Revised Poll: The Song of Solomon

[Aaron]

Since many in the last poll said the choices did not reflect their views, I revised it. Please respond again.

 

[Mercury]

I voted "It's about the spiritual significance of romantic love between married people, but Jehovah and Israel and Christ and the church are not in view."

I would clarify by saying that Yahweh/Israel and Christ/Church are not specifically in view, or were not in view by the author. Because these relationships draw on marriage as an example, anything dealing with marriage as it should be will have certain parallels to them.

Any marriage reflects to some degree Christ's love for the church.

 

[Marcia]

My view is still not represented. You are making a division between the marital joys of a relationship. I think it is about the joys (sexual, emotional, spiritual, mental) of the married union.

So the one, "It's about the spiritual significance" of romatic love without Jehovah, Israel, etc. in view is closest, except for that darn word, "spiritual." So I couldn't vote for it. Why does it have to be about sexual or spiritual joy -- why not both?

 

[Marcia]

Aaron, thanks for trying but I think you need to put more choices.

 

[Mercury]

After reading more closely, I agree with Marcia too -- it's not just about the spiritual significance of romantic love.

 

[Aaron]

Originally posted by Marcia:
Why does it have to be about sexual or spiritual joy -- why not both?

I meant both. Obviously, on the surface, the Song of Solomon is about romantic love. The Shepherd King and a Shulamite girl fall in love and frolic amongst the flora and fauna.

I didn't intend to negate the surface meaning by specifying a spiritual significance.

So basically you're saying it's about romantic love between married people (its only hallowed place) and its spiritual significance. This was an option in the first poll, though instead of romantic love I said "sex" thinking that most folks would think, as I do, that there is more to sex than mere copulation, and that only married people should be having it.

Do you think folks would participate in one more poll about this?

 

[Marcia]

Originally posted by Aaron:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Marcia:
Why does it have to be about sexual or spiritual joy -- why not both?

I meant both. Obviously, on the surface, the Song of Solomon is about romantic love. The Shepherd King and a Shulamite girl fall in love and frolic amongst the flora and fauna.

I didn't intend to negate the surface meaning by specifying a spiritual significance.

So basically you're saying it's about romantic love between married people (its only hallowed place) and its spiritual significance. This was an option in the first poll, though instead of romantic love I said "sex" thinking that most folks would think, as I do, that there is more to sex than mere copulation, and that only married people should be having it.

Do you think folks would participate in one more poll about this? </font>[/QUOTE]Thanks for taking in our views, Aaron.

Maybe this shows a difference in the way men and women think about love. To just say "sexual" I think for women sort of denigrates love in our mind -- in other words, it makes it sound like it is just about sex, whereas women, imo, are thinking of love as physical intimacy plus closeness, feeling protected, deep bonds of feeling, etc. I don't think women assume you mean the other things when you just have the word 'sex' there.

I also would not use the word "romantic," which I think of as superficial or maybe just a fleeting thing. I think marital love goes beyond the romantic.

How about just that it represents the intimacy and joy of marital love? I would vote for that one!

I don't know about anyone else, but I'll be glad to vote in another poll.

 

[Paul33]

I agree with Marcia, too.

 

[OldRegular]

It is an allegory of the Love Between Jesus Christ and His Bride, the New Jerusalem, the total number of the redeemed, what some would call the universal Church.

 

[Aaron]

I won't start another poll. A majority of the folks who responded recognize that the fullness of this great book is much deeper than can be gleaned by a casual, surface reading.