Weekend Reads: Pop culture and holy sexuality

The Tattooed Jesus: What Would the Real Jesus Do with Pop Culture?

By Kevin Swanson

Worldview expresses itself in culture, and culture wins hearts. Worldview books and tutorials “are hardly useful to the masses, unless they connect the dots between the worldview and the cultural incarnations.” Such is the thesis of homeschooling guru and radio personality Kevin Swanson in The Tattooed Jesus: What Would the Real Jesus Do with Pop Culture? (Generations with Vision, 2014).

In brief, Swanson argues that Christianity requires particular cultural expressions. Some cultural activities represent apostasy, and some “represent a commitment to orthodoxy.” Notice how the Jerusalem council revoked the ceremonial law of circumcision, re-affirmed the moral law of chastity, and required abstinence from blood (Acts 15:28-29). Swanson fits this last law into a third category: “Universal symbols that apply across all cultures and all periods of human history.” He finds in Leviticus 19:26-29 a list of these symbols and asks why 19th-century missionaries worked to eliminate the practices in which their modern descendants indulge. Tattoos, blood consumption, polygamy, cannibalism—are not these “the universal symbols of paganism”? Along with androgyny, these practices are the result of what G.K. Chesterton called “that element of … violence against instinct of which Dante wrote; which runs backwards everywhere through the unnatural religion of the demons” and finds ultimate expression in human sacrifice.

Mainstream apostate culture gave us abortion. Only fools would trust its other gifts, no matter how innocuous they seem.

Swanson’s arguments are unpopular. His exegetical foundation is shaky at points—it’s not intuitively obvious that the texts he cites apply. But his point stands, because his core argument is simply that a sympathetic TV character will convince more people than a philosophy lecture. Cultural syncretism is spiritually deadly. Tattooed Jesus is right: Only an unabashed commitment to godly culture can, under God, save the American church.

Unburdened: The Christian Leader’s Path to Sexual Integrity

By Michael Todd Wilson

A single statement toward the beginning of Unburdened: The Christian Leader’s Path to Sexual Integrity (IVP Books, 2015) caught my attention: “The enemy doesn’t want you to read this book. … My family has been under intense spiritual attack since the first draft of the manuscript.” Such a statement may sound odd, especially since the contents of Unburdened are hardly revolutionary. Nonetheless, whatever author Michael Todd Wilson experienced, I believe him—some spiritual power opposed my reading, too.

Wilson is a professional counselor and sex therapist. He begins his book by saying that the question for Christian men—and especially Christian leaders—is not, “Do you struggle with sexual integrity?” but, “How do you struggle with sexual integrity?” The second question obviously assumes something; so does Wilson. Sanctification presupposes unholiness.

Once you’re committed to sexual integrity, Wilson calls for surrendering to God through prayer. It’s better to do this before you sin, but if necessary, do it afterward. Just do it. Then be honest: People who confess have far better restoration rates than people who get caught. Keep up your non-ministry God time. Get some exercise and go to the doctor. Cultivate real friendships.

When you recognize how far gone you are in sexual sin, the first thing you have to do is pursue sobriety. Just stay away from the sin. But as time goes by and the Holy Spirit works, you must begin to seek serenity. This is a life with “no fear from guilt, shame and possible consequences from our sin.”

The appendix includes a list of about 20 action steps, ranging from a trigger inventory (“When do I sin?”) to an exercise plan. It also has a huge bibliography of works on healthy sexuality.

Wilson is simple, but pointed. Maybe that’s why Satan is so opposed to his otherwise unremarkable book.