tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20870227965166038872024-02-20T10:52:58.700-08:00SWINGING & THE BIBLE: Should Good Christians Swing?Can The Swinging Lifestyle Be Reconciled With Christian Values?Tom Gruberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024941591382297688noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125truetag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2087022796516603887.post-5567802431922271042007-12-31T15:49:00.001-08:002008-07-16T09:03:41.828-07:00How Does the Bible View Swinging?<span style="color:#009900;"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">If there were <em>A Manual for Dummies on Christian Ethics</em>, "swinging" (a.k.a. wife-swapping) would probably be defined as "a deviant lifestyle for hell-bound perverts." </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;">Though the new TV show <em><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Swingtown</span></em> (see video clip in sidebar) portrays swinging as something that died out after the 70s, the truth is that it has simply been swept under the rug and into the closet. Swinging is now an underground movement that is very much alive and well right now today at the dawn of the 21st Century. According to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">NASCA</span> (The North American Swing Club Association), right now there are well over 200 swing clubs in the US alone. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">For most Christians (though certainly not all), swinging is simply a codeword for "adultery" or "fornication." Therefore, it should come as no surprise that when people like me suggest that swinging and biblical Christian ethics just might be reconcilable, we are ostracised as either a heretic, a lunatic, or both. In fact, swinging is regarded in some circles as tantamount to giving Christians a licence to go out and rob banks or murder innocent women and children. To them, the term <em>"Christian Swinger"</em> is an oxymoron, akin to <em>"Christian Thief"</em> or <em>"Christian Hit Man."</em> My response? </span></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#009900;">To quote that Wild and Crazy Swinging Guy from the 70s, Steve Martin:</span> </span><br /><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#ff0000;">"Well, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">excu</span></span>-u-u-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">se</span></span> me!!!!!"</span></span><br /></strong><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;color:#990000;">But seriously, folks, the task of persuading conservative Christians that the Holy Bible allows for swinging is a daunting undertaking indeed. Where does one begin?<br /><br />For starters, we don't want to be so open-minded that our brains fall out. Translated into <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Christianese</span>, the theological term for being too open-minded is <em>"anti<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">nomian</span>,"</em> which means <em>"against the law"</em> or <em>"anything goes."</em> Anything does not go. That's why swingers adhere to the rule "No means no." Anyone who knows anything about the Bible knows that there are sexual misdemeanors that neither the Bible, nor common sense, allow for. Of course, rape is wrong. Of course, child molestation is wrong. Duh! And no sane person wants an itchy case of crabs. Hey, I'm simply saying that swinging does not necessarily fall into that category. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;color:#990000;"></span><br /><br /><span style="color:#990000;"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">None of us should have minds that are like cement - all mixed up and permanently set. Liberals call such people "right-wing conservatives" or "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">legalists</span>." Meanwhile, many swingers suffer from what I call "a Dr. Pepper complex": Swinging is so misunderstood; if only those close-minded non-swingers tried it, they'd discover that it FEELS GOOD! </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Or as Austin Powers said before his born-again makeover to monogamy: "<span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Yeah</span>, baby!"</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;">Of course, it's not just fundamentalist Christians who don't want to engage in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">shagadelic</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">smorgasbord</span> love fests. For some, it's simply not their cup of tea. It has nothing to do with right or wrong. As one person told me, "I don't believe in God. Therefore, I certainly don't believe [as some Christians do] that swingers are all going to rot in hell. I've really got nothing against swinging, if that's what gives you the giggles. Swinging is simply not my cup of tea." F</span><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;">or these people, to swing or not to swing is not a matter of right or wrong; it's simply a matter of preference, like choosing between black tea, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">oolong</span> tea, green tea, or white tea. The point being,</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> it's one thing to say "Swinging is not my cup of tea." It's quite another to say, "Swingers will spend their eternal existence <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">writhing</span> in a cauldron of boiling sulfur." </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#990000;">Regardless of what your current position is on this complex and highly-controversial topic, if you are a Christian (or even if you are not), you owe it to yourself and others to objectively examine all the pros and cons of both sides.</span></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;color:#990000;">This blog is designed to be interactive. Your opinions count. Feel free to leave your comments in the comment box below. Click comments. Also, be sure to take our poll in sidebar. Thanks.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#990000;">I'll be writing more, so STAY TUNED!</span></span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">Coming soon: Swingers and Christians Can Work Things Out By Talking</span></strong> </span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#6600cc;">What swingers and their Christian critics need now is a meaningful dialogue. Please... Can we talk?</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;"></span>Tom Gruberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024941591382297688noreply@blogger.com10