebastian Fun Page

Revel in the passion of the saints.

Keep coming, it works!
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