Fifty Shades Of Grey is still moving swiftly off of bookshelves all over the world. But would you believe that some experts are saying the erotic novel is helping some women with their relationship with God! Read about this after the jump.
The mystics say you can find God anywhere. I believe many women have found him in “Fifty Shades of Grey.â€
The trilogy has sold more than 10 million copies, mostly to women over 30 who can’t put the books down. Publishing rights have been sold in 37 countries and movie rights have been secured by Universal.
The books chronicle the relationship between a dominating male entrepreneur, Christian Grey, and a young female college graduate, the submissive Anastasia Steele. The series has been mulled by many writers who have debated whether or not this is a setback for women, to be attracted to a submissive relationship, or a breakthrough, to be able to openly read and discuss a book so sexually explicit that it is often referred to in the media as “mommy porn.â€
My son was in a New York restaurant last week and overheard two middle-age women discussing how hot the books were. He felt compelled to tell them I was reading them, too. I did indeed (as research I maintain) and I believe the reason the series is so compelling is that it touches on something much greater than sex or even loving relationships.
I think the “Fifty Shades†phenomenon is about religion.
Not religion in the conventional sense of the word, but in how we are redefining faith practices today as more and more people–especially women–shun man-made traditions yet continue to yearn for religious experiences.
Diana Butler Bass writes in “Christianity After Religion,†that millions of people share her story “of growing up in a formal religion, finding that somehow chilly or distant, and rediscovering God through a mystical experience.†She continues, “Religion morphed from an external set of rules into a vibrant spiritual experience of God. Somehow the word religion did not seem quite adequate to explain what had happened.â€
Never before have there been more “seekers†who are not satisfied with the religion they grew up practicing, those who are possibly secular but want more, those who have never really made a connection to the divine but are looking for a way. Sexual relationships are a major part of religion, with some traditions seeing it merely as a means of procreation, not to be enjoyed while others celebrate sex as a gift from God
So what is it about Christian Grey and his dominant yet ultimately loving, even worshipful relationship with Anastasia Steele that has touched so many women’s souls? What is it about being a submissive woman, as is the expectation…..
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