“The “sexual début” of an evangelical girl typically occurs just after she turns sixteen.”
These words opened up a very intriguing article this week in The New Yorker called, “Red Sex, Blue Sex.“
As an “evangelical” with “conservative” views of sexuality, I found this article very interesting, both for the facts I believe it conveys, but also for the divide it shows between those who view sexual abstinence as unrealistic, and those who mouth vows of abstinency (that do not carry down to the loins).
After the article’s opening shocker, I felt that it was tempered by the following observation:
“Religious belief apparently does make a potent difference in behavior for one group of evangelical teen-agers: those who score highest on measures of religiosity—such as how often they go to church, or how often they pray at home. But many Americans who identify themselves as evangelicals, and who hold socially conservative beliefs, aren’t deeply observant.”
It seemed obvious (to me, at least) that it should take more than a self-proclamation to be called an “evangelical.” Jesus made it clear that we would know a tree by its fruit, and I wonder how many “evangelicals” are involved in church, pray regularly, read their Bibles, talk about their faith, etc. (Matthew 7:16-20)
My pastor, Mark Driscoll, is currently taking our congregation through the Song of Songs, teaching the beauty and pleasure of sex, while reminding us of God’s wisdom in keeping sexual desires for marriage. I would highly recommend watching these sermons, as it is rare to find a balanced perspective between the bodily enjoyment of sex, and God’s expectation that singles abstain from sex until marriage.
Let Him Kiss Me is the first of these sermons.
Finally, I leave you with one final quote from the article, and a discussion challenge..
“Regnerus argues that religion is a good indicator of attitudes toward sex, but a poor one of sexual behavior…”
What do you think of this statement?
(And if you’re like me and want to read statements in context, check out the rest of the New Yorker article here)
