An interdenominational conference entitled ‘Our Bodies Proclaim the Gospel’, took place 14 –16 January at the Emmanuel Centre, Westminster.
The main speaker, Christopher West, is a Roman Catholic, but his core points were biblical. He began by noting that human desires are created by God to propel us upward towards ultimate union with Christ, of which the pleasurable, creative union of covenant faithful heterosexual marriage is the physical picture.
Theographic not pornographic
The problem is, as our sexuality has been corrupted by the Fall, the ‘rocket launchers’ (West’s phrase) of desire are turned inwards. Desires then instead of propelling towards marriage and children and worship of God in Spirit and truth, are used in idolatrous worship, lust after the human form (instead of honour for the whole person), and selfish pursuit of pleasure. In a memorable phrase, West said our bodies are created to be theo-graphic, not pornographic.
