Several weeks ago I wrote a post touching on how evangelical teachings on forgiveness make things easy for sex offenders and hard for their victims. Generally, evangelicals believe that those who repent should be forgiven unconditionally, and that those who have been victimized need to forgive those who hurt them and avoid becoming "bitter." You can see how this might play out in the case of sexual abuse. But in the comment section, several readers pointed out the limits of evangelical … [Read more...]
The Limits of Forgiveness
July 8, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Gothard’s Sex Rules: Marital Consent? What’s That?
May 13, 2014 by 1 Comment
My family never attended one of Bill Gothard's seminars, and we didn't use Gothard's curriculum. We children were, instead, raised on the outskirts of Gothardism. We knew people who were followers of Bill Gothard, and we imbibed a few of his teachings (umbrella of authority, anyone?), but that was the extent of it. As things began to snowball over the past months and Gothard was exposed as a sexual predator and ultimately relieved of his leadership position, I wanted to learn more about what … [Read more...]
On Masturbating without Lust
May 1, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Awkward as it may be, over the past several years I've written a number of posts on the impact of my upbringing, with its emphasis on sexual purity, on my sex life both past and present. This time I want to turn to a subject I don't believe I've explored yet, and that is my adolescent "struggles" and internal conflicts over masturbation.I've written before about the huge physical response physical touch evoked in my body when I first started dating. I've written, too, that early in my sex … [Read more...]
In Which Christianity Today Goes Halfway (with gifs)
April 29, 2014 by Leave a Comment
A post about female masturbation recently appeared on Christianity Today's women's section. Christianity Today is generally more mainstream evangelical than my upbringing, so much so that I remember viewing it as somewhat liberal. This post, though, has had me questioning all of that.The basic gist is this---the author accepts that women are sexual and may turn to masturbation as an outlet for their sexual desire---something that is foreign to many evangelicals---but follows that up by … [Read more...]
You Don’t Write Your Kids’ Lives (They Do)
March 12, 2014 by 1 Comment
Good gracious, I just came upon a Babble article titled Jessa Duggar Will Have a Chaste Courtship---And My Kids Will, Too. With all due respect, author Kacy Faulconer has no idea whether or not her children will have "chaste courtships." My parents said their children would have chaste courtships too, and guess what? I didn't! Kacy can give her children whatever advice she chooses, but ultimately, once they're adults, she cannot control their choices.I talk a lot here on the blog about the … [Read more...]
Testosterone: Biblical Patriarchy’s Kryptonite
December 3, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Several weeks ago, I talked to my mom about Doug Phillips' affair and the closing of Vision Forum Ministries. My mom talked about how sad that was, and how bad she felt for Doug's wife and children, all of which I'd been expecting. But she didn't stop there, and I hadn't expected her to."Well," she concluded, shaking her head, "he's male."And she clearly felt that explained it. But I was not content to let that go. "Actually mom, most guys manage to not cheat on their wives," I told her. … [Read more...]
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