Category Archives: Sexuality

‘A better story’ – 1

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Since the 1960s we have witnessed ‘the overturning and liberalization of long-established social and moral attitudes to sex.’

Central to this sexual revolution has been a relaxation of the idea that sex is given for enjoyment within the constraints of marriage.  But it also includes:-

  • a more explicit portrayal of sex in the media
  • a normalisation of cohabitation
  • a liberalisation of attitudes towards same-sex sex
  • the mainstreaming of pornography
  • a greater acceptance of sexual deviancy
  • the increasing acceptance the notion of gender fluidity

A number of factors have been at play in this sea-change of attitudes and behaviours:-

  • the introduction of generous welfare benefits
  • the rise of service industries
  • campaigns for equal pay for women
  • second-wave feminism
  • liberalisation of divorce laws
  • reliable contraception

Such changes – many of them good in themselves – have contributed to a weakening of the link between sex and marriage, and of the idea that marriage entails a life-long commitment.…

‘A better story’ – intro

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Two movies illustrate the sexual revolution that has been taking place since the 1960s:-

The Magdalene Sisters tells the story of four women incarcerated, in the 1960s, in one of Ireland’s ‘laundry asylums’.  For the ‘crime’ have having an illegitimate child, such a woman could be kept out of sight and out of mind for years on end, and her child quietly removed and put up for adoption.

By contrast, in recent years Ireland was, in more recent years, the first country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage, and over one-third of births now take place outside marriage. …

Prostitutes

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According to David Instone-Brewer, the people often referred to in the Gospels as ‘sinners’ (as in ‘tax collectors and sinners’) were actually prostitutes:-

‘Prostitutes at that time were called “sinners” in polite company, just as they were called “fallen women” by the Victorians. Interestingly, the Gospels never record Jesus using a euphemism, so when he condemned the Pharisees he said: “Tax collectors and prostitutes will get to the Kingdom of heaven before you” (Matthew 21:31).’

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Pray to be gay?

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So The Very Reverend Kelvin Holdsworth, provost of St Mary’s Cathedral in Glasgow, has urged people to pray for Prince George ‘to be blessed one day with the love of a fine young gentleman’.  This, he thinks, would eventually help move the Church of England into a position where it would allow gay couples to marry (which his own church – the Scottish Episcopal Church – voted in favour of earlier this year).

The Church of England has excused itself from commenting, since Mr Holdsworth is not a member of the C of E. …

The moral matrix

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In his book The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion (2012) Jonathan Hardt examines how we think about what is right and wrong has changed in recent decades.

He has devised the following matrix

1careharm
2libertyoppression
3fairnesscheating
4loyaltybetrayal
5authoritysubversion
6sanctitydegradation

Liberal secular thinking give priority to the first three sets of items, whereas conservative religious believers put greater stress on the last three.…

Jesus: inclusive or exclusive?

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‘Diversity’ and ‘inclusion’ are today’s great buzz-words.

Jesus, it is claimed, accepted everyone ‘just as they are’, and so should we.

But, actually, it’s not quite as simple as that.

Certainly, Jesus preached (and practised) inclusion.  His invitation was astonishingly wide: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).  “All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away” (John 6:37).  …

The Bible and same-sex relationships

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When advocates of same-sex relationships seek to build a biblical case for their point of view, what are the main arguments they advance, and how might we respond to these?

1. ‘It’s different when you get to know gay people personally’

Some people change their views about homosexual behaviour when they get to know gay people personally.  Now it’s very important to us to get to know fellow-sinners of all stripes.  And we are much less likely to demonise people once we find that they too are human beings and not just ‘objects’.  …

Domesticating the Bible’s teaching on homosexuality

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If people don’t like what the Bible teaches, they may try one of a number of strategies designed to blunt its impact.

Applied to the thorny issue of same-sex behaviour, it can work like this:-

  1. ‘The Bible has been misinterpreted’.  Sodom is not about homosexuality, but about inhospitality.  Romans 1 is not about committed, loving same-sex relationships but about exotic and exploitative sexual behaviour.
  2. ‘The Bible is wrong’.  The Scriptures do indeed teach that homosexual behaviour is sinful, but we must work with the Bible’s underlying principles and values, re-applying them to changing times and situations.
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Same-sex attraction and the church

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The Plausibility Problem: the Church and Same-Sex Attraction.  By Ed Shaw, IVP, 2015.

As others have pointed out, this is not just a book for those who experience same-sex attraction.  It is a book for all of us, calling everyone back to biblical faithfulness and radical discipleship.

The basis of Ed Shaw’s argument is that the orthodox Christian view on same-sex attraction (“Just say no”) is implausible.  Why on earth would we deny sexual intimacy to those who are attracted to members of their own sex?  …

50 politically incorrect thoughts for men – 5

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41. Help with the laundry – sometimes.  Help with the household tasks when she’s overwhelmed, or to give her a break, and certainly if you’re both working.  But (especially when the children are young), keep some distance between keeping house and taming the wilderness (aka climbing the company ladder).  Our culture may say it’s wrong to have sex-specific task; but our culture is sick.

42. Be considerate of her emotional state.  Women are generally more emotional than men, and are in greater need of protection.  …