Sexual Assault Conviction Thrown Out By Appeals Court.

Sexual Assault Conviction Thrown Out By Armed Forces Court Of Appeals.
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Captain Nicholas Stewart, USMC.

The Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces threw out this week the sexual assault conviction of Marine Captain Nicholas Stewart, citing issues with the prosecution as well as improper action by a military judge.

Stewart, who served as a fighter pilot in Iraq, was convicted of sexual assault under a 2006 law that enabled the military to make charges in cases in which the victim was "substantially incapacitated" from alcohol. Stewart was accused by a longtime friend who said although she was not forced by Stewart, she was too inebriated to have consented to sex. Stewart challenged the accuser, but was convicted and sentenced to two years in prison. He was also registered as a sex offender.

As McClatchy reported Thursday, Stewart's case was appealed, and the court found that the prosecution lacked evidence to support the accuser's claims. The court also stated in its ruling that the military judge at Stewart's initial trial had "created the framework for a potential double jeopardy violation" by having the jury re-deliberate the charges against Stewart. In the first deliberation, Stewart was found not guilty. However, when asked by the judge to consider what was essentially the same charge, the jury found the Marine to be guilty.

"As a result of the military judge's instructions, [the jurors] were placed in the untenable position of finding Stewart both guilty and not guilty of the same offense," wrote the appeals judges.

The 33-year-old Stewart, who had served more than a year of his sentence, expressed relief after the appeals court's decision.

"I am grateful for this long-awaited proof of the integrity of our judicial system," he said. "I look forward to continuing to serve our country and our Marine Corps."

Stewart's case illuminates issues that some have taken with the 2006 law. As McClatchy reported last year, the law has been described as "flawed" for its confusing language, as well as the fact that it shifts the burden of proof to the accused.

However, with recent Pentagon reports showing that sexual assault in the military has taken a dramatic rise, others worry that not enough is being done to prevent assault. After the report, which showed a 64 percent jump in assaults since 2006, was released, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta announced plans to create new initiatives aimed at curbing the growing problem.

Several cases invoking the 2006 law have made the news recently, including the charging of three Air Force cadets with sexual assault. Two of those cadets were charged with assaulting women who were "substantially incapacitated." These cases were also reportedly complicated by a lack of forensic evidence.



Compare this case to the Webster Smith case and you will see how fickle this court can be. The Smith Case was appealed to the Supreme Court. Most Supreme Court watchers had expected the Supreme Court to hear the case or at the very least to give an explanation of why not. We were all sorely disappointed.

Coast Guard Academy Cadet Webster Smith

This Smith Case implicated a deep federal circuit conflict regarding the standard of review that applies when a trial judge’s restriction on the cross-examination of a prosecution witness is challenged on appeal as a violation of the Confrontation Clause. The Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (CAAF) held that the standard of review is abuse of discretion rather than de novo. Applying the former standard, the court rejected Webster Smith’s Confrontation Clause claim by a vote of 3-2.

The Courts Of Appeals Are Deeply Divided Over What Standard Of Review Applies To Confrontation Clause Claims Like Webster Smith’s. The CAAF employed abuse-of-discretion review in resolving Smith’s Sixth Amendment challenge to the military judge’s restriction on the defense’s cross-examination of Shelly Roddenbush. That approach conflicts with the holdings of five circuits, which consider comparable Confrontation Clause claims de novo, reserving abuse-of-discretion review for non-constitutional challenges. For example, the Seventh Circuit has stated that “[o]rdinarily, a district court’s evidentiary rulings are reviewed for abuse of discretion.

However, when the restriction [on cross-examination] implicates the criminal defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to confront witnesses against him, ... the standard of review becomes de novo.”

The First, Fifth, Eighth, and Tenth Circuits have adopted the same approach.

Six other circuits, by contrast—the Second, Third, Fourth, Sixth, Eleventh, and District of Columbia Circuits— Take the same approach that CAAF does, applying abuse-of-discretion review even when a restriction on the cross-examination of a prosecution witness is attacked on constitutional grounds. The Sixth Circuit, for example, stated in one case that “[defendant] argues that his right to confrontation was violated when the trial court ‘unfairly’ limited his cross-examination of [a] government witness .… We review the district court’s restriction on a defendant’s right to cross-examine witnesses for abuse of discretion.”

In short, CAAF’s use of an abuse-of-discretion standard in the Webster Smith Case perpetuated a clear—and recognized—conflict in the circuits.

The Question Presented Was Recurring And Important, And The Smith Case Was A Good Vehicle For Deciding It.

The circuit conflict warranted resolution by the Supreme Court. It was indeed a sad day for Supreme Court watchers when that court of Last Resort side stepped an issue of monumental importance without a word of explanation.

Force Was the Deciding Factor In The Rape Case.

The use of force appears to have been the deciding factor for the Convening Authority in the Air Force Academy sexual assault Article 32 Investigation. Anyone who used force in the sexual assault was referred for trial by court-martial; whereas, anyone who was patient and waited for the alcohol to take its toll was allowed to go scott free.
That is so ironic, because the only one who achieved vaginal penetration with his organ was allowed to go free. He dodged a bullet. However, on the other hand, the cadet who used his fists in the act of sexual assault never got further than heavy petting and massaging of the genitalia.

The Cadet Kyle Cressy incidents date to May 2011. The charges state that he penetrated a female cadet's vagina with his hand or finger, as well as his penis, while she was "substantially incapacitated." Cressy's charges have been dropped by the Air Force Convening Authority on the recommendation of the Article 32 Investigating Officer..

Stephan Claxton, for his part, was charged with illicit acts in March and November of last year. In the first, he's said to have placed a cadet's hand on his penis while engaging in underage drinking. In the second, he is accused of striking a fellow cadet on the face with his fist and unbuttoning and unzipping her pants without her consent, as well as forcibly kissing and choking her. Claxton was recommended for court martial buy the Article 32 Investigating Officer.
The Cressy and Claxton hearings concluded with very different results. Cressy's accuser said she passed out on his bed, then awoke to find a man touching and then having sex with her. She testified that she kissed him before blacking out and never said "no" -- and while she recalled trying to push his hands away, the mitigating evidence, combined with a two-day delay before she reported having been assaulted, appear to have been factors in the Convening Authority's, Brigadier General Richard Clark's, decision to drop the charges against him.
It appears that force and the use of force will be the new battle ground in the battle between women and the military when it comes to disposing of rape and sexual assault allegations.
In a major law suit filed by 8 present and former US Marine Corps female officers, the use of physical force is being challenged as an unnecessary element in the proof of the offense. The women argue that proof of force should not be necessary in the modern world. They argue that modern rapists are more methodical and patient; they wait for the drugs or alcohol to lower the females capacity to give or withhold consent. Once the ability to give informed consent is so impaired then the women can be raped and the rapist is left with plausible deniability if the case is prosecuted.
The women and their attorney seek to change the UCMJ and the military male-dominated culture on the issue of force in the conduct of rape and sexual assault. They want to rewrite Article 120 of the UCMJ to remove proof of the use of force as an element of the crime.
In the Webster Smith Case force was not an issue. All of the sexual encounters were found to be consensual. The Coast Guard prosecutor was reduced to trying to prove that psychological coercion was used to persuade a female to take nude pictures and perform a sexual act. Amazingly this woman's reputation in the community since high school was that of a person with easy virtue who delivered the goods faster than Federal Express. The very nature of her secret that was at the heart of the alleged coercion was about a sexual tryst with an enlisted man from another branch of the service. And to top it all off, the woman was testifying under a grant of immunity. Truly amazing, it is hard to make this stuff up.
A press conference was held at the National Press Conference Tuesday March 6, 2012 to announce a new lawsuit being filed in the US District Court in Washington, DC on behalf of eight current and former members of the Navy and Marine Corps. The lawsuit, filed by Susan L. Burke of Burke PLLC, charges that the "laws designed to reduce rape, sexual assault and harassment in the Navy and Marine Corps directly and seriously harmed Plaintiffs and others who have reported rape and sexual assault and have challenged sexual harassment. Rather than being respected and appreciated for reporting crimes and unprofessional conduct, Plaintiffs and others who report are branded 'troublemakers,' endure egregious and blatant retaliation, and are often forced out of military service."

The lead plaintiffs, Adriana Klay and Elle Helmer, stationed at the central command headquarters of the Marines in Washington, DC, are both former Marine officers. Klay was a merit scholar and is an honors graduate of the US Naval Academy. She was sexually harassed and gang raped by a senior Marine Corps officer and his civilian friend in order to "humiliate her." Elle Helmer, the Public Affairs Officer and Official Spokesperson for the Marines, was ordered to participate in a "pub crawl" by her immediate superior officer and then raped by him.



Speakers at the press conference included Susan Burke, Eleanor Smeal, Anu Bhagwati, Executive Director and Co-Founder of Service Women's Action Network (SWAN), Linda Hallman, Executive Director of American Association of University Women (AAUW), Nancy Parrish, President of Protect our Defenders, and Colonel Ann Wright, who is retired from the military.
“Although defendants testified before Congress and elsewhere that they have ‘zero tolerance’ for rape and sexual assault, their conduct and the facts demonstrate the opposite: They have a high tolerance for sexual predators in their ranks, and ‘zero tolerance’ for those who report rape, sexual assault and harassment,” according to the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court in Washington.

The suit outlines a pattern of abuse and portrays, in grim detail, the alleged experiences of the eight female service members — two former Marine Corps officers, one active duty enlisted Marine, one former enlisted member of the Marine Corps and four former enlisted members of the Navy.

“At first it was easy to laugh it off,” plaintiff Elle Helmer, one of the former officers, said about her superiors’ advances.
“When you finally said, you know, I’m really not interested, I’d rather we be friends — that’s when you became the target. They hated you for standing up for yourself,” she told HLN’s Jane Velez-Mitchell on Tuesday night.

The lawsuit alleges Helmer was raped by her superior at his office in March 2006 after a required pub crawl.

She told reporters at the National Press Club in Washington earlier in the day that she hoped by going public other victims would be encouraged to speak out.

“It’s the first time I’ve had a voice in six years, so pardon if it’s a little wobbly,” said Helmer.

She was joined by Ariana Klay, another former Marine Corps officer and plaintiff, who served in Iraq in 2008 and 2009.

In August 2010, Klay was “gang-raped” by a senior officer and his civilian friend at her Washington home, the suit contends. The officer allegedly threatened to kill Klay.

She reported the rapes and the officer was eventually convicted in a military court of adultery and indecent language, and given 45 days in military confinement, Klay said.

“Their stance was there were two that said it (sex) was consensual, despite the death threat. That’s two against one. So by that logic, the more people you’re gang-raped by the less your case is,” she told Velez-Mitchell.

The Marine Corps responded to Klay and Helmer’s allegations in a written statement Tuesday that said their respective cases had been properly investigated and handled.

“Federal law and judicial rulings require commanders in all services, including the Marine Corps, to balance needs of alleged victims with the constitutional rights of service members accused of crimes,” it read.
Smeal asserted, "The women's movement is determined to end this wonton violence against women in the armed services. The definition of rape in the military must change to comply with the new FBI definition, which has recognized that force need not be present, but rather in modern rape alcohol and drugs are used to subdue the victim. The cover-up for a few predator abusers in the military is injuring women, men, and the armed services themselves."

The Pentagon's "Fiscal Year 2010 Annual Report on Sexual Assault in the Military" indicated that approximately 3,000 women experienced sexual assault in fiscal year 2008, which is a 9 percent increase from the previous year. Experts say that the real rate of sexual assault in the military is five times report incidence. Because of the high level of retaliation, victims are afraid to report. For women in the military in Iraq and Afghanistan, the rate of sexual assaults by US military personnel increased by 25 percent.

According to a 2003 study by the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, at least one-third of all women veterans have experienced rape or sexual assault during their service primarily from US service personnel, and thirty percent of military women experience domestic violence. Moreover, rape occurs in the military nearly twice as often as in the civilian world.
According to the most recent Defense Department study, more than 19,000 incidents of unwanted sexual contact are estimated to have occurred in 2010, though less than 3,000 of those events were reported.

In 2010, less than 21% of reported cases went to trial. Of the 529 alleged perpetrators who were prosecuted, 53% were convicted, according to the 2011 Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office, which is part of the Defense Department.

“As leaders of this department we are committed to doing everything we can to ensure the safety, dignity and well being of our people. One sexual assault is one too many,” Defense Department spokeswoman Cynthia Smith said in response to the lawsuit.

As a result of the pending litigation, she was unable to comment directly on the allegations.

“Because sexual assault cases are some of the toughest cases to investigate and prosecute, the department has increased funding for investigators and judge advocates to receive specialized training,” said Smith.

The lawsuit was filed less than two months after Defense Secretary Leon Panetta outlined new measures targeting sexual assaults against U.S military personnel.

In January, he promised increased funding to train military investigators and judge advocates about sexual assault cases, stressing the military has a “zero tolerance policy” for such crimes.

“Our men and women in uniform put their lives on the line every day to try to keep America safe,” Panetta said then. “We have a moral duty to keep them safe from those who would attack their dignity and their honor.”
http://www.amazon.com/Judge-London-Steverson/e/B006WQKFJM

There's been a lot of talk about Fox News commentator Liz Trotta's comments that women in the military should "expect" to be raped as part of the job requirement. She went on to say that when it comes to combat "...basic instincts rule. The niceties of male, female interaction fade in this arena and any scientist will tell you that testosterone rules."
The truth is, what Liz Trotta said needs to be heard, because it reflects the thinking of far too many in the military -- thinking that has helped create an epidemic of sexual violence.
Trotta may have been the one to say it out loud, on national television, but there are far too many in positions of power who silently agree.
While sexual violence in the military is finally being recognized at the very highest ranks -- Secretary of Defense Panetta himself calls the problem "totally unacceptable" -- recent data shows the problem is actually getting worse.
The military's own Sexual Assault Prevention Program is so antiquated it implies if you don't find a buddy to walk home with you and you are attacked, it's your own fault.
This mentality of blaming the victim is all too common, and it's part of a culture that is pervasive throughout the military.
These horrific and deeply disturbing stories that follow underscore the need for change on this issue.

After raping her, Sailor Terri Odom's superior told her that she wasn't the first and wouldn't be the last. When she reported her rape and torture, she was threatened with arrest and discharge. Aviation Commander Darchelle was told by NCIS that they had never had such strong evidence to support prosecution -- but her rapist was still found not guilty. Sailor Heath Phillips was gang raped, repeatedly, only to be told he was a liar when he tried to report the assaults. His assailants were eventually discharged when they were caught raping another sailor. Discharged -- not prosecuted.

These stories are echoed in a new lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Washington that accuses the military of a "high tolerance for sexual predators in their ranks" and fostering a hostile environment that discourages victims from coming forward and retaliates against them when they do. Marine Lieutenant Ariana Klay, a Naval Academy graduate and Iraq war veteran, was gang raped by a superior officer and his friend and then told she had invited the attack because she wore make-up and running shorts. Incredibly, Klay's superior officer/rapist was later convicted of adultery.

These are the stories of just some of the estimated 500,000 active duty and veteran survivors of rape and sexual assault. Not only have they been violently assaulted and raped, they've been let down by an institution they swore to defend. An institution that defines itself in terms of honor and integrity, but which acts with very little of either when it comes to handling rape or sexual assault in its ranks.

Survivors of sexual violence in the military are victimized first by their assailant and then again by a broken system. Retribution, denial of appropriate medical care, and a total failure of justice are the norm -- not the exception. This broken system, which allows rape and sexual assault to go virtually unchecked is undermining readiness, unit cohesion, and morale.
The way things are now, the U.S. military fails to protect its most important resource -- our sons and daughters who serve. Sexual predators in the military are unafraid, because they know an unwritten code shields them. In her ignorance, Liz Trotta shone a bright light on this ugly, damaging truth. Like Trotta, the military, for too long, has been an apologist for predators and rapists, and perpetuated a culture without responsibility or accountability.

Morality Hits The Fan.

Michael Clark from the U. S. Army Officers Candidate School has some very strong feelings about the Air Force Academy Sexual assault investigation. That is the Article 32 Investigation that began in January 2012.

Mr. Clark asked what are women doing in the military academy in the first place? Why are they allowed in the men's dorms and visa versa? Why did this young woman expect to have a partial sexual experience (making out), going only to a certain point of completion, knowing the man would desire to go all the way? Why is fornication fostered and promoted in this and in all of our educational institutions in numerous ways, and then we are surprised when something like the above happens? Character used to matter in leadership training, but now it is only given lip-service because the old, timeless morals and standards are no longer are acceptable to a society which rejects God and His laws.

Men and women are different. We, in our revolutionary zeal to develop some "brave, new, egalitarian society" are facing problems that are really unnecessary if and when follow and obey those simple Ten Commandments that we have removed from the public square. We have replaced them with some politically-correct form of morality that offends no one, except the God who made us.

Now, the lives of these three young men, and those of innumerable others will be destroyed by these new, distorted double-standards for contemporary sexual behavior and the oppressive laws that enforce them. But, then, what are a few casualties to be sacrificed on the altar of "change" when weighed against the benefits of remaking of a culture? I reckon.

He was referring to a new woman’s testimony which detailed one of three new charges filed in the last two weeks against Cadet Robert M. Evenson Jr. alleging wrongful sexual contact, indecent acts, stalking and assault.

The latest allegations come on top of three other charges filed Jan. 5 accusing Evenson of rape, conduct unbecoming an officer and allegedly using his position with the academy’s honor system to obtain sexual favors.

Paul McGuire expressed almost the same sentiments in his article "She Animal-The New Female Sexual Predator". At the Coast Guard academy in 2005 they were looking for a male sexual predator. Admiral Van Sice and Captain Douglas Wisnewski, among others, wanted to make Webster Smith the poster child for sexual predators at the Coast Guard Academy. That scheme backfired.

http://www.amazon.com/CONDUCT-UNBECOMING-Officer-Lady-ebook/dp/B006VPAADK

SHE ANIMAL – THE NEW FEMALE SEXUAL PREDATOR

By Paul McGuire
February 22, 2012
NewsWithViews.com

A growing number of attractive female teachers and women from all areas of society, who are anywhere from 23 -54 years old, are seducing teenage and pre-teenage boys between 10–17 years old, across the nation. Until, the last decade or so, it has been men who have been the primary sexual predators towards male and female children. It is only recently, that increasing numbers of women, specifically in their mid-twenties to late thirties who are engaging in this sort of activity. Many of these younger women are married and have children. The question is, “What is causing the emergence of a new breed of sexual predator, the “She-Animal,” and her hard-core sexual assault on under age males?

Female sexual predators are part of the deliberate destruction of the family. The pill that was started in the 1950’s was followed by no-fault divorce, the sexual revolution, drugs, rock’ n roll in the 1960’s, the feminist movement in the 1970’s, normalization of homosexuality, and now the acceptance of what was once termed sexual deviancy. Just turn on television sit-coms, movies, and contemporary music. You will hear and see all kinds of references to sexual behavior that was once considered by society as perverted and out of the mainstream. Date movies or “chick-flicks” contain powerful messages defining aberrant sexual behaviors as the new normal. The result is the acceptance of sexual activities were once considered as sexual perversion.

Sexual activities involving multiple partners, bondage, and sadomasochism are now accepted as normal by a growing percentage of our society. For example, handcuffs in bedroom scenes between married people have become routine in comedies. During this past Valentine’s Day, the police pulled over a young married couple in their car. The female was naked, except for the fact that she was wearing bondage gear. It was reported across the nation on the nightly news as a humorous news story. We have experience a paradigm shift in our sexual values that will produce long-term negative consequences.

The term “She-Animal,” is not intended as a disparaging remark against women. Men are also engaged in sexual behavior that is illegal, violent, and can only be described as dark sexual perversion. However, it is an observation that millennium-old sexual boundaries that defined the nature of female sexuality have been erased and new scientifically programmed hyper-sexuality has been imbedded in new generations of women. The prime driver in the sexual transformation of both men and women is the regular viewing of pornography. Being exposed to and watching pornography creates a chemical high in both men and women, similar to a cocaine or methamphetamine high. Not only men, but women also can become addicted to the sexual high. Like other addictions, their sexual addiction controls them. Drug addicts begin to do things that they would never do if they were in their right mind. Like cocaine and methamphetamines, pornography radically changes the brain and body’s biochemistry, causing them to break social boundaries and laws, like drug addicts do.

There is a great similarity between the biochemical highs produced by cocaine and meth, heroin, and pornography. For example, viewing pornography releases dopamine, testosterone, oxytocin, serotonin, phenylethamine (PEA), and adrenaline creating, what Dr. Judith Reisman refers to as, an “erototoxin.” This biochemical’s produce sexual arousal which, lights up the central nervous system and causes powerful physiological changes. Hormone levels soar. Boosting heart rate and blood pressure increase the physical sensitivity and physical desire.

In many ways, pornography is a more dangerous drug than coke and meth, as Dr. Robert Malenka and Dr. Julie Kauer wrote in an important study in a 2007 issue of Nature magazine. When commenting on the biochemical changes related to pornography addiction, they wrote, “Addiction represents a pathological, yet powerful form of learning and memory.” They actually change and rewire the brain, causing long term depression, until a woman or man, can get their sexual fix. Dr. Norman Doidge, a neurologist at Columbia, in his book “The Brain That Changes Itself,” outlines the process of re-wiring neural circuits. It has now been discovered that females as well as males, act like rats addicted to cocaine in the experimental Skinner boxes, desperately seeking an image or behavior that will alleviate the depression and deliver their next sexual fix.

This process has been called “frantic learning,” where a man or a woman are constantly searching the internet, looking for just the right fantasy image or video clip that will deliver that sexual rush. Neuroscience reveals that sexual addiction and the regular viewing of pornography produce a deficit of dopamine in the reward system and re-wires the brain of female sexual predators. The dopamine deficit produces such an overwhelming craving that it short circuits the pre-frontal rational brain which gives us self-control. The dopamine deficit overwhelms the rational brain and drives these females, as well as males, to immoral, destructive and illegal behaviors that destroy lives.

Thus, a growing percentage of younger women, literally go out of their minds and become what I term “She-Animals,” in a desperate quest for dopamine. The larger the dopamine fix needed, the more willing the “She-Animal” is to use a variety of seduction approaches on underage boys. The “She-Animal,” will send explicit messages and pictures of her via cell phone or the internet. She will get alone with the boy, give him alcohol, drugs, porn, undress, or wear explicit lingerie in order to generate a dehumanized sexual relationship.

In 1934, Cambridge anthropologist, Dr. J. D. Unwin published “Sex and Culture.” Dr. Unwin examined 86 cultures spanning 5,000 years with regard to the effects of both sexual restraint and sexual abandon from a purely secular perspective. He found, without exception, that cultures that practiced strict monogamy in marital bonds exhibited, what he called, creative social energy and reached the zenith of production. In contrast, cultures that had no restraint on sexuality, without exception, fell into mediocrity and chaos. This is the reason the Roman Empire fell.

The Apostle Timothy talks about the characteristics of the last days. The general sociological condition will be that men will love themselves and pleasure more than God. As in ancient Rome, it will cause the general breakdown of society.

“And this know thou, that in the last days there shall come perilous times. For men shall be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, evil-speakers, to parents disobedient, unthankful, unkind, without natural affection, implacable, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, not lovers of those who are good, traitors, heady, lofty, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God.” II Timothy 3:1-4

The prophet Daniel spoke of a Revived Roman Empire and Revelation that gives a similar warning. There are many similarities between Rome and America. I show the full implications of this in my 3-DVD series, "Are You Ready for the One World Government? One World Economic System and the Coming One World Religion?"

In 1936, Aldous Huxley wrote Brave New World where a benevolent totalitarian state controls the genetically bred and transhuman ruling class called the Alphas with constant orgies called “the feelies,” and rampant sexual promiscuity. In addition, they are given a drug called, “soma,” which makes them high and easy to control. In futuristic novels like Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon, and 1984 by George Orwell, pornography and sexual promiscuity, perversion and orgies are mechanisms of social control.

The scientific elite, working through such organizations as the Tavistock Institute, which sets the agenda for the Stanford Research Institute and countless other think tanks, work covertly to program mass consciousness in our children. Since the 1950s, children have been targeted to be under mind control through rock music, drugs, porn, books, TV, advertisements, comic books, and movies. The question is how do we deal with this invasion of our sexuality as individuals, families, and a nation?

The answer can be found in our Judeo-Christian roots. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament are filled with examples of a positive sexuality. The Bible teaches a celebration of sex. However, since God is the designer and engineer of human sexuality, He knows quite a bit about it. Many people have misinterpreted God’s commandments regarding sexuality as a negative view of sexual expression. That idea is completely false. We must remember that it was God who created sex in the first place, both for procreation and enjoyment or pleasure. However, since God designed sex in the first place, He understood the dangers of uncontrolled sexual expression and designed safeguards or laws to protect mankind.

God designed sex to be exclusively experienced inside of marriage. The reason God did that is one of His first commandments to mankind was to “be fruitful and multiply.” You cannot multiply without sex. Some people seem to forget that the Infinite Personal God of the Universe created the full range of sexual expression between a husband and wife. If the Song of Solomon was read properly, it would be X-rated, not because it is perverse, but because it is about the full celebration of sex between a husband and wife. The full range of sexual attraction that is built into the male regarding the female body and personality is a good thing. The full range of emotional and physical attraction between a woman and a man she wishes to marry is a good thing. God created the orgasm and the multi-dimensional nature of sexual expression as physical, emotional, and spiritual. The best sex incorporates all of these dimensions.

There is tremendous hope for people who have had their sexuality and sexual responses messed up. There are programs that deal with sexual addiction and the best programs incorporate a spiritual component. Many people are surprised that the Bible is an X-rated book and it offers practical and positive suggestions about how to experience maximum sexual fulfillment. For example, in I Corinthians 7:5, the Apostle Paul says, “Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, which you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.”

Although, there may be problems that must be healed or solved in order for a husband and wife to enjoy maximum sexuality, the goal is a creative and fulfilling sex life. Problems that could interrupt the positive sex life between husband and wife could be emotional abuse, adultery, treating your spouse like an object, and demanding your partner perform degrading sex acts that you wish to reenact due to your exposure to pornography. When the Apostle Paul uses the words, “Do not deprive one another,” he is specifically speaking of sex.

The sex life between a husband and wife should be spiritual, creative, and erotic. Nowhere in the Bible does God say that the only way a husband and wife can have sex is in the missionary position. The Song of Solomon is a great manual on sex if it is read as it is intended to be read.

A powerful solution to the temptation of pornography and immorality is to enjoy the maximum sex life God planned for a husband and wife since the beginning of time. The predatory female or male needs to work on their relationship with their spouse. That may take communication and counseling. But, a rich and emotionally intimate sex life with your husband or wife is far more satisfying that playing the role of a virtual hooker. Cyber sex is not sex. It is artificial sex. Artificial sex never satisfies, but sex between a husband and wife, the way God created it to be, is the ultimate.

(2012 Paul McGuire)