As an SDA I read what EGW said about sex and tried to follow it.  I know it had an adverse influence on me and my marriage.  I am sure I am not the only one her advice affected.
The reason I am saying this is that our senior pastor has started a series of sermons about, you guessed it, sex.  He is preaching a series of 4 sermons about sex.  I have never heard sex preached in a sermon, but this is very well done and is from the Bible. 
Here is the link:

http://www.centralchristian.com/henderson/media/video.asp

Greg or Stan if this is inappropriate, delete this.  I just want to share this with all adventists and formers, because I know I am not the only one who was affected by what EGW said about sex.
Diana

Hi Diana,

The gospel and the marriage relationship is tied together in many places in the Bible.

The Song of Solomon is a beautiful picture of the healthy relationship between a man and a woman, and also a picture of the relationship of Christ to His bride the church.

We are commanded to love our wives as Christ loves the church. This means we are to have a sacrificial love for our wives. Christ laid down His life for His bride the church.

From what we know of Ellen White, she had a very unhappy marriage to James White, and as a result presented a very distorted and unhealthy view of sex. She also reflected the fundamentalist views of her time.

Stan

I think most of us were cheated out of understanding the symbolism of sex ... and how symbolic it is of how intimate our relationship is suppose to be with God.

When Scripture talks about “know” God, it is the same word used for when Adam knew Eve. It is a very sexual term, describing how intimate God wants to be with us. It is an earthly picture of a spiritual reality that is ours for the asking.

In the creation story when God created the world and He moved over the face of the waters, this is also a sexual term descriptive of how a husband would move over his wife.

We’ve been cheated out of the relationship value sex was meant to portray to us in regards to God.

When God created man we were the only creation not spoken into being. He molded us, and then breathed into Adam’s nostrils, the Breath of Life ... how intimate is that?

As Christians we are so blessed to have a God that wants to be relational with us!

Diana, I support what Stan and Ane said. Ane’s pastor, Bryan Clark, is especially good on this topic and has even written a book on it. (Do you know the name of the book, Ane?) God gave us the gift of sexual intimacy so we would understand a small part of what full union with Him would be like.

It’s a shame that so many Christians have turned sexual intimacy into a dirty thing, since it was given by God for such a lofty purpose. I’ve recently experienced some heartbreaking situations in my circle of friends that are the direct result of a distorted view of human sexuality. One of my friends was so repressed by what Ellen White taught that later in life he became unglued and now has left a trail of broken relationships and sexual impropriety behind him. “Taste not, touch not, want not” was the theology of Ellen White and those sharing her upbringing, but they restricted something God gave for us to enjoy and helped turn what God meant for good into something vile.

Greg

John 3:16
I agree with all of you.  Just in Jud’s first sermon, I have learned a lot.  I am looking forward to his 3 other sermons.
Diana

Greg,

The book is called, “All it is Mean to Be” by Bryan Clark.

Diana,

Thanks for sharing the link to your pastor’s series of sermons on human sexuality. It is my distinct impression that the Song of Solomon was Ellen White’s least favorite book in the Bible.  Ellen White singled out tuberculosis (consumption) as the primary disease caused by masturbation. Based on that faulty theory, masturbation is now mostly history. She further wrote a book on marital excesses in 1870 entitled, “Solemn Appeal.”

Sylvia and I well remember the scary admonitions that were given by some of our academy teachers that to “hold hands” created an electrical discharge that overwhelmed the whole body, etc.  Apparently, the men and women in prayer groups who hold hands haven’t noticed this.  How about the effect of “holy kissing” in early Adventism? 

Dennis Fischer

John 3:16
You are quite welcome Dennis.  And Greg and Stan, thanks for keeping this here. 
My prayer is that any SDA/former reading here will go to the link and hear what the Bible says about sex.  It may transform some marriages/attitudes. 
This weekend the sermon is about women and sexuality.  I am looking forward to it.
God is so awesome and I have to remember, He created sex.
Diana

The topic is ‘What the Bible says about sex.’ But like some others here, that was not the source of guidance and authority over this subject when I was married.  Trying to live faithfully up to the “inspired” counsel of EGW caused much unhappiness, frustration and mis-understandings of what was God’s will concerning marital union.

My wife suffered painfully from guilt over feeling she was sinning when even wearing a sexy nighty.  I think those with the deepest level of sincerity and commitment to seeking to follow God’s will, suffered the most from the twisted distortions in the ‘red books, which impacted psychologically.

Praise God for the all-round, ‘balanced’ freedom in Christ’s
gospel.

Jess

Those little “red books” were a source of many people’s unhappiness, Jess...and caused so much confusion and distress in all areas of people’s lives. I just can’t believe that inspired words from God could have had that effect on people, but they did. ( that tells me that something was not so inspired ).
Once I was threatened with being expelled from college for holding hands on the Sabbath....and worse, yet.....on another occasion, my fiancee at the time...lectured me for having ordered a glass of iced tea at a banquet held at a hotel at the college’s spring banquet ( told me I had embarrassed him ! )...and was continually told not to listen to my Paul Anka records ( the dean took those away from me...lol ) or read a word of fiction !
I won’t mention the sins of makeup and much later on the fuss over a wedding ring worn at baptism.
For these simple silly things I felt like I had committed sins....is that crazy or what ???
Early Adventists were just so misguided as far as I’m concerned...they had no clue...they wanted to be “different and peculier, as Ellen said they must be...and they were quite sucessful at it for a long time. Thank goodness it’s not that way any longer....for the most part.

John 3:16
Jess,
I can identify with the guilt, which your wife had, over wearing a sexy nightie.  My husband, at the time just did not understand me.  I know what I learned from the Red Books contributed to a lot of our/my problems with our marriage and contributed to our divorce.
Diana

[quote author="Ane"]I think most of us were cheated out of understanding the symbolism of sex ... and how symbolic it is of how intimate our relationship is suppose to be with God.

When Scripture talks about “know” God, it is the same word used for when Adam knew Eve. It is a very sexual term, describing how intimate God wants to be with us. It is an earthly picture of a spiritual reality that is ours for the asking.

In the creation story when God created the world and He moved over the face of the waters, this is also a sexual term descriptive of how a husband would move over his wife.

We’ve been cheated out of the relationship value sex was meant to portray to us in regards to God.

When God created man we were the only creation not spoken into being. He molded us, and then breathed into Adam’s nostrils, the Breath of Life ... how intimate is that?

As Christians we are so blessed to have a God that wants to be relational with us!

Ane,

That is so very well said. You have made excellent points.

Thanks to everyone for their insightful comments on this important topic.

Stan

John 3:16
My pastor’s second sermon should be on the internet now.  The sermon was very good and enlightening.  Hope you all are enjoying and learning from them as I am.
Diana

Sex, Marriage, and Family Life in John Calvin’s Geneva (Volume 1: Courtship, Engagement, and Marriage) by John Witte, Jr. and Robert M. Kingdon

http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=48033&netp=1006327

Many people are unaware that the laws of many nations, regarding marriage and divorce, have been highly impacted by John Calvin.  The concept of both the Church and the State being involved in marriage and divorce is a Calvinistic legacy. Remember, Calvin was a trained lawyer.

This 488-page book deals with Calvin’s views on a vast assortment of sexual topics (i.e., dating, matchmaking, prenuptial agreements, annulment, engagement, child support, mental and sexual impairments, drunkenness, mutual consent, contagious diseases before and after marriage, incest, polygamy, et cetera). 

Interestingly, unlike Martin Luther, Philipp Melanchthon and others, John Calvin never changed his basic theological views. His writings remained consistent and cohesive throughout his lifetime.  Books are like friends--we can’t have too many good ones.  Truly, a house without books is like a house without windows.  Happy reading!

Dennis Fischer

Thanks for that Dennis.

Yes Calvin was a rock of Gibraltar, a great intellect and a great man of God.

Stan