Description or Prescription? (Part Three) – What was the original prescription?

Instead of a prescription for the place and practice of sexuality, Genesis 3:16-19 gives a description of how traditional marriage became a symptom of our damaged sexuality. We have generally adopted the disease as though it is the cure. Where and how, then, do we find normative, healthy, blessed sex? If cisgendered heteronormative monogamy is not God’s prescription for sex, despite what most Christians claim, then what are our relationships supposed to be?

Originally, there were just five commandments given us by God Themself (Genesis 1:28). [1] Be fruitful, [2] multiply (make more people), [3] fill the earth (inhabit the whole planet), [4] subdue it (take responsibility), and [5] have dominion over all other life (exercise authority, i.e., manage the resources). But the first (most important!) of these commandments is often ignored, or combined with the second as though the only time you should be fruitful is when you’re intending to multiply.

Consider the purpose of fruit for a moment. Being fruitful means to attract participation. It’s delicious and intended to be shared. It’s fun, juicy, fragrant, exhilarating and, yes, seed-bearing – but it can certainly be enjoyed without planting those seeds. So unless we combine being “fruitful” with “multiplying,” it seems that the description of sexuality is a prescription for activities that are not necessarily procreative. Let that sink in a bit, and then we’ll discuss the implications that has for a more descriptive definition of the original sin. In the meantime…

About the images: Shibari, artistic rope-work that may or may not involve eroticism and/or sex, often involves suspension – hanging the fruit from some secure structure. For Deanna and Elly, it seemed sufficient to tie but not hang the attractive, delicious, fun, and juicy fruit they volunteered to be. In these shots, though, it’s the voyeur peeking in from the balcony above them (and their rigger/photographer) that captures the essence of Genesis 1:26-28 for me. And that sets the stage for our next discussion: how original sin disrupted the beauty in which we are to participate, not merely spectate.