by Rev. Dale S. Kuehne, Ph.D., the Richard L. Bready Chair of Ethics, Economics, and the Common Good at Saint Anselm College, as well as a Ruth Institute ‘Circle of Experts’ Member
The historic Christian teaching that a sexual relationship should be confined to a marriage between one man and one woman is good news for everyone.
For the past two millennia this statement has not only been conventional wisdom, it has not been serious challenged—until very recently. Presently this teaching is not only questioned, Christians and non-Christians alike are discarding it with unprecedented dispatch. This shift is so remarkable that we are about ready to do something that would have been inconceivable for the entire history of Western Civilization: legalize same-sex marriage.
While the contemporary discussion is framed primarily by the debate concerning same-sex marriage, the issue goes much deeper than same-sex issues. The deeper issues involve our understanding of what it means to be human, male and female, and the place of sex in our relational framework.
I have framed my thesis so strongly because Christianity should reflect what we are for and not what we are against. We understand ourselves as bearers of the gospel, which is rightly understood as good news for everyone. Our understanding of sexuality cannot be advertised as “just say no” or “just wait for marriage.” The fundamental question facing us is this: Do we really believe that historic Christian teaching is good news for everyone?
I do. I want to explain why, and I wish to do so without citing Scripture. Virtually everyone reading this knows the Christian theology of sex. The question we are faced with is not one of understanding but of belief. Is there good reason to believe it? Yes.
Read more in the book, Sex and the iWorld: Rethinking Relationship beyond an Age of Individualism, by Rev. Dale S. Kuehne, Ph.D.
