Sexuality: God's Gift

From the Foreword

By Youtha C. Hardman-Cromwell

Those who believe in a creating God must acknowledge that a bodily existence—our sexuality—and our spiritual essence—our souls—are both part of God’s creative action in bringing forth into existence human beings. James Weldon Johnson, in his poetic sermon "The Creation," voices the truth in this way:

Till [God] thought, "I’ll make me a man!" . . .
And there that great God Almighty . . .
Kneeled down in the dust
Toiling over a lump of clay
Till He shaped it in his own image;
Then into it he breathed the breath of life,
And man became a living soul.¹

We are human because we are embodied souls. Jesus was incarnated, becoming an embodied spirit, and, thereby, fully human.

Our sexuality and spirituality are both gifts from God integrated in our being; they cannot exist in us as separate entities. But this is not what the church has emphasized historically. Its teaching has encouraged the idea that somehow our bodily and spiritual existences are separate, that the one is superior in worth and value over the other, the spirit over the body. Hence our sexuality has not been emphasized in our teaching and preaching. So a void of silence has been created in which a number of negative societal issues have emerged and been allowed to flourish unaddressed and unchallenged by the church.

This need not be. To our detriment, we neglect to wrestle in Christian communities with what it means to be gifted with both soul and body, inseparably integrated, as we live as disciples of Jesus Christ and believers in our creating God. The silence must be broken and the dialogue opened up. Sexuality: God’s Gift is a doorway through which those who fear the conversation or who do not know where to begin or who even deny the need for it can enter the struggle and begin the dialogue.

I used the first edition of Sexuality: God’s Gift in my classes at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., where I teach "Sexual Issues in Parish Ministry" each year. Although it is an elective course, my students are diverse in their understanding of and willingness to accept and acknowledge a variety of sexuality issues. They are also diverse in their theological orientations. It is important for every student to have readings that honor their spiritual journeys, challenge them in their beliefs and understandings, and inform them of where others are in their beliefs and journeys. This book is an important contribution in helping Christians connect their spirituality and their sexuality. May the dialogue break forth among all Christians!

If you are hoping to open the door in a conservative setting, this book is ideal. If you are seeking to widen the conversation in a progressive setting, this book will assist you in that endeavor. It is appropriate for a variety of learning and exploring opportunities: classes and individual study for both lay and clergy alike.

Youtha C. Hardman-Cromwell is Assistant Dean Wesley Theological Seminary. Sexuality: God's Gift is available online from Herald Press or by calling 1-800-245-7892 (U.S.), 1-800-631-6535 (Canada). The cost is $16.99 USD/$19.99 CAD. It is part of Body and Soul: Healthy Sexuality and the People of God, a new study and worship resource from Mennonite Publishing that helps churches discuss themes related to sexuality.

Herald Press is the book imprint of Mennonite Publishing Network, the publishing ministry of Mennonite Church USA and Mennonite Church Canada.

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1. Johnson, James Weldon. God’s Trombones: Seven Negro Sermons in Verse. New York: Viking Press, 1929, p. 10.