Kink is a way to get closer to God.
So says Natalie Wigg-Stevenson, a professor of Theology at the University of Toronto and an ordained Baptist minister.
Keep that in mind. She not only teaches theology but is a minister.
Natlie is very interested in “transgressive” theology, and by transgressive apparently she means more than theology that paints outside the conventional lines.
She means Queer, which is another way of saying the erasure of all the lines.
Watch this video:
“There are Christian community kink dungeons,” says lady theology prof, in a might-wanna-check-them-out sort of way. Not sure that the Toronto School of Theology, where this prof teaches, is bringing its strongest game to passing on the faith. https://t.co/SYo9gR5wlb
— Rod Dreher (@roddreher) July 6, 2023
As far as I know, God is not hostile to sex, although there are few versions of Christian theological thought that encourage sex outside of committed relationships along the lines of marriage (I put it this way given how marriage definitions have evolved over time). Not being a theologian myself, I can’t speak to where the lines are within a committed relationship defining acceptable Christian sexual practices and those considered beyond the lines of acceptability, but I concede those lines are likely broadly drawn.
In other words, God probably isn’t monitoring your sexual practices unless you behave immorally. He has better things to worry about. In any case, you can take it up with Him.
But Professor Wigg-Stevenson isn’t preaching about God’s acceptance of sexual diversity; she is claiming that BDSM and other “Queer” sexual practices can be a form of worship and a route to the Divine.
Something tells me she didn’t arrive at this conclusion based upon a long study of theological questions; rather she is working backward from her opinions to create a new theology that is something other than Christian.
What is queer theology, you ask? Reverand Natalie says it seeks to “remove the kind of heteronormative all the kind of heterosexual underpinnings of all theological thinking” in order to “reimagine how we conceive of the Divine through the kinds of language Christianity” pic.twitter.com/bUa3vZdBbg
— Karlyn Borysenko (@DrKarlynB) July 6, 2023
There is nothing wrong with an academic pushing the boundaries of interpretation and questioning what appears to be settled or only modestly disputed theological or intellectual pieties; in fact, it should be encouraged, as should curiosity. There is nothing less useful than an academic who parrots what others have said before, as long as they are actually adding something that is potentially true or thoughtful to the centuries-long conversation.
But this isn’t that. It’s an attempt to deconstruct and replace one thing with another, and deeply deceptive. Encouraging people to get closer to God through sex dungeons may fit with some religion or another, but it isn’t anything recognizably Christian. Just as claiming that there are innumerable human sexes has nothing to do with science. You can assert it, but the assertion is based upon something other than science.
Two issues in particular pique my interest here: should a theological institution have hired somebody whose interest isn’t primarily theological, and why on Earth are the Baptists ordaining someone who for all intents and purposes is a heretic?
Reverand Natalie believes that people yearn to be in a kinky BDSM relationship with God to explore the power dynamics between you and God. pic.twitter.com/IyMXimtSju
— Karlyn Borysenko (@DrKarlynB) July 6, 2023
Regarding the first question I am torn, and it would depend upon whether her views are presented as legitimately “Christian.” I am a fanatic about academic freedom, and had I been on a hiring committee (ha!) I would have been inclined to vote “No” on her hiring. It would be like an economics department hiring somebody who argued that a barter system would be compatible with a modern economy. It might be interesting to read their book and dissect it, but what a waste of resources the university could have expended on a teacher who would expand student minds much further and in a more useful direction.
The development of academic freedom as a norm grew out of contentious theological issues, encouraging free debate on contentious issues in a way that was unacceptable outside the academic setting. It would be a shame to toss the norm away simply to silence somebody whose opinions are heretical, and ironic as well.
On the second question: WTF Baptists? Christian sex clubs are a long way from discouraging dirty dancing.
Christianity has been and always will be somewhat countercultural, and not in this way. Christian theology has always been concerned with reconciling the sacred and the profane–we must overcome our lusts in this world in order to get closer to God.
The new theology is based upon inverting this fundamental principle: we must embrace the carnal desires of this world in order to prepare ourselves for the next.
It is absurd.
Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence is a hate group, not the new prophets. Unless you take your theology classes from a proponent of Queer theory, in which case they are the future of Christianity.
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