‘A better story’ – 9

This entry is part 10 of 18 in the series: A Better Story (Harrison)
- ‘A better story’ – intro
- ‘A better story’ – 1
- ‘A better story’ – 2
- ‘A better story’ – 3
- ‘A better story’ – 4
- ‘A better story’ – 5
- ‘A better story’ – 6
- ‘A better story’ – 7
- ‘A better story’ – 8
- ‘A better story’ – 9
- ‘A better story’ – 10
- ‘A better story’ – 11
- ‘A better story’ – 12
- ‘A better story’ – 13
- ‘A better story’ – 14
- ‘A better story’ – 15
- ‘A better story’ – 16
- ‘A better story’ – 17
Has the sexual revolution delivered on its promise to deliver more and better sex?
Probably not.
Oxford statistitian David Spiegelhalter reports that, contrary to popular perception, the frequency of ‘having sex’ is actually on the decrease. No-one knows why this is the case, but it may have something to do with the general business of people’s lives, and with the availability of so many technological diversions – mobile phones, tablets, and computers.
So, if people are not having more sex, are they having better sex? There’s no evidence to suggest that it is.
It seems that
What about relationships more generally? According to political scientist Robert Putman,
And more people are living alone. This is due, in part, to general socio-economic circumstances. But other factors at play include: a rise in the numbers of people who divorce, or break up after cohabitation.
In the UK, it is true that fewer young people are living alone, but this is largely due to the increased numbers who are still living with their parents. In the 45-65 age group, the number of people living alone has grown by nearly 1/4 in the past decade.
Sociologist Eric Klinenberg said: ‘I discovered that living alone comports with our most sacred modern values: freedom, autonomy, control of one’s time and space, and the search for individual fulfilment.’
But this is to reckon without the very real disadvantages of living alone, associated as it is with higher levels of loneliness, to say nothing of the undermining of social cohesion.
Of course,
Looking forward, we might agree with C.S. Lewis that hell is a place of bleak loneliness, whereas heaven is a home that is joyfully shared with God and others.
What about children? It can scarcely be said that the sexual revolution enables the young to flourish. In fact:-
Harrison, Glynn. A Better Story: God, Sex And Human Flourishing. IVP. Kindle Edition.