When Flocks Unfrock
NEWS ITEM: Time Magazine reports that some Protestant churches oriented toward young adults are urging married couples to have “not just better sex, but more of it.” Pastors point to Genesis, Chapter 2, verse 24, which says a man “shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh.”
Good pastors have assumed a stance
That favors sex and dalliance.
Once foul, these topics now are “pure.”
There’s Revelation in amour!
Raw sex, they preach, can right most wrongs,
They cite the Bible’s Song of Songs.
They’ve changed their tune — the old-time hymns
Now yield to themes of hers-and-hims.
Instead of pray’r to aid the weak,
They’re stressing sexual technique.
They smirk and say (with wink of eye):
“Be fruitful, folks, and multiply!”
This exhortation to the flocks
Inspires anew the orthodox.
The formula for wedded bliss
Is “cleavage,” found in Genesis!
The clerics who assert these views
Are planting seeds and filling pews.
Pastorn rufn dos geshlekht
A voyle zakh! (Vos ken zayn shlekht?)
Zey zogn take “Hob kayn moyre
Fun der shtarker yeytser-hore.”
Nisht shmutsik bay zey iz der min,
Nisht koytik, brudik, tsi obscene.
Zey ibervinkn zikh, un lakhn.
Vos far an oysbrei ken men makhn?
S’iz klor, di kirkh fun Kristlekhkayt
Zet heyse seks in a new light.
Haynt ale Kristn zaynen fray
Tsu frukhtik zayn and multiply.
Farmern zikh iz yetst der plan!
Shir-Hashirim zingt yeder man.
Di tuung vos iz seksuel
Balangt in Himl, nisht in Hell.
Azoy filn on zikh, Got tsu dank,
Di kirkhn un di kloysterbank!
Hello, fellow Forward reader! I’m Joel Brown, a Forward reader and supporter for more than 15 years, and currently the chair of the board of directors.
I’m an avid Forward reader because it ticks so many of my essential boxes: excellent journalism, Jewish focus and diverse viewpoints. In today’s political climate, what I most appreciate is the Forward’s independence — made possible by the generosity of its membership.
The Forward is committed to bringing you unbiased, nuanced Jewish news. From my position as board chair, I see an exciting future as we expand our position as the definitive independent voice of contemporary American Judaism.
— Joel Brown, Forward board chair
