The Bible, Sexuality, and Culture
We are living in a rapidly changing culture. Since the 1960s, the changes in our sexual ethics have become increasingly problematic. How are people--especially Evangelicals and other conservative Christians--supposed to respond? Does the Bible address these seismic changes? How is a believer supposed to raise a family in the cultural chaos of the twenty-first century? If you have asked any of these questions before, then this book is for you. Peterson argues forcefully that the changes in our culture are a direct result of a postmodern and post-Christian cultural rejection of the mandates established by God in the opening two chapters of Genesis. The reason Western culture is imploding morally is directly connected to the Enemy's undoing of each of the Genesis mandates established by God for human and cultural flourishing. With Western culture's rejection or undoing of every one of God's mandates in Genesis, is there any hope for the survival of once-thriving Judeo-Christian cultures? Peterson tackles these and many other issues in a forthright and unreserved manner. This book is not for the faint of heart. It is a call for a return to cultural sanity rooted in the fear of God and his Word.
Talking Back to Purity Culture
It's time to talk back. The generation born into evangelical purity culture has grown up, and many have started families of their own. But as time goes on, it's becoming more evident that many still struggle with purity culture's complicated legacy—its idolization of virginity, its mixed messages about modesty and lust, and its promise of a healthy marriage and great sex for those who follow the rules. In Talking Back to Purity Culture, Rachel Joy Welcher reviews the movement carefully, examining its teachings through the lens of Scripture. Compassionate, faithful, and wise, she charts a path forward for Christians in the ongoing debates about sexuality—one that rejects legalism and license alike, steering us back instead to the good news of Jesus. It's time to talk back to purity culture—and this book is ready to jump-start the conversation.
The Bible and Sexuality: A Course Reader
Sexuality is one of the most important theological topics in the church today. Ministry leaders, parishioners, and family members are increasingly grappling with questions on what it means to live out a Christian sexual ethic in the 21st century. The Bible and Sexuality: A Course Reader is an anthology of essays originally incorporated into a course taught by biblical scholar and author, Karen R. Keen. Keen covers both descriptive and normative ethics, examining what the biblical authors believed about sexuality and how that relates to Christian faith and practice now. This accessible and concise book will appeal to anyone who wants to understand the sexual ethics of the biblical authors in their socio-historical context, as well as how Scripture informs our ethics today. As a course reader, it is a helpful resource for college teachers and Bible study group leaders who want to guide students through an engaging discussion on sex and the Bible. A distinctive of the book is equipping learners to think through their overarching ethical framework and methods of biblical interpretation. Praise for the class from former participants: "Karen is a gifted teacher and Bible scholar. I would highly recommend this course to anyone who wishes to deepen their understanding of the Bible and sexuality." - Rev. Dr. Michael Norrie, chaplain "Karen's facilitation skills created a brave and compassionate learning environment that invited honest questioning and conversation. At a time when people can feel overwhelmed, intimidated, and alienated by conversations regarding Scripture, ethics, and sexuality, Karen's course offers a refreshing and stretching environment to explore one's beliefs in the context of a charitable learning community." - Lee Kosa, lead pastor at Cedar Park Church "Iron can't sharpen iron in isolation and Karen creates safe and knowledgeable space for such a dialogue. I would highly recommend this class." - Gil Vollmering, Jr., church elder and parent of a gay son.
The Bible, Sexuality, and Culture
We are living in a rapidly changing culture. Since the 1960s, the changes in our sexual ethics have become increasingly problematic. How are people—especially Evangelicals and other conservative Christians—supposed to respond? Does the Bible address these seismic changes? How is a believer supposed to raise a family in the cultural chaos of the twenty-first century? If you have asked any of these questions before, then this book is for you. Peterson argues forcefully that the changes in our culture are a direct result of a postmodern and post-Christian cultural rejection of the mandates established by God in the opening two chapters of Genesis. The reason Western culture is imploding morally is directly connected to the Enemy’s undoing of each of the Genesis mandates established by God for human and cultural flourishing. With Western culture’s rejection or undoing of every one of God’s mandates in Genesis, is there any hope for the survival of once-thriving Judeo-Christian cultures? Peterson tackles these and many other issues in a forthright and unreserved manner. This book is not for the faint of heart. It is a call for a return to cultural sanity rooted in the fear of God and his Word.
Reclaiming the Sacred
The second edition of Reclaiming the Sacred: The Bible in Gay and Lesbian Culture continues the groundbreaking work of the original, exploring the territory between gay/lesbian studies, literary criticism, and religious studies. This much-anticipated follow-up examines the appropriation and/or subversion of the authority of the Judeo-Christian Bible by gay and lesbian writers. The book highlights two prevalent trends in gay and lesbian literature—a transgressive approach that challenges the authority of the Bible when used as an instrument of oppression, and an appropriative technique that explores how the Bible contributes to defining gay and lesbian spirituality. Reviewers of the first edition of Reclaiming the Sacred hailed the book’s enterprise in exploring the area between literary criticism and religious studies. Whereas contemporary literary-critical theory has been slow to integrate religion and religious history into queer theory, this pioneering journal has addressed the issue from the start with a collection of thoughtful and though-provoking articles. This latest edition expands coverage to include noncanonical ancient texts, popular Victorian religious texts, and contemporary theater. Academics and lay readers interested in literary criticism, cultural studies, and religious studies will gain new insights from topics such as: religious mystery and homosexual identity in Terrence McNally’s “Corpus Christi” same-sex biblical couples in Victorian literature homoerotic texts in the Apocrypha sodomite rhetoric in a seventeenth-century Italian text Radclyffe Hall’s lesbian messiah in her 1928 novel The Well of Loneliness homosexual temptation in John Milton’s Paradise Regained Reclaiming the Sacred counteracts the manipulative and oppressive uses to which modern writers and thinkers put the Bible and the “morality” it is presumed to inscribe. An important tool for understanding the role of the Bible in gay and lesbian culture, this remarkable book makes a powerful contribution to the advancement of studies on queer sanctity.
