I happened on a story about a sex toy website that was catching some flack. Being the liberal minded man that I am, I figured that the site was catching the usual rhetoric from some conservative christian group. This was true, but I was surprised to learn that the sex toy store was oriented to supply Christians. I had to see this.Here’s the original story: The Star

And here is the site: Book 22I am impressed that the Book 22 website caters to a generally stifled population. Most of the sex aids found on the site are run of the mill and can be found in any decent toy store. The site owners refrain from preachy texts and renaming the toys with christian themes. Imagine stumbling upon the Buddy Christ vibrator or the Passion bondage kit with spankers. There were two items that tickled me: Divine Storage Box and Divine Satchel. Is the “divine” reference to God or the state of “Oh God! Oh God!”?Well this site begs the questions “How many other sex websites cater to the faithful?” Time to whip out Google. My Search terms were “Christian Sex Toys”.

• http://www.mybelovedsgarden.net/
• http://www.whollylove.co.uk/

Here are a few books

• http://www.christiansextips.com/
• http://www.christian-sex.net/husband/index.html

… And finally, a website that caters to what’s new in Christian sex news.

• http://www.jesus21.com/index.php?s=default

–Update–

Sorry about not reply or approving the above (below?) comments sooner. My spam filter ate many of these comments.

To expand on the ideas hinted about in the post, my main point is that there is an inherent irony in offering sex toys directly to Christians. Sex toys are the epitome of secular objects. By using sex toys, Christians are turning from the sacred as it is defined in the Bible.

One, sex toys are most often used by individuals to masturbate. Yes, couples do include sex toys during coitus or as foreplay. But most often a sex toy is an object of personal pleasure. This intense individual time focuses on that person’s own pleasure. It isn’t for the glorification of God. Masturbation is for the glorification of the human and the release of tension and desire. It is an experience that can be (and is for many) secular and spiritual.

To cushion the secular impact of sex toys on Christian sacred life, most ad copy on the sites and books listed above are directed towards Christian couples. In particular, married couples. In other words, sex toys are acceptable so longs as they are used by married people and are used in each others company. This enables the use of toys for sexual pleasure to be accepted within the sacrament of marriage.

To be clear, I support the use of toys in any relationship. Wether you are a devoutly religious person or not, connecting with the human in you and next to you is a profound spiritual experience. The reasons for sex (procreation, pleasure, etc) are rooted in a desire to connect. We want to connect with another being. We want to connect to something inside ourselves. We long to connect. Sex toys are another tool to meet that end.

Christianity, in particular, wants humans to connect with God. However, we are supposed to do this through the proscribed channels ;&em church, prayer, and denial of the physical. This is complicated by the gift from God. He gave humanity bodies that feel pleasure when stimulated through the senses. That’s one hell of a contradiction. Why give humanity something that potentially distracts humans from the spiritual?

The only answer is that Christianity has gotten the message wrong somewhere. Here’s a big for instance. What is the real message of the Expulsion? Is it that disobeying God has doomed humanity to a life outside of his grace? Or is it the understanding the difference between good and evil leads to shame? Keep in mind that Adam and Eve had only two rules: Do not eat from the Tree of Knowledge and be fruitful and multiply. Prior to the apple incident, Adam and Eve frolicked in the garden naked as jay birds without a care in the world. They were happily doing things that for whatever reason now were wrong.

The Christian Boudoir questions the assumptions the Bible makes about the intentions of God. Some take the word as sacrosanct. Others with critical minds ask “If this is so wrong, why does it feel so good? And if it isn’t wrong, how can I make it fit into my faith and religion?”