CCP8: On Purity Culture

In this week’s conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss purity culture and the Church. In the 90s we saw the outbreak of sexual permissiveness and sexual saturation within culture – and it hit women particularly hard, as they became the ones to blame. From this, purity culture was born - a movement characterized by modest dress, purity rings, the “true love waits pledge,” etc. Somewhere along the way this morphed into a toxic culture even within the church. What the church needs is a holistic theology of sex, showing the wonder of it all and the gift that it is within the context of a marriage.

Episode Links

To take a deeper dive into this conversation. Dr. White has written several blogs that may serve as helpful additions, such as a blog titled “Sexual Fluidity” showing just how much Generation Z has become sexually and relationally amorphous in today’s culture. And porn is not merely a contributing factor in this, it’s creating a crisis among both youth and adults alike. There are two blogs Dr. White wrote that would specifically complement this episode: “This Is Your Brain on Porn” paints a very grim picture of how porn and its widespread availability is affecting our youth today and “The Obvious Reason They’re Not Having Sex” showing the effects of porn within young adults as it quickly becomes a substitute for sexual intimacy.

There are two series that were delivered at Mecklenburg Community Church that serve as a fantastic model for how the church can talk about sex - painting a picture of God’s intent in creating this for our lives. “Fifty Shades” is a series about sex and sexual intimacy with installments that include “A Theology of Sex,” “Pornified” and “Five Questions You Never Thought You’d Hear Answered in Church.” And “Holy Matrimony” is a series on the biblical sacrament of marriage with installments called “Four Big Ideas,” “Christ-Centered,” “Divorce and Remarriage” and “Gay Marriage.”

A final resource that will serve in this conversation is a book written by Dr. White titled Meet Generation Z that you can find on Amazon or at your favorite bookseller.

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