This is a very curious book. It chronicles bits of the Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill Church saga with particular attention to the church’s propagation of a deviant strain of Christian sexuality (i.e. “biblical porn”); particularly how it leveraged its expectations in this area to produce volunteerism, commitment, and loyalty to its peculiar evangelical empire. The ground Johnson covers here overlaps in some areas with ChristianityToday’s wildly popular “Rise and Fall of Mars Hill” podcast (Johnson published first!). But, its burden isn’t to provide a straight history. Johnson explains (Biblical Porn, p. 7):
The peculiar aspect of this book is that it seems to see-saw between an engaging history and sudden esoteric discussions of sociological theory. It reads like two very different pieces melded somewhat awkwardly into one. The discussions of sociological affect seem pasted in with (in some instances) little to no transition. The jarring bit is that Johnson doesn’t really try to translate affect theory for non-specialists. Her academic peers in the same field surely appreciate her remarks along that line, but interested laypeople like me are a bit lost when she veers hard right into academic speak.
In summary, this is a very interesting and informative book that can’t decide whether it wants to be a academic treatise or a popular book for non-specialists. In contrast, it seems to me that Kristin Kobes DuMez faced a similar dilemma with Jesus and John Wayne and chose the popular route, and succeeded quite well. This doesn’t mean Johnson’s book is bad–far from it. I enjoyed it and was horrified at some of what I read. I just wish she’d had interested laypeople like me in mind when she wrote it.
What to think of Driscoll? The sexual ethics that he pushed (and is still pushing?) are perverse and disgusting. Johnson focuses less on the Mars Hill phenomenon than on how “biblical porn” acted as a tool for leveraging volunteerism in service of an allegedly good cause. In that respect, it’s a horrifying look at what a militant, hyper-sexualized “bro culture” approach to sexual ethics within Christian community can do.
It’s easy to forget how scandalous and polarizing Driscoll’s teaching about sexuality were–Mars Hill Church closed nine years ago and some readers may have little to no idea who Driscoll is. The intriguing thing about Driscoll is that he swam in complementarian waters and his teaching was notable less for its deviancy from that perspective (see, for example, Tim Challies very polite negative review of Real Marriage), but more for the macho and unfiltered crudity of his framing.
- Driscoll made crude sexual jokes during sermons.
- He repeatedly spoke about how wives needed to make themselves sexually available for their husbands.
- He spoke about how a church planter pastor’s wife most important job was to sleep with her husband.
- He encouraged wives to perform oral sex on their husbands.
- And much, much more.
I appreciated much (not all) of Rachel Held Evans’ review of Driscoll’s Real Marriage book from back in the day. If you’re interested in a substantive, accessible look at Driscoll, then listen to ChristianityToday’s very helpful “Rise and Fall of Mars Hill” podcast series. As a companion piece to understand the terrible errors of the Christian purity culture to which some of this drek is tied, I highly recommend the book by Sheila Gregoire and her daughter titled The Great Sex Rescue: The Lies You’ve Been Taught and How to Recover What God Intended.
The Eccentric Fundamentalist 