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Q.
Does the Bible call for sexual purity?
rather, it is the discipline of letting the God who is love channel the electricity
of our sexuality into a force of kingdom-seeking compassionate justice to light
up our world.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer remarked, “The essence of chastity is not the sup-
pression of lust, but the total orientation of one’s life towards a goal.” That
goal in the life of the disciple is seeking fi rst the kingdom of God. A “kingdom
purity” provides an alternative to both repression and transgression and will
be marked by humanizing transparency and the transforming power of grace.
Scriptural References
Leviticus 17—26; Deuteronomy 22; Matthew 5:27–30; 2 Corinthians 10:5
Suggested Additional Sources for Reading
- Wendell Berry, Sex, Economy, Freedom, and Community (Pantheon Books,
1994). - William Countryman, Dirt, Greed, and Sex (Fortress Press, 1988).
- Heather Godsey and Laura Blackwell Pickrel, eds., Oh God, Oh God, Oh
God! Young Adults Speak Out About Sexuality and Christianity (Chalice
Press, 2010). - Teresa Hornsby and Amy-Jill Levine, Sex Texts from the Bible (Skylight,
2007).
Suggested Questions for Further Discussion/Thought
- Can you think of healthy models of sexual expression in the Bible? What
are they? - Do you think that sexual thoughts are as important as acting on them?
Why? - We live in a culture that tends toward the extremes of prudish
Victorianism or gratuitous hedonism. How can Christians advocate for an
alternative view of sexuality based on the whole witness of scripture?