From: fippen@ux2.cso.uiuc.edu (J. Fippen)
Newsgroups: alt.romance
Subject: Song of Solomon...............a different view.
Date: 12 Nov 92 22:50:29 GMT
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana

ong of Solomon as seen with different eyes.

Recently Jon Noring,    noring@netcom.com       , posted an article entitled 
Song of Solomon in which he quoted entirely and correctly the last book of the 
poetry section of the Old Testament by that same name: Song of Solomon. Noring 
did us all a favor by printing again for us all that very old and beautiful 
(and erotic ) book; I had read that poem many years ago, maybe 45 or 50 and I 
had  forgotten its great beauty. It caused an old heart to beat faster and 
remember the love and urgency of the past and some of the heart stopping 
moments when I looked at my lovely Elizabeth early on. Solomon recreates these 
wonderful moments and this is why this great, but short, book of the Bible has 
meaning for us all. 
        But I must disagree with Noring completely as his interpretation is 
quite different than mine. I have been a Methodist for 70 years and we have 
attended dozens of churches ( I spent 34 years in the USAF and have been all 
over the world ) and of many denominations, especially Catholic as many of my 
friends are Catholic, and I have NEVER seen the Song considered as an 
"embarrassment" or that sexuality was considered as "dirty or a necessary evil 
to be performed by the wife for the sole purpose of bearing children". These 
are your words Jon, and why would the church make the Song a part of the Bible 
if it was an embarrassment to them? I have been in Young Adult Bible Classes 
where the Song of Solomon was TAUGHT in every detail. Your anti-Christian words 
ring of the gutter Jon; bring your sights UP to the best in life rather than 
slide to a lower plane. I wonder what drives someone like you to be critical in 
a derogatory way of a group (the churches) which is trying to  teach GOOD as 
opposed to evil. Look at your own life and see if there is something which 
drives you to speak ill as opposed to lovingly.
        The Christian churches preach LOVE, SEX, MARRIAGE and in that order. 
The Jews do the same thing; or maybe I should say the Christians follow  the 
Jews since they were there first. Listen, if love is the size of the Empire 
State Building, then sex is the size of a dog house. Sex with love (and 
responsibility) is the greatest thing God gave to man. Every priest, minister, 
or rabbi know this. Why do you think they say "God brings you together?" 
        My personal experience is this: I don't believe that love comes around 
the corner every day or so. So when in 1946 when I was just starting to college 
at UI and I knew that I could have no time for anything but my studies, I 
noticed a girl. She was the dietitian at the residence hall where I was a 
student waiter, so I watched her, casually at first, and then with an intensity 
I can't describe. Finally, after about 6 months, I asked her for a date; she 
said "no, because University employees are not allowed to date students". But 
my mama didn't raise no dummies so I noticed that she didn't say she didn't 
WANT to date me but that she couldn't. So a year passed until the summer of 
1947 when she called me up! I thought I'd lost her, so you can imagine how 
excited I was when she called. Shortly thereafter we started to see each other 
daily, and then one day when I was looking at her I had a terrible feeling of 
being alone, and at that point I knew I had to have her forever. But I have to 
tell you, I felt an urgency which compelled me forward in ways you can't ever 
imagine; for one thing, I started to take 19 semester hours instead of the 15 I 
was taking because I wanted to get through school to be with HER! And the 
feelings described in Song of Solomon were similar to those I felt then, and 
now 43 years later, I realize how fortunate I was to fine her. Love doesn't 
happen with regularity.I love her dearly now, even more than I did then, and I 
am thankful daily that my love is with me and that I am not alone. I don't feel 
that the Song shouldn't be a part of the Bible; I feel that it is true to life 
and I'm thankful for it.

                John Fippen   age 70   in love 45 years  
fippen@ux2.cso.uiuc.edu
Newsgroups: alt.romance