{"id":3249,"date":"2007-04-30T20:44:14","date_gmt":"2007-04-30T20:44:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/?p=3249"},"modified":"2010-12-09T16:52:51","modified_gmt":"2010-12-09T16:52:51","slug":"5548","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2007\/04\/30\/5548\/","title":{"rendered":"Nyvall Lecturer Captivates Audience With Choice of Topics"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Stan Friedman<\/p>\n

CHICAGO, IL (April 30, 2007) \u2013 Noted author Lauren Winner admitted her two lectures at North Park Theological Seminary on Thursday were incongruous: the first on the Trinity, and the second on sex.
\n
\nStill, Winner\u2019s humor and breezy style captivated the capacity audiences during both presentations when she delivered the Nyvall Lectures in the Isaacson Chapel.<\/p>\n

\"Winner\"Churches often avoid speaking about the Trinity other than as a theological idea because it is so elusive. \u201cDon\u2019t you just feel like you\u2019re nailing Jell-O to the wall?\u201d she asked. At her Episcopal Church on Trinity Sunday, \u201cThe rector is always mysteriously out of town,\u201d leaving the sermon to a guest speaker, she quipped.<\/p>\n

But incorporating a proper understanding of the Trinity into people\u2019s lives enriches their faith and communal relationships, she said. She spoke about three characteristics of the Trinity:
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0The Trinity always is participating in an ongoing conversation about God\u2019s redeeming love
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0The Trinity models distinction without subordination
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0The Trinity means God is defined by relationships<\/p>\n

Understanding that the Trinity already is in conversation should shape how people understand prayer, Winner said. \u201cWe are being invited into a conversation that already is happening,\u201d Winner said. Therefore, Christians should not think of prayer as something they initiate.<\/p>\n

The ongoing conversation also means that prayer includes silent listening. \u201cSilence is probably more urgently needed now than perhaps at any other time in our Christian history,\u201d she noted.<\/p>\n

The lack of subordination in the Trinity demonstrates an \u201contology of peace,\u201d Winner said. \u201cWe are bid to a politics of peace because the Trinity is a relationship without violence.\u201d<\/p>\n

She pointed to John 14 in which Jesus tells his disciples, \u201cMy peace I give to you.\u201d
\n\u201cCalm is not the only kind of peace,\u201d Winner said. \u201cMy peace,\u201d she explained, also means a life of reconciliation. The early church practiced pursuing peacemaking and reconciliation as a fruit of the Holy Spirit, she added.<\/p>\n

Winner said it is easier for people to call for peace in Iraq, where they are not involved in an ongoing, intimate fashion, than it is to live peaceably in households and churches.<\/p>\n

Those households and relationships are characterized by a commitment to hospitality because God is defined through relationships, Winner said. \u201cThe persons of the Trinity don\u2019t exist by themselves, they are defined by their relationships with one another.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added that Christian hospitality mean involving people deeper into one another\u2019s lives, and \u201cnot just inviting people into our homes occasionally.\u201d<\/p>\n

In her second lecture, Winner drew from her book, Real Sex: The Naked Truth about Chastity<\/em><\/a>. She told the gathering that the church has engaged in myths about sex that ultimately are damaging to people, including:
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0People will necessarily feel bad about having pre-marital sex
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Men have uncontrollable libidos and women have none
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Sex is necessary for fulfillment
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Sexual sin is the unforgivable sin<\/p>\n

Telling young people they will feel bad if they have pre-marital sex ultimately will undercut trust in pastoral authority, Winner said, because not everyone feels regret or guilt. \u201cScripture is clear that sin works because what is corrosive actually feels fantastic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Talking about sex cannot be isolated from the larger context of sin in general, Winner said, adding that the church often tells people they will be permanently damaged by having pre-marital or extra-marital sex. As with any sin, people will be affected by their actions and will need to deal with its repercussions, she explained, but \u201csaying reformation is a long process is not the same as saying someone is scarred for life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Winner also told the gathering that the church\u2019s discussion of sex also demeans singleness. \u201cThe way the church says sex is necessary is to say marriage is necessary,\u201d Winner said. That attitude \u201cexplicitly or tacitly says that singleness doesn\u2019t count.\u201d Winner noted that Paul preferred singleness and Jesus remained single.<\/p>\n

The church also causes harm when it tells the lie that men have raging libidos and women are not interested in sex. She drew laughter from the audience as she read from a contemporary Christian book on sex that highlighted that view.<\/p>\n

Women, she added, are told to be chaste before marrying and then to become an entirely different person overnight. That is an impossible burden, she suggests.<\/p>\n

To say someone is waiting until they get married also is to assume that someone will get married. People must realize that they may never get married. \u201cThis is accepting that discipleship is not hard, and that following Jesus will always make you happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The church needs to talk better about marital sex, as well. \u201cThe church has not answered the question, \u2018Why is sex in marriage the best kind of sex?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The answer, she said, is the power of commitment and stability in a relationship.<\/p>\n

Report This Post<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CHICAGO, IL (April 30, 2007) \u2013 Noted author Lauren Winner admitted her two lectures at North Park Theological Seminary on Thursday were incongruous: the first on the Trinity, and the second on sex.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nNyvall Lecturer Captivates Audience With Choice of Topics - Covenant Newswire Archives<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2007\/04\/30\/5548\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nyvall Lecturer Captivates Audience With Choice of Topics - 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