A few weeks ago our pastor asked for oxymorons. People came up with various ones like pure evil, good grief, etc. I’ve run across another one (and, no, I won’t be letting the pastor know): Christian sex magazine. Apparently, this magazine has been around for a few years in South Africa. It has become so popular, that it is now being published in English.
Demand for an Afrikaans sex magazine that targets married, Christian women and shatters prissy Calvinistic stereotypes has increased so much that an English version will hit the shelves next month.
The launch edition of Intimacy – which features lap-dancing, submission and a tricky question about parental sex on the cover – follows a 300 percent growth in demand for Intiem magazine, which was launched in 2006.
“We strive to empower Christian women not to feel guilty for enjoying this God-given pleasure which is sex, but rather to embrace it,” said managing editor Liezel van der Merwe.
Writing on sex from a Christian perspective had been a difficult challenge, with sex and religion both highly sensitive topics and few guidelines in the Bible, said Van der Merwe.
“You won’t find any information on, say, masturbation, oral sex or how to spice up your sex life in the Bible. So the only thing one can do is to take the general guidelines that were given to us and apply it to the best of our knowledge and with guidance from the Holy Spirit.”
Sex from a Christian perspective? “No sex unless you’re married.” Ok, said. What else is there to say? The report goes on to say that some of its most loyal “readers” are ministers.
An online sex shop [website given here] had also been very successful. Each magazine issue also offered a choice of “mild to hot” toys to spice up readers’ sex lives, which are encouraged for use with partners.
“Sex shops are not women-friendly places and lots of women still see them as sleazy and ‘dark’. We aimed to provide a friendly place from where women could order toys without having to pluck up the courage to visit one of these places,” Van der Merwe said.
The magazines were not Christian publications, but written from a Christian perspective, she clarified.
This meant monogamy was endorsed and marital affairs condemned. And while experiments with oral sex might be encouraged, no articles written for gay couples would ever be found.
Would taking Hustler or Playboy magazine and removing any articles for gay couples make it “Christian?” Would you be comfortable having this “Christian-sex” magazine on your coffee table should friends, relatives, your pastor, or your Lord come for a visit?