What is sex good for ? (besides the obvious)

Christians stand against certain forms of sexual activity because of what we think sexual activity is for. It is for the building of a lifelong, committed, and intimate relationship between one man and one woman, in which complete self-giving is possible. It is not for causal or time-limited relationships, in which people often engage in modern Western culture in particular and which are often focused around entirely selfish needs and desires (even if two sets of selfish needs and desires are temporarily met in the encounter). (253)
Provan, Ian. Ecclesiastes/Song of Songs. The NIV Application Commentary. Grand Rapids Zondervan, 2001

Projecting

„Whenever you are working harder on somebodies else’s problem more then the person himself is – it is [likely that it is] more about your own problem then theirs.“

- Mark Davies in „Introduction to Christian Counselling“ (Regent College Class).

Sexuality redeemed (1)

God is interested in us as whole people. We are not souls encased in a husk of flesh. [Song of Songs] celebrates the joys of physical touch, the exhilaration of exotic scents, the sweet sound of an intimate voice, the taste of another’s body. Furthermore, the book explores human emotions – the thrill and power of love as well as its often attendant pain. The Song affirms human love, intimate relationship, sensuality, and sexuality. (59)
Longman, Tremper III. Song of Songs. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001.

Injustice promotes humility

It is good that we at times endure opposition, and that we are evilly and untruly judged, when our actions and intentions are good. Often such experiences promote humility, and protect us from vainglory. For then we seek God’s witness in the heart.

Thomas a Kempis, The Imitation of Christ. Christianity Today, Vol. 30, no. 3.

Just hear what I have to say

Process is the most unrecognized cause of conflict [the other causes are the people involved (who) and the issue at hand (what)] and the most ignored element in addressing conflict. Frequently the process itself is the main problem. Generally people can live with a decision they may not actually prefer if they have had a voice in that decision or resolution. (p23)

Making Peace with conflict: Practical Skills for Conflict Transformation,“ eds. Carolyn Schrock-Shenk and Lawrence Ressler.

Knowing God

„A little knowledge of God is worth more than a great deal of knowledge about Him.“
-James I. Packer in Knowing God

Gesundheit

If being human is identified with being healthy, then the sight of a handicapped person brings insecurity. In the mirror of his deformity we only see ourselves as we do not want to be. We do not see the handicapped we only see the handicap, because we do not want to see ourselves simply as a person, but only as a healthy person. That is why the handicapped evokes fear and aggressiveness. … It is only when the healthy cease to present a problem for the handicapped that the practical problems of the handicapped can really be solved.

Jürgen Moltmann, The Church in the Power of the Spirit (London: SCM, 1977), 186.

Love

„To God, love is not an emotion but a self-offering.“

Matthew the Poor in Orthodox Prayer Life

gekuerztes Evangelium

To reduce salvation to a controllable religious factor, it was necessary to ‘reify’ it, that is, to make it into manageable things (res). Very gradually … salvation became to be understood as a commodity which the Christian had, or owned, or could gain, or could lose, and one that the church meditated.

Darrell Guder, The Continuing Conversion of the Church (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2000)

Bonhoeffer: Alleinseins vs. Einzelnensein

Gemeinde ist Überwindung des Alleinseins, nicht des Einzelnensein. …. Ich und Du werden nicht verschmolzen. Das Ich wird vor Gott nicht aufgehoben. Wo der einzelne ganz einzelner ist, tritt die Gemeinde für ihn ein. … Das eigene Ich wird für den Nächsten aufgegeben. … Eigenes Leben und eigene Ehre sind nicht die letzten Wirklichkeiten des Lebens.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Das Wesen der Kirche (Nördlingen: CHR. Kaiser Verlag, 1971), 62-64.