religion and fear

Tonight I participated in a group project that dealt with sexuality in congregational leadership. We tried to emphasize both personal reflection and leadership skills in approaching the topic with groups and communities. We tried to encompass a broad range of topics, from violence and repression to morality to education. Jay Johnson, the program coordinator at the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry, provided a response and his own perspective.
One of my concerns throughout this topic, and in my life, is how to talk about sex without invoking fear - fear of violence, fear from past experience, fear of God's wrath, fear of vulnerability, fear of physical risk (pregnancy, STDs, etc). Jay responded by pointing out that religion itself addresses fear: with hope and faith. Part of Christianity itself is about the impossibly hopeful, the extraordinarily faithful, and the boundlessly loving. Through that, we have courage to face our own vulnerability and model what it means to face death and fear - and maybe more than that, to face life itself. Sex is never safe, and neither is life. Maybe that's a way to start a deep theological reflection about God and sex.