{UPDATE 4/5/24} Josh Howerton’s Sex Advice “Joke” Demeans the Dignity of Women

Posted on by April 5, 2024avatar

“The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has set its sights on an extreme starburst galaxy. Messier 82 (M82) is modest in size, but it’s sprouting new stars 10 times faster than the Milky Way!” esawebb

“”If I looked into a mirror, and did not see my face, I should have the sort of feeling which actually comes upon me, when I look into this living busy world, and see no reflexion of its Creator.”
― John Henry Newman, Apologia Pro Vita Sua

Update: I received a call from SBTS. Howerton attended SBTS but never graduated.

Jesus affirmed the dignity of women despite the conventions of the day.

I have been thinking about how Jesus cared for the women in His life on Earth. The TV series The Chosen beautifully portrays Jesus’ unique relationship with His mother and Mary Magdalene. Phooey to all of you who think this series is blasphemy. I am well versed in the faith, and I beg to differ. I will not get into a spitting contest on who is more “faithful” to the Scriptures. The series has helped me to contemplate Jesus’ humanity in a new way, and I have strengthened my faith. Now that that is out of the way, I can continue.

On Good Friday, my pastors discussed Jesus’ care for His mother with His dying breath. He wanted her to be well cared for in what was to come, so He instructed the “disciple he loved (John)” to treat her as his own mother. Why John? Mary had other children. Perhaps He knew what was to come with them. For example, James, the brother of Jesus, would one day be thrown from the pinnacle of the Temple to his death. The others would be martyred or would travel the world bringing the Gospel. John would outlive all the disciples. Jesus chose well for His beloved mother while He was on the Cross.

Mary Magdalene was said (in all 4 Gospels) to have been delivered from seven demons and traveled with Jesus. She, along with Mary, His mother, and Mary of Clopas, witnessed Jesus’s crucifixion along with John while many of the disciples went into hiding. Mary was the first (alone or with other women) to witness the empty tomb and the first to whom Jesus spoke after His resurrection. What I didn’t know was:

She is mentioned by name twelve times in the canonical gospels, more than most of the apostles and more than any other woman in the gospels, other than Jesus’s family.

I had to smile that Mary traveled with Jesus. Jesus thumbed His nose at the conventions of the day. He would be close to women as well as to His disciples and other men. No wonder Mary Magdalene thumbed her nose at the Pharisees and stayed with Him in His agony. Then, still wanting to care for Him in His death, was the first to enter the tomb. Of course, the locals would assume the worst. Can you imagine what today’s pundits who espouse the Billy Graham rule would say about this arrangement?  I was grateful that my pastors highlighted two women during Holy Week.

The lesson is clear: Jesus loved the women as much as He loved the men. They returned that love and followed Him on His travels and in His agony. He treated women with far more dignity than the conventions of the day might require. I didn’t hear Him lecturing the men to tell the women where they should stand and how they should obey their husbands on their wedding night. He had too much love to demean women in such a fashion.

Josh Howerton demeaned the dignity of women despite the conventions of the day.

Most of you have heard this story and read some great articles. That is why I am focusing on a word not often discussed by the dudbros on the undignified stages, which masquerade as pulpits. They behave more like stand-up comics than they do as pastors. Here is a recap for those who chose to focus on the sacred last week instead of the typical tedious efforts of wannabe celebrity pastors who attempt to capture their share of the evangelical market.

While you watch, ask yourself if Jesus would have thrown this in by the Sea of Galilee. After all, He was a convention breaker.

Baptist News Global posted Pastor’s wedding night advice to women opens a conversation on harmful evangelical teaching on sex.

This is the advice Southern Baptist megachurch pastor Josh Howerton gave the women of his congregation last month at Lakepointe Church in Dallas.

If these words had been spoken by a traditional Baptist pastor in his 60s wearing a suit and tie and standing behind a wooden pulpit, many young couples would have been mortified. But when this advice is given by an attractive younger man with the posture of a standup comedian donning a jean jacket and surrounded by cool stage lighting, everyone laughed and cheered.

The response outside the church has not been so kind. A video of the sermon is being shared widely, and many people are calling out Howerton for his views on women and marriage and submission.

I first heard of this nonsense from  Christian Nightmares (@ChristnNitemare), who “religiously” picks up on disturbing trends in the evangelical population. Others also tried to figure this guy out.

Of course, you know that Josh Howerton is a leading voice in cultural issues of the day…

His bio on his self-named website states that he is a leading voice in today’s cultural issues. What have I been missing?

Josh Howerton is the Senior Pastor of Lakepointe Church, a multisite (and multilingual) church with 6 campuses in Dallas, TX. Before Lakepointe, he graduated with a degree in Biblical Studies from Union University before heading to Southern Seminary and pastoring The Bridge Church in Nashville, TN for ten years.

The three things Josh is most passionate about are making disciples at Lakepointe Church, training leaders, and planting churches through the Strategic Launch Network, Lakepointe’s church planting network that has planted and continues to coach over 60 churches in predominantly secular cities throughout the United States.

Josh Howerton grew a love for ministry by watching his dad Rick Howerton, a generational leader, pastor throughout his childhood and teenaged years. His journey into pastoral ministry is deeply rooted in a rich family legacy, being a third-generation pastor with both his grandfather and father serving in ministry before him. This foundational background, coupled with his own transformative encounter with Christ at the age of 16, set the stage for Pastor Howerton’s deep commitment to the gospel and church leadership.

He is a leading voice in the cultural issues of our day and how the church can best respond. Bold and compassionate, Josh provides biblical clarity in a world of confusion.

In addition to his pastoral duties, Josh is deeply committed to his most important role as a husband and father. Josh is married to Jana and together they have two daughters, Eliana and Felicity, and a son, Hudson. Together they are raising a family that loves Jesus and is committed to serving His bride.

He claims he attended Southern Seminary. However, far too many celebrity pastors claim attendance but do not state they have graduated. I have a call into SBTS to see if they will claim him. I always wonder if dudebros pastors learn this stuff in seminary or by watching videos of Steven Furtick.

Christa Brown posted Evangelicals and Sex: It’s NOT good news on Substack.

On the other hand, I was saddened by an influential heavy-hitter—a much-loved evangelical with a million followers—who instead of standing in solidarity with those protesting Howerton’s harmful teachings, minimized his remarks as merely “stupid stuff” and suggested that those denouncing his message were “piling on.” It was a pattern we’ve seen again and again in evangelicalism—the powerful sticking up for the powerful, while the powerless are incessantly silenced. (In fairness, an apology was later made in reply to a single individual, but of course it received a miniscule percentage of the attention garnered by the original post. The damage was done.)

Howerton himself doubled down and criticized the criticizers. It was “a joke,” he insisted.

Did you know there was another video made by Howerton and his wife that Christa noted?

In the video, as Jana Howerton sits side by side with Josh, she tells of how “the Holy Spirit convicted” her to have more sex with her husband and of how she had to “walk in repentance” for “being selfish” and “being tired” sometimes. Josh corrected her to say that it was “GLAD repentance,” and then he ended things with a laughing reminiscence of a high school football cheer from his adolescence: “Be Aggressive.”

Sheila Gregoire weighed in.

My thoughts on this?

  • Howerton claims it was just a joke. Can anyone picture Jesus “joking” around Mary Magdalene like this?
  • Howerton is naive (or worse) for not taking into account the number of women who begin their abusive marriage being told “where to stand.”
  • Howerton not only showed a lack of dignity in his joking, but he also had his wife participate in his “joking” in another video. That makes me wonder…
  • He has two little girls. Does he think this dignifies them?
  • It is time for some of these “leading experts” to read about how Jesus respected and dignified women in His life.
  • The sheeple, giggling like preteen girls at a slumber party, caused me to wonder what they understand about Jesus’ ministry and church. Hint: it is not a premarital counseling session.

Where has dignity gone in today’s pastors and their stand-up routines that sound like something that could be presented in a failing comedy club?

Comments

{UPDATE 4/5/24} Josh Howerton’s Sex Advice “Joke” Demeans the Dignity of Women — 59 Comments

  2. So what if it was a joke? Why is that a defense? It was a lousy, tasteless, hurtful joke. This sounds kinda like that guy with flaming arrows in proverbs 26-19.

    If a comedian had that many people say that a joke didn’t land, they’d probably reconsider their routine a bit. And a comic who’s actually interested in using humor to say important things (as many are) understands the principle of “punching up.” You’d think a pastor would be at least as careful as a thoughtful comedian.

      (Reply & quote selected text)  (Reply to this comment)

  5. Absolutely no class. Not sure who would view him as being relevant or hip in the least. If his congregation is lining his pockets then I suppose it works for him. It’s capitalism 101.

    I cannot prove this from scripture but part of me thinks that smaller churches are more effective. Maybe 400 people max. It seems easier to avoid all the trappings that come with being big and putting on a show in order to get big. The “multiple campuses” is a red flag to me. There is something refreshingly simple about solid teaching and caring for others in a smaller setting that just works.

      (Reply & quote selected text)  (Reply to this comment)

  6. senecagriggs,

    I haven’t been reading here for a decade by any means but it seems to me Dee pays a lot of attention to the dignity of women. Ie she believes them when they demonstrate they’ve been hurt by powerful people, calls out said powerful people, and advocates against treating women unfairly in church spaces. Are you implying Dee doesn’t really take these things seriously? What do you mean by dignity?

      (Reply & quote selected text)  (Reply to this comment)

  10. Steve,

    Or, you know, they will both be having an (possibly new) experience together as equals, so it’s “their” experience.

    Not to nitpick, but the wife isn’t part of the wedding night because she’s been subsumed into “one flesh” and somehow participates in her husband’s experience. She’s part of it because she is a distinct human being with her own needs and desires and should be able to be fully present.

    I don’t think you’re saying “it’s theirs because she’s part of him.” But I have heard “one flesh” language used in ways that really diminish the personhood of married women and I think it’s important to be careful with the metaphor, especially in this context.

      (Reply & quote selected text)  (Reply to this comment)

  11. As a good Berean, I have searched the Scriptures for jokes delivered in sermons by 1st century pastors … they are not there. It’s also hard to find laughter, applause, and standing ovations during sacred gatherings.

    SBC really needs to get over its dudebro model of doing church. Megamania also needs a serious look. During my long tenure as a Southern Baptist (I’m done with them now), I can tell you that pastors used to preach the Gospel (the real one) in just about any SBC church you went into. And the pew spent more time weeping and praying than laughing along with unspiritual preachers. I’m so old that I can even remember when all SBC members were treated equally regardless of race, class or gender. I guess I’m just an old fuddy duddy to think that Jesus would desire us to do that again in His church.

      (Reply & quote selected text)  (Reply to this comment)

  14. CMT: If a comedian had that many people say that a joke didn’t land, they’d probably reconsider their routine a bit.

    Not unless their Wokies — or Christians.
    Then it’s all the audience’s fault if their oh-so-clever joke doesn’t land.
    (Insert standard denunciations here.)

      (Reply & quote selected text)  (Reply to this comment)

  15. It demeans the dignity of men, too.

    It is not true of women, as a class, that all of them spend their early years dreaming of a magnificent show of a wedding. It is not true of men, as a class, that all of them spend their early years dreaming of the night when Mr. Wiggles will finally get to do his business in a woman.

      (Reply & quote selected text)  (Reply to this comment)

  16. George,

    Thank you.

    I’ve heard that ~300 is a “sweet spot” in terms of “large enough for a wide diversity of gifts but small enough for strong community”.

    I’ve read that there is a similar break-point in military organization. At battalion level (~300-400 combat personnel) and below, commanders lead their people from the front; above that level, regiment and above, they manage them from the rear.

    “Pastors” of large churches are IMO not shepherding a flock; IMO they’re performing for an audience.

      (Reply & quote selected text)  (Reply to this comment)

  17. Max: I have searched the Scriptures for jokes delivered in sermons by 1st century pastors … they are not there

    I don’t know, I think Jesus had a sense of humor for sure. I don’t think humor in sermons is a problem per se. Well-used, it can be a great way to communicate and get people to think. IMO the issue isn’t the humor but what the speaker is doing with it. I could see this “joke” easily being tweaked to subvert the standard sexist immature evangelical marriage script, rather than uphold it. But, obviously that’s not what happened here.

      (Reply & quote selected text)  (Reply to this comment)

  19. I don’t know who these people are (thankfully) but I just watched the video of the wife repenting for not giving in to her husband often enough. Why exactly do we need sex advice from these people? I don’t want to know your thoughts on this topic. When did this become acceptable? If you’re counseling someone, and you understand the context behind the issue, then give advice. Otherwise, stay in your lane and preach the word.
    Years ago we had a skinny jean dude bro pastor that preached a sermon on raising kids, because he was an expert. His kids were 4 and 5 at the time. I laughed at his arrogance and left the church shortly after. He was too full of pride to realize he sounded like a fool dishing out advice to people that have been in the trenches for many more years than his kids had been alive.
    This Howerton guy is that same arrogant fool. When they teach them the dude bro dress code and lingo in Bible college they must also spend a couple chapters on increasing your narcissistic personality. These guys all have that same look that makes me want to wipe the smirk off their faces. And, his wife’s false eyelashes are another symptom. We’ll be reading about this guy in TWW for many years to come.

      (Reply & quote selected text)  (Reply to this comment)

  21. Samuel Conner: “Pastors” of large churches are IMO not shepherding a flock; IMO they’re performing for an audience.

    That certainly appears to be case at the megas in my area. Their pastors are more stage actors than preachers of the Gospel. Some of them could make a good living in Hollywood. By and large, they deliver what the pew wants rather than what God wants; thus, they perform to keep a paying audience coming. The Great God Entertainment sits on the throne … Christianity Lite prevails … Jesus weeps. Defenders of such ministers and ministries would say they are just being culturally-relevant, that they need to serve up a contemporary platform to get folks to attend … I say that Jesus is the eternal contemporary and it’s not necessary to tweak His message for 21st century churchgoers. But that’s just me, I guess.

      (Reply & quote selected text)  (Reply to this comment)

  23. EW66: This Howerton guy is that same arrogant fool. When they teach them the dude bro dress code and lingo in Bible college they must also spend a couple chapters on increasing your narcissistic personality.

    SBC seminaries ought to be ashamed of themselves for releasing characters like this on the Body of Christ. Likewise for the dudebros who ordain them to the ministry. Scripture warns the church about this:

    “Do not be in a hurry to lay hands on anyone, ordaining and approving someone for ministry or an office in the church, or in reinstating expelled offenders, and thereby share in the sins of others; keep yourself free from sin.” (1 Timothy 5:22 AMP)

      (Reply & quote selected text)  (Reply to this comment)

  29. EW66,

    “Why exactly do we need sex advice from these people? I don’t want to know your thoughts on this topic. When did this become acceptable?”
    ++++++++++++

    at least since the inception of The Gospel Coalition, whose contributors assume

    -they have the answers for everything

    -without which people wouldn’t know how to tie the shoelaces of their life

    -people wake up each morning and their first thought is “What does TGC say?”
    .
    .
    and like young adults who haven’t learned how to cook but live off fast food,

    too many gullible christians who have been conditioned not to think for themselves buy into it.

      (Reply & quote selected text)  (Reply to this comment)

  30. Ann,

    “What a jerk. I would have stood up, walked out, and never gone back.”
    ++++++++++++++

    i’d like to think some did.

    if only at least one of them would have projected their voice loudly towards the stage with “I thought it was her wedding night, too.”

    (or something more blunt)

    then they wouldn’t have been able to broadcast it in the first place.

      (Reply & quote selected text)  (Reply to this comment)

  31. Max: he’d be sitting around the campfire with the boys drinking beer. Well, Jesus is around today and I don’t sense that He is doing that.

    Why not? I guess we don’t know if there was beer involved but there’s one recorded instance of Jesus sitting at the campfire cooking breakfast. And what was turning water into wine about, if not keeping a party going?

      (Reply & quote selected text)  (Reply to this comment)

  34. CMT,

    “And what was turning water into wine about, if not keeping a party going?”
    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    my take is Jesus was/is unreligious and practical.

    His innate common sense was/is intact and not spiritualized away by religious magic and paranoia. He was/is in touch with it, and easily reasonable and sensible.

    christian culture (christianity) is full of pretend magic and neuroses. (religions are what people make of them)

    my take is also that Jesus had nothing to prove. No manhood gimmicks like huge muscles, tattoos, tough bravado.

    If I was physically unable to match up socks and roll them post-laundry, and unable to paint my toenails, I think he’d have said, “here, let me help. alternate orange and green?”

    nothing wrong with huge muscles, tattoos or being tough on their own merits.

    too often they are costumes that a full-fledged adult’s inner 12-year old wears to try to measure up to some artificial ideal foisted on them by others.

      (Reply & quote selected text)  (Reply to this comment)

  36. Where has dignity gone in today’s pastors and their stand-up routines that sound like something that could be presented in a failing comedy club?

    This pastor affords no dignity, nor honor, towards women/wives, either.
    I don’t feel that he deserves any respect.
    Maybe he should start doing a Rodney Dangerfield routine.

      (Reply & quote selected text)  (Reply to this comment)

  37. from his bio: “The three things Josh is most passionate about are making disciples at Lakepointe Church, training leaders, and planting churches…”

    I find it interesting that these 3 passions are easily quantifiable. In contrast Jesus exhorts us to love God and our neighbor, actions that aren’t so easily quantifiable

      (Reply & quote selected text)  (Reply to this comment)

  41. Many Wartburgers will be aware of the Christianity Today podcast series entitled “Who killed Mars Hill?”, released about 3 years ago. Inevitably – indeed, necessarily – the series addressed the teaching on sexual intimacy that is referenced in the post here. AWWBA, it was certainly big at Mars Hill. The presenter, Mike Cosper, made an interesting observation at one point: that this whole philosophy reduces marital intimacy to being all about physical release for the male.

    It has always annoyed me that this tribe of christian influencers claim that
    a) Women can’t control their emotions, which makes them weak and easily deceived, so they can’t lead, and
    b) Men can’t suppress their physical appetites, but that’s still women’s fault and men need to lead and get paid most of the money.

    I’m not (as a man) going to say that this kind of teaching demeans men as much as it does women – not that it’s a competition, but it seems to me that women get the worse end of this tawdry deal. But it does demean men, and marriage too.

      (Reply & quote selected text)  (Reply to this comment)

  42. What is it with this gender thing? Is God male? Does he have a penis? Does He have testosterone? Estrogen? Is my spirit male? Is it female? When we’re in heaven, Jesus said we won’t be married; hence, in heaven gender seems to be a non-issue. Why does gender matter now? When I minister out of my spirit, is it my estrogen ministering? When we pray from our spirits, it is testosterone or estrogen praying? It’s neither; we minister and pray from our spirits, which were created in the image of God. Are these “pastors” really just using gender as a tool to reinforce discrimination and inequality? If God had chosen to create only one gender, what other metrics would these exclusionists use to marginalize others, because clearly, they need religious laws to restrict other people to feel better about themselves. Newsflash: God is not male!! If you think that, go home!! My spirit is neither male nor female. Neither is yours (I’m speaking to these religious “leaders”). Jesus ministered out of His spirit, which didn’t possess hormones. Pride in your gender is disgusting. Jesus came to abolish the long-standing social and religious laws that subjugated people without a voice. Stop categorizing people according to gender; we’ve chased away enough people already. The church was suppose to be the place where we got relief from the bullies of the world, not more harassment and injustice.

      (Reply & quote selected text)  (Reply to this comment)

  44. Ariel: When we’re in heaven, Jesus said we won’t be married; hence, in heaven gender seems to be a non-issue.

    I have no desire to go to ‘christian heaven’, I love my earthly flesh and blood existence too much. The Jewish concept of ‘Olam-Ha-Ba’ (afterlife) where the best of earthly life is continued and enhanced makes way more sense to me.

      (Reply & quote selected text)  (Reply to this comment)

  45. Muff Potter,

    Christian heaven has been badly misunderstood. We will have resurrected bodies; we will have real flesh and blood there as Jesus already does because his body was ascended into heaven. God will burn up all the crap we’ve ruined here and will create “a new heavens and a new earth,” all the joys of this earth without any of the pain and sickness and decay. But it will definitely be real in the physical sense, not just a bunch of disembodied spirits floating around.

      (Reply & quote selected text)  (Reply to this comment)

  46. Ariel,

    “What is it with this gender thing? …Are these “pastors” really just using gender as a tool to reinforce discrimination and inequality?”
    +++++++++++++++++++++++

    remember the vicious social hierarchy of 7th grade, circa age 12?

    i remember seeing it in my son’s preschool class when he was 3.
    .
    .
    i recently went to see baby elephant seals. (a beach with access closed off while elephant seals come to birth their young)

    -the babies were super cute.

    -the females were in a group surrounding the alpha male who every few minutes raised his head and crowed (mixing animal words, there).

    -the rest of the males surrounded this group, watching them.

    -when a female made her way to the water for a frolic/cool down, a few males took off to see who could reach her first.

    -the male who reached her first put his fin over her and thrust his head into the air and crowed.

    -the other males retreated.

    -sometimes she rebuffed him. then that male retreated, too.
    .
    .
    cockroaches organize themselves in a hierarchy, too.
    .
    .
    It’s this kind of kind.
    .
    .
    religion gives people powerful tools for this. christianity gives christian men ideal dream conditions for this. (couldn’t be further polarized away from Jesus of Nazareth, though.)
    .
    .
    I myself am reaching higher than preschool, middle school, elephant seals, and cockroaches.

      (Reply & quote selected text)  (Reply to this comment)

  48. Ariel: What is it with this gender thing? Is God male? Does he have a penis

    According to Joseph Smith and Dake of Dake’s Annotated Bible, YES.
    REVEREND Dake went further claiming from SCRIPTURE that The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three emboided beings (in bodies made of “Spirit Matter”) seated on three “physical” thrones on a planet named Heaven somewhere in the northern sky. And that all the angels were male, all the “spirit animals” in/on Heaven were male, and females (animal and human) were creations solely to allow physical creatures to reproduce. Some real Art Bell at 3 Ayem bad craziness there.

    (REVEREND Dake also got in trouble with the Feds for Mann Act violation of “transporting a minor across a state line for sexual purposes,” so this is nothing new.)

      (Reply & quote selected text)  (Reply to this comment)

  50. Susan: from his bio: “The three things Josh is most passionate about are making disciples at Lakepointe Church, training leaders, and planting churches…”

    “Our weapon is Fear. Fear and surprise.
    No… Our two weapons are Fear, Surprise, and These Funny Red Robes we wear…”

      (Reply & quote selected text)  (Reply to this comment)

  51. R: We will have resurrected bodies

    “Now if the rising of Christ from the dead is the very heart of our message, how can some of you deny that there is any resurrection? For if there is no such thing as the resurrection of the dead, then Christ was never raised. And if Christ was not raised then neither our preaching nor your faith has any meaning at all. Further it would mean that we are lying in our witness for God, for we have given our solemn testimony that he did raise up Christ — and that is utterly false if it should be true that the dead do not, in fact, rise again! For if the dead do not rise neither did Christ rise, and if Christ did not rise your faith is futile and your sins have never been forgiven. Moreover those who have died believing in Christ are utterly dead and gone. Truly, if our hope in Christ were limited to this life only we should, of all mankind be the most to be pitied!” (1 Corinthians 15:13-15 Phillips)

      (Reply & quote selected text)  (Reply to this comment)

  52. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/texas-pastor-tells-women-to-do-what-he-tells-you-to-do-on-wedding-night/ar-BB1kPZep
    Worth the read, I think….
    It seems that Gregoire may have proved that Howerton made no indication that what he said was a joke.

    Sheesh, what Christian man, and his wife who ever so *submissively repented* in his little ‘wifey fail’/‘be aggressive’ video would make jokes like that???

    And, the last two paragraphs in the article:

    ‘ In a piece for the BGN, Rick Pidcock wrote that Howerton’s blunder represents “a sacralized attack on human flourishing and a demonstration of how authoritarian pastors wield modern worship and aesthetics as the drugs to help their misogyny go down.” Pidcock said that Howerton painted a picture of women having to submit to men “as kings that get their body.”

    “Not only is that a perfect example of obligation sex, it’s also promoting the dynamics of rape,” Pidcock continued. “It’s no wonder why sexual abuse is rampant in these conservative churches.” ‘

      (Reply & quote selected text)  (Reply to this comment)

  53. Nick Bulbeck: I’m not (as a man) going to say that this kind of teaching demeans men as much as it does women – not that it’s a competition, but it seems to me that women get the worse end of this tawdry deal. But it does demean men, and marriage too.

    How did this tawdry form of religion get started with hardly any resemblance to that beautiful Rabbi from Nazareth?

      (Reply & quote selected text)  (Reply to this comment)

  57. Nick Bulbeck: The presenter, Mike Cosper, made an interesting observation at one point: that this whole philosophy reduces marital intimacy to being all about physical release for the male.

    And the female becomes nothing more than a “Penis Home”, the sheath for the male’s sacred sword.
    There can be no companionship with a sword sheath.

      (Reply & quote selected text)  (Reply to this comment)

  58. Headless Unicorn Guy,

    I know I’m going to get modded for this, but my original example was a lot more crude than a sword sheath.

    More like “nothing more than a crusted-solid washcloth the male reaches for when he gets those Urrges in his Aareas and throws back when he’s “released”.

    There can be no companionship with that, either.

    P.S. Can you imagine the plight of a male in that kind of environment, who might long for deep companionship with an equal but has to treat the female like that and only find “companionship” one-upping his dudebros, all because “GAWD Saith!” on pain of Eternal Hell?

      (Reply & quote selected text)  (Reply to this comment)

  59. Susan: from his bio: “The three things Josh is most passionate about are making disciples at Lakepointe Church, training leaders, and planting churches…”

    Making Disciples(TM) as in…

    “You cross Sky and Land to make one Disciple, only to make him twice the child of Hell as yourselves!”
    — some Rabbi from Nazareth

      (Reply & quote selected text)  (Reply to this comment)

Leave a comment - Click here for our commenting rules

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *