I was shocked. Not really. In a new book, author and researcher Mark Regnerus writes about Faith and Religion’s impact on whether or not a young adult is willing to “put out.”
From Slate.com:
Evangelical teens today are much less sheltered than their parents were; they watch the same TV and listen to the same music as everyone else, which causes a “cultural collision,” according to Regnerus. “Be in the world, but not of it,” is the standard Christian formula for how to engage with mainstream culture. But in a world hypersaturated with information, this is difficult for tech-savvy teenagers to pull off. There are no specific instructions in the Bible on how to avoid a Beyoncé video or Scarlett Johansson’s lips calling to you from YouTube, not to mention the ubiquitous porn sites. For evangelicals, sex is a “symbolic boundary” marking a good Christian from a bad one, but in reality, the kids are always “sneaking across enemy lines,” Regnerus argues.
When I wrote What You Didn’t Learn From Your Parents About Sex, my non-scientific survey concluded that unmarried Christians were very sexually active, but with only one difference: they felt a lot more guilty afterward.
Sad.
People need more freedom.
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you say people need more freedom. don’t you think that God made sex for marriage? and he did not intend for sex to be outside of marriage?
Jordan,
Do I know you? Just curious.
Anyway, to answer your question:
People’s stories are different and complicated and personal–quite honestly, much like the ones found in scripture. Because of that, I don’t think my personal belief is really all that valid to this particular conversation.
And besides, the story of God is not about making mandates; usually, big statements only end up hurting people or making them feel excluded from God’s story. And I don’t ever want to do that.
And regardless of the viewpoint one holds about sex, I still believe people need more freedom.
I find it odd that you would read that entire post and latch onto and find fault in the part that talks about people needing freedom.
Honestly, that might only help prove my point further.
Thanks for the comment, man.
People do need more freedom!
Freedom to:
-develop their own boundaries instead of immaturely buying into the proscribed rules of an accountability group. (I do know a couple of couples who never were alone at night in each other’s homes, never were out past midnight, and only kissed before the wedding vows. Both of them married young–just out of highschool, I believe.)
-talk about their experiences in a safe place knowing that it will not lead to explosions of shame and possible excommunication.
-discuss the advantages AND THE DRAWBACKS to saving sex for marriage.
-to learn about sex and all its delicious facets without feeling dirty for being interested in such an amazing gift.
Freedom is not the same as licentiousness!!
No I don’t know you Matthew but I have read the christian survival guide and provacative faith and I read your blog.
I agree that we shouldn’t automatically believe or set as doctrine what leaders or pastors say, but we should all try to find what is truth – some truth to me doesn’t seem questionable such as “thou shalt not murder”. But that’s a whole nother discussion about what you think about the bible.
Anyway MPT, I like your progressive and politically incorrect style, but I don’t totally understand what the emergent community thinks about truth and how one obtains salvation.
Cool, Jordan; very nice to meet you, man.
Salvation is a gift.