How should one answer a Hindu/Muslim who questions the sexual nature in Songs of Solomon?
When a Hindu scholar or a Muslim asks me about the sexual nature (they claim so) of "Songs of Solomon", how I should answer him? This is more of a practical question. Even if a new believer asks us "how to respond to my eight years old child which ask the meaning of the verses found in the Songs of Solomon". I would request readers throw more light into this issue. I would also copy the URL of the site which addresses Swami Vivekananda's comprehension on contemporary christianity, which would give you broad insight of what in going on in India among the learned Hindu scholars. URL: http://www.hinduhistory.info/swami-vivekanandas-encounters-with-christian-missionaries/
Song of Solomon 1:1 - 17
ESV - 1 The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's. 2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is better than wine.
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Asked October 29 2013
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Arun Kumar
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Seth Freeman
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I would probably respond to them by telling them that deep, real, intimate emotional and physical relationships between two people is good and healthy. God created us as relational people. The very first institute that God created was marriage. God established marriage before anything else, even the law. The emotional and sexual intimacy found in the monogamous relationship of a committed man and woman, bound together by the Holy Spirit (Ecclesiastes 4:12) is simply one of the greatest gifts that God has given us. Solomon shows no bashfulness in diving into this amazing gift from God. Christians would do well to remember and publicly acknowledge the beauty of sexual intimacy in the proper context. Clearly there is a trend among Christians to see sex as taboo; to not really talk about sex, to avoid it and to teach our children really nothing of the beauty of it. I see American Christians raising children who the moment they get out of the house find themselves ill prepared for the physical intimacy that relationships offer and go down an immoral path because they were not properly taught about relationships. Song of Solomon is a beautiful love story. Yes, it is very detailed, it is very graphic - but so is sex. Remember, Satan is the master manipulator. We should completely expect that he would take one of the greatest and most precious gifts that God has given to us and strive to completely strip it of its meaning and pervert into something immoral. I think we see this very clearly in the objectification of women, and sexual immorality that is so prevalent in society. So how do we approach Song of Solomon? We first come back to the Truth and recognize the beauty, purity, and holiness of a monogamous relationship. We recognize that sexual relationships in the right context are a beautiful gift from God. We don't shy away from talking about sex, and we learn to defend against the perversion of sex that so permeates cultures.
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