Real Sex

Last night our Church sponsored a Forum on Sexuality and Intimacy lead by Dr. Lauren Winner, the author of Real Sex. First, I want to take a moment to recommend her book to those interested in learning about God's plan for sexuality. Second, for those who have been wounded by the Christian sub-culture giving young people all these pieces of advice about sex and chastity that is not only devoid of the gospel message but places real human beings in a box and tells them how to feel and think about this topic, this is a great book to begin healing and understanding sex from a Biblical world and life view.

From my own experience, I heard a lot of fear based, guilt oriented and moralistic talks growing up on purity. I was given such cheap phrases like, "True Love Waits" or "Don't give away pieces of your heart" or "You don't want to dissapoint your husband on your wedding night if you are not a virgin" which only lead me to believe that I was a big failure if I messed up or that I won't be a whole person if I am not a virgin. I also want to say that I spent the first part of my married life trying to convince myself that I wasn't doing something wrong when I had sex.

I am thankful for someone like Lauren Winner who is able to communicate the truth about sex that connects with the larger story of the gospel. Sex was created by God to be used in the proper context and it is a good gift. I am thankful that this book has helped me to think through the unhealthy messages I received growing up and gain a Biblical understanding of sex.