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Sex, Sin and Salvation
A Sermon by the Rev. Preston Mears
December 2, 2007

One of the messages I received growing up in church, in the home, and maybe even the drinking water, was that sex was mostly sinful and salvation was a matter of getting past “it.” Most certainly, sex outside of bounds of traditional marriage was strictly forbidden. Indeed, a message that was out there, and is still operative for many, was that sex was an unfortunate necessity for procreative purposes. I know that some of you here received the same message and, like me, have transcended that message.

There is value in understanding the roots of the Sex, Sin and Salvation message: 1) To suggest positive, alternative language; 2) To encourage an active interest by all of us in the very immediate and current debate in our State regarding marriage and civil unions; 3) To reinforce our work and discussions as a congregation on our becoming an officially recognized UU Welcoming Congregation.

To start at the beginning: Ancient Hebrews believed that salvation in terms of life after death was through ones progeny and therefore an emphasis procreation and adultery as a breaking of one of the Ten Commandments. Guys didn’t have DNA testing to double check their purported progeny! The point here is that one will not find any suggestion in the Old Testament that sex is an “unfortunate” necessity. The story of Ruth and Naomi in the Book of Ruth is one of faithfulness to a husband’s family and lineage. The Song of Solomon is clearly a book of Love poetry, one which the early church tried to get around by saying that it is an elaborate allegory predicting the relationship of the Risen Christ to His Church.

What changed? For the Hebrews as an oppressed people going back to the 7th century BC, salvation also came to be seen as that time when God’s reign would come to pass with the defeat of Israel’s enemies. From the 23rd Psalm, “Even though I am surrounded by enemies…” is the circumstance. The hope is, “Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life.” The raising up of God’s people and the dominance of peace is described by the prophet Isaiah when, “…swords are beaten into plowshares.” By the time of Jesus, circumstance under the Romans felt more impossible than ever and a kind of language that emphasized a stark contrast between good and evil. The language

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