Christianity’s Contributions to the Current Sexual Milieu: Both Damaging and Precious

Audience

Therapists, individual and couples counselors, psychologists, and pastoral counselors.

Description

With Christian clients and students, you may have noticed some commonly held scriptural Christian principles impede our ability to teach, counsel, and do therapy, especially in the areas of consent and sexual intimacy.  If we, as educators, counselors, and therapists, can understand these Christian principles with clarity, we will be able to empower our clients see the difference between "authentic" Christian values and "pseudo"-Christian values.  

This can mean breakthroughs for our clients' spiritual journey as they properly understand how their Christian values are essentially NOT at odds with many modern sexuality teachings.  Rather than seeing their professional being at odds with their faith (and not returning for another session), they'll be delighted that the professional is encouraging them to deepen their faith journey.  

Although this workshop specifically addresses consent and intimacy for couples, the dialogue and principles introduced in this workshop will impact other related areas, specifically, rifts within the Christian diaspora on values such as acceptance of LGBTQIA+, egalitarian versus complementarianism, and reproductive justice.  These controversies can be daunting or at best perplexing.  The compassionate response to these dialogues must begin a greater understanding of Christian principles, which needs to include theological and proper exegetical principles.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES 

1.  Identify and discern between "authentic" and "pseudo"-Christian teachings regarding consent and intimacy for couples.

2.  Recognize that the essence of Christian teaching encompasses love, acceptance, and agency, which is also the essence of modern sexuality teaching.

3.  Educators, counselors, and therapists will be able to relate to their clients with conservative Christian values with confidence and not dread, equipped with tools to further their clients' spiritual journeys.

FULL OUTLINE 

1.  Christian values imbue us all in our culture, atheists and theists alike.  

2.  Brief examination of the trajectory of sexual teachings from Judeo-Christian history and in Hebrew and Christian scriptures.  

3.  What are the remarks from your clients regarding their faith values, that perplex or stymie you?

4.  Specifically address "Women be submissive to your husbands" and "do not deprive each other".  Many women do not approach their pastors or Christian counselors/therapists/educators for fear of what they may be told.  Many persons, especially women, are unknowingly experiencing non-consensual sex or even marital rape.

5.  That emotional and spiritual intimacy is the teleological end using the God-given gift of sex, is fully scriptural. 

6.  Conclusion:  scriptural analysis must include the entire body of scripture, not just one passage.  The sexuality teachings of most sexuality professionals are consistent with the love and compassion in the teachings of Jesus.

Presented by Rev. Paul Paiva, M.Div., M.A., EBC