The Big Questions About the BibleIhe Atụ

Does the Bible Have Naughty Bits In It?

Absolutely. There are some very naughty bits in the Bible. Even that phrase "naughty bits" reminds us of how sex became a taboo subject in the Christian tradition, that we shouldn't call them naughty bits, because contrary to what you might think, sex isn't something bad in the Bible.

There's a whole book of the Bible dedicated to the erotic love between a man and a woman. It's called The Song of Solomon. The book describes the desire of a man and a woman and its fulfillment in tender and sensual lovemaking.

They get around this throughout Christian history. Many Christians have said the Song of Solomon is not about sex at all but Christ's love for his church. Now, there's no doubt Christ loves his church. I'm not going to discount that completely. That might be one way we can see the book, but the facts are the book doesn't mention Jesus, and it was written around a thousand years before him. It's quite explicit, though, in a Hebrew poetic way, so much so that some have questioned whether it should be in the Bible at all.

I'm glad there's sex in the Bible. On the one hand, the Bible does contain stories of sex gone wrong when sex was misused in the wrong context and when it destroyed lives. On the other hand, the Bible also presents sex how it should be – beautiful and life-affirming as a deep reflection of intimacy and commitment within a loving marriage relationship.

The world's understanding of sexuality is broken. Usually, it's about merely satisfying your physical desires in any way possible. Too often, it's about power and sometimes even abuse. The Song of Solomon shows us a different kind of sexuality in which there is romance and mutual freedom and wonder in the other. The Song of Solomon is a beautiful duet where the woman and the man are both equal partners.

Are those Christians who say the Song of Solomon is about the love of Christ for his church wrong? I don't think they're necessarily wrong. After all, the Bible consistently uses the husband's love for his wife as a metaphor for Christ's love for his church.

If that's true, perhaps the shocking thing is that God uses sex to illustrate how much he loves us, whether directly or indirectly. Every part of us, in every aspect of our being.

So, yes, there are naughty bits in the Bible. Well, although for God, they're not naughty bits at all. He created sex to be beautiful. It's amazingly beautiful when you remember who created sex and why.

– Eliezer Gonzalez