The Thrill of the Chaste
Here's a good book for those interested in the subject of sexuality. I've read an interview with Dawn about the book, and would recommend it for anyone who's working through their sexual ethic, which apparently, is a lot of us.It seems that our culture is trying hard to divorce our sexuality from relational commitments, reducing the sex act to something akin to a tennis match (Love/Love - Doubles Anyone?). But this is not quite possible, because it seems that there's a 'bonding hormone' released during the sex act that connects us emotionally to the one with whom we have sex. This is the subject of countless movies and books (The End of the Affair comes to mind) all of which reveal the folly of this model. Unfortunately, most TV sitcoms seem to offer this 'recreational ethic' as reality instead of fantasy. This, and many other dimensions of our lives as sexual beings is explored in this well constructed book. I'd recommend it for small group study material or book clubs.
posted by Richard Dahlstrom @ 11:44 AM
3 Comments:
This is a joke, right?
Not sure why this would be a joke, so can only speculate. Are you thinking that food and sex are the same thing, that appetites that should be filled when hunger calls? If so, perhaps the idea that saving sexual expressions for covenant relationships is odd, funny even.
But I find it telling that our culture, and that of Europe, as open as both are to sexual expressions without covenant commitments, are both reeling from a 50% divorce, dramatically falling birthrates, and intense, palpable feelings of isolation, all in the wake of our enlightened sexual ethic. Do we really think that recreational sex is divorced from all these culture pathologies?
After checking out as much of it as I could on amazon.com, I think the author really brings up a crucial point about chastity...that it's not a choice of depravity and masochism, but one of hope for tomorrow. Perhaps I need to begin to look at the decision of abstinence as one of future satisfaction rather than current self-torture.
Furthermore, I think a correct view of chastity is very much needed in our current Christian culture, whether it's remaining chaste from sex or chaste from something else. The here-and-now appeal of sin is far too strong to be fought simply on the basis of personal will...it must be fought with the big picture in mind; perspective which is only found in an intimate and completely dependent relationship with God.
Thanks for the paradigm shift!
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