Domination & submission _ the BDSM relationship handbook ( PDFDrive )

D/s and Christianity: Similitudes of Submission
The Christian religion is based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth,
who lived two thousand years ago in Israel, and who later became known to his
followers as the Christ, which means the Messiah. Christians believe that Jesus
was conceived the Son of God and born of a virgin for the primary purpose of
atoning for the sins of the world. At the end of his mortal ministry, Jesus was
crucified by the Romans and his body placed in a tomb, where Christians believe
he was resurrected and appeared again to his followers before ascending to
Heaven to reign with God the Father.
Worldwide, there are 2.2 billion Christians, with the three largest sects being
comprised of Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestants. In the
United States, those who self-identify as Christians account for 76% of the
population. Self-identification, for the purposes of this book, shall be the
standard by which we categorize a person or sect as Christian.
This is an important distinction which must be acknowledged before embarking
on any discussion which involves the contentious topics of sex and religion. If
we do not do so, we run the risk of allowing those with an agenda to tailor their
definition of Christians and Christianity to fit their own preconceptions and
biases. You may not realize it, but that is exactly what is occurring when
someone says, “You can’t be a Christian if you’re into BDSM.” A Christian’s
response to that, and to similarly wrong-headed statements, should be, “You
don’t get to define who is, or isn’t a Christian, especially in my case. If I say I’m
a Christian, then by-golly, I’m a Christian.”
The five largest Christian denominations in the United States are:
1. The Catholic Church, with 68.2 million members
2. The Southern Baptist Convention, with 16.2 million members
3. The United Methodist Church, with 7.7 million members
4. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with 6.2 million
members
5. The Church of God in Christ, with 5.5 million members
Among these and the many other Christian denominations and sects in the