A report from the 2010 Theologian in Residence weekend, featuring Dr. Jon Pahl on the subject of “Sex and Salvation.”

It is TRUE, the 2010 Theologian in Residence Weekend at St. Stephen WAS about sex, about salvation, about scripture, grace, love, mutuality, marriage.  Also about light, overlapping commemoration of the Transfiguration of Our Lord and including saxophonic improvisation as a musical “!” to worship.

At the center of all this was Dr.Jon Pahl, History of Christianity in North America Professor at the Lutheran Philadelphia Seminary, author of the just-published book “Empire of Sacrifice: The Religious Origins of American Violence”, now working on his next book about 20th century emergence of peace building and peace making he believes will lead to religious peace in  the future.

Questions for the weekend were: Why do American Christians Obsess about Sex?  Whatever Happened to Salvation?  What Would Paul Do? Can a Homophobe be Saved? 

Dr. Pahl was prepared for what he called “robust debate and critique”,  armed with handouts, PC, photos,  drawings, video, copies of his books AND humor.  (Punch line of one of his stories: “We are not welcome at Home Depot either.”) Late-night-TV like, he recited a list of ten Lutheran pickup lines including “Your name must be Grace because you’re amazing” and  “Why don’t we try to build a mighty fortress together?”

Here are samples of Dr.Pahl’s takes on the weekend’s  issues.

 Asked how Christians can find a way to a healthy sexuality, he replied, “When we know we’re saved, when this gift of God’s  grace is embraced by us through faith, we are not anxious about our own sexuality or about others.”

Biblical authority plays a major role in discussions about homosexuality. Dr. Pahl believes how we read matters.  There are what he calls “The 4 I’s of Violent Reading”: Isolating (“Proof”) Texts, Ignoring Intention, Imposing Context and Ironic Significance. Another list is  “The F-A-C-E

of Faithful Reading”: Full Arguments (Scripture Interprets Scripture), Authors’ Intention, Contextually Aware and Eye on Significance. He writes: “Find God’s no and God’s yes in light of the entire revelation of Scripture.”

Stories of family and relationships are important to his message.  He said, “The most loving couple  I have ever experienced in my life were Loretta Coller and Dianne Anderson, 17 years of life together.

He spoke of being 6 or 7, playing “church” in his  parents’ house robed in his father’s work shirt , wearing his mother’s “funky” iron cross for a pretend liturgy that included taking up a collection.  He shows family pictures and talks about his three children and playing timed HORSE basketball with his wife.

For their 50th wedding anniversary he interviewed his maternal grandparents. Asked how their marriage had lasted so long, his grandmother replied first:”Determination was a lot of it. Love, honor and determination.” From his grandfather, this: “ Somebody once said ‘If two people agree perfectly on everything, one of  them  is unnecessary’.”   Dr. Pahl said that interview reinforced his opinion that marriage is work.

He distributed a sheet titled  “FIVE ‘CLOBBER’ PASSAGES, a column of biblical citations from  Genesis, Leviticus, Romans, 1 Corinthians and Jude.  Beside them, two opinion columns. One column indicated three of the  texts “Condemn all homosexual behavior” and in the other two texts  “Sexually active homosexuals go to hell”. Five opinions in the other column about the same readings are “No to rape of strangers; yes to hospitality”, “No to sex property and ritual taboos; yes to mutuality”, “No to imperial pagan orgies; yes to salvation and ethics”,  “No to sexual domination; yes to glorifying God with one’s body” and “No to sexual violence; yes to faithfulness”.

What about Paul, homosexuality and the letter to the Romans?  Dr.  Pahl:”It is not about homosexuality as we understand it.  It is not homosexual relationship or partnership.  It is about  the dominating relationship between a patron and a client.  Paul is a critic of the imperial sex for power and property system. He affirms mutuality and trust as the foundation for all human relationships.  He is the apostle of faith and grace above all.”

On the homophobe issue Dr. Pahl’s position is:  “Self righteousness is sin. The reason for asking, ‘Can a  homophobe be saved ?’ is because  that behavior of defending heterosexual normalcy is a form of trusting in one’s own self and one’s own moral relations as grounds to then condemn others. That to me is far more pernicious than whatever harmful consequences might follow from a loving homosexual relationship today.”

He was asked, considering all the differences over sexuality,  how can the Spirit hold us in the church? His reply:  “God always finds a way.  Arguments in a civil, reasoned fashion are good. That’s how we learn. I am not worried about the church.”

Now to the “light” of this weekend.  Dr. Pahl had said,”In the east, salvation means participation in a place and God as light.  God became a human so that a human could become divine. Through Christ we participate in God’s very energy.”  During Sunday worship he preached about the Transfiguration of Jesus.  He spoke of light just now reaching us from thousands of light years away in creation.  He spoke of carefully lifting his early-born infant son to catch healing in the rays of the sun.  After the sermon, he picked up his saxophone and joined with Director of Music Michael Monaco at the piano, the choir and congregation in a joyful performance of the hymn of  the day, “This Little Light of Mine”. 

Theologian in Residence weekends have been annual celebrations and blessings at St. Stephen since 1996.

Dick Reeves