Christian Sexual Ethics and Contemporary Sexuality
Integration Paper #2
Christian Sexual Ethics and
Contemporary Sexuality
Kristen Butler
03/18/2013
RST-305
We live in a very exploitive, sexually saturated society. With the increasing development of technology and rapid deliverance of the media, sex is almost completely unavoidable. It is in magazines, movies, tabloids, billboards, music lyrics, on television, and all over the internet. Many believe that this sexual revolution has been liberating and is an indication of progress and freedom. The reality is that this cultural obsession with sex is extremely debasing, proving to have detrimental effects on marriage and our youth. This shift in sexual norms has a positive, direct correlation with the increase of delayed marriage, the increase of cohabitation, and the amount of children born out of wedlock and raised in single-parent homes. Research shows that children who are raised in these non-traditional family structures are more likely to fall into unemployment or become criminals. All of these disastrous results lead back to our culture’s change in attitude about sex. These negative effects will continue to proliferate unless society is reminded of the true meaning and sacredness of sex. I have come to believe that it is the responsibility of leaders in the Christian Church to resolve this sexual crisis. Although the church has undeniably progressed [in terms of becoming more liberal] over the decades, Christianity maintains the notion that sexual intercourse is a marital privilege and should therefore be avoided until marriage. The issue, however, is that the church has failed to effectively communicate the importance of this message to its members of today’s increasingly liberal society, especially to those of my generation. Callahan’s Sex Matters: The Riches of the Catholic Sexual Tradition argues that there are still many benefits to the Catholic sexual tradition, however these riches are no longer effectively
Christian Sexual Ethics and
Contemporary Sexuality
Kristen Butler
03/18/2013
RST-305
We live in a very exploitive, sexually saturated society. With the increasing development of technology and rapid deliverance of the media, sex is almost completely unavoidable. It is in magazines, movies, tabloids, billboards, music lyrics, on television, and all over the internet. Many believe that this sexual revolution has been liberating and is an indication of progress and freedom. The reality is that this cultural obsession with sex is extremely debasing, proving to have detrimental effects on marriage and our youth. This shift in sexual norms has a positive, direct correlation with the increase of delayed marriage, the increase of cohabitation, and the amount of children born out of wedlock and raised in single-parent homes. Research shows that children who are raised in these non-traditional family structures are more likely to fall into unemployment or become criminals. All of these disastrous results lead back to our culture’s change in attitude about sex. These negative effects will continue to proliferate unless society is reminded of the true meaning and sacredness of sex. I have come to believe that it is the responsibility of leaders in the Christian Church to resolve this sexual crisis. Although the church has undeniably progressed [in terms of becoming more liberal] over the decades, Christianity maintains the notion that sexual intercourse is a marital privilege and should therefore be avoided until marriage. The issue, however, is that the church has failed to effectively communicate the importance of this message to its members of today’s increasingly liberal society, especially to those of my generation. Callahan’s Sex Matters: The Riches of the Catholic Sexual Tradition argues that there are still many benefits to the Catholic sexual tradition, however these riches are no longer effectively
Bibliography: DeGenova, Mary Kay., and F. Philip. Rice. Intimate Relationships, Marriages, and Families. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2005. Print. Kertes, Weaver Natalie. Marriage and Family: A Christian Theological Foundation. Winona, MN: Anselm Academic, 2009. Print. Scott, Kieran, and Harold Daly. Horell. Human Sexuality in the Catholic Tradition. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2007. Print. Scott, Kieran, and Michael Warren. Perspectives on Marriage: A Reader. New York: Oxford UP, 1993. Print.