Romantic Theology Today with Dr. Michael J. Christensen

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Have you ever heard of Romantic Theology? Sounds good, doesn’t
it? Let’s find out more with Dr. Michael J. Christensen.


After becoming a Christian at the age of 13, I developed some
habits and behaviors which could have been considered prudish,
ironically quite contrary to my generally outgoing personality.
Not committing adultery or fornication before marriage became my
obsession for over a decade, carefully studying the meaning of
the word, along with fornication, the way other teens might have
devoured those certain National Geographics or hard to come by
Playboys. How was a Christian adolescent survive a normal
increase in testosterone which felt more like an abnormal bomb
going off in my body?


“Be careful of those things which could naturally lead to
inappropriate sexual intimacy in your relationships with girls,”
I heard from Rev. Bob Letzinger during a mid-winter conference at
First Presbyterian Church in downtown Pittsburgh. Amazingly he
confessed to having a climax the first time he ever held hands
with a girl. His talk was famous, and we knew it was coming, but
did he really say that? And he kept going, warning about the hugs
which lasted too long, the times alone without accountability,
the dates which lasted too late into the night.


As if all of that wasn’t enough, my very best friend sitting next
to me (who currently holds a very prestigious position as a
professor of theology at a premier evangelical seminary) looked
over at me and noticed the mark on my neck. He looked like he had
seen a snake as his face turned red and his hands started to
shake. Quietly and accusingly he pointed at it, trying not to be
obvious as the speaker continued, “That’s a hickey,” he said with
wide eyes.


I hadn’t known about hickeys until the previous evening with my
long-term high school girlfriend, Kathy. You remember those days,
your first love, the power of attraction, the depth of longing.
Could that tell us anything about God and the Church?


Let’s ask Dr. Michael J. Christensen. professor of theology at
Northwind Seminary.


For more about Michael Christensen, visit
https://www.northwindseminary.org.