The contemporary church's debate on the inclusion of same-sex individuals and their relationships has devolved into diametrically opposed positions. Rather than resolving the argument, the conversation between the two sides reflects the impasse that is taking place in denominations across the West. It is clear that the dispute cannot be resolved while couched in these terms. In this timely work, Steven Schafer invites the reader to move beyond the terms of the current debate toward the underlying doctrinal concerns so often glossed over by that discussion. This book is a work of hermeneutics that engages the contemporary discussion on the legitimacy of same-sex relationships with the grand theological narrative handed down by the church. By placing four contemporary revisionists in dialogue with the work of Augustine, the book provides language and theological avenues to reframe the debate and contributes to the church's ongoing discernment.

This interdisciplinary anthology takes as its starting point the belief that, as the material grounds of lived experience, material culture provides an avenue of historical access to women's lives, extending beyond the reaches of textual evidence. Studies here range from utilitarian tools used in Late Roman abortion to sacred, magical or ritual objects associated with sex, procreation, and marriage in the Renaissance. Together the essays demonstrate the complex relationship between language and object, and explore the ways in which objects become forms of communication in their own right, transmitting both rather specific messages and more generalized social and cultural values.

Palgrave Advances in the Modern History of Sexuality offers a comprehensive and accessible overview of historical debate in the history of European and American sexuality since c. 1750. Each chapter explores in detail one theme, such as race, pornography, marriage, science or religion, which historians have seen as essential to writing the history of sexuality. The book therefore not only offers a broad introduction to the state of the art, but also suggests new directions for research and debate.

No other issue in recent times has proved as potentially divisive for the churches as that of same-sex relationships. At the same time as many countries have been moving towards legal recognition of civil partnerships or same-sex marriage, Christian responses have tended towards either finding alliances with proponents of conservative social mores, or providing what amounts to theological endorsement of secular liberal values.

The digital revolution has ushered in a series of sexual revolutions, all contributing to a perfect storm for modern relationships. Online dating, social media, internet pornography, and the phenomenon of the smartphone generation have created an avalanche of change with far-reaching consequences for sexuality today. The church has struggled to address this new moral ecology because it has focused on clarity of belief rather than quality of formation. The real challenge for spiritual formation lies in addressing the underlying moral intuitions we carry subconsciously, which are shaped by the convictions of our age. In this book, a fresh new voice offers a persuasive Christian vision of sex and relationships, calling young adults to faithful discipleship in a hypersexualized world. Drawing from his pastoral experience with young people and from cutting-edge research across multiple disciplines, Jonathan Grant helps Christian leaders understand the cultural forces that make the church's teaching on sex and relationships ineffective in the lives of today's young adults. He also sets forth pastoral strategies for addressing the underlying fault lines in modern sexuality.

A political scientist and pastor offers a positive, holistic vision that helps readers engage the cultural debate on sex and marriage in personal ethics and public policy.

The contemporary church’s debate on the inclusion of same-sex individuals and their relationships has devolved into diametrically opposed positions. Rather than resolving the argument, the conversation between the two sides reflects the impasse that is taking place in denominations across the West. It is clear that the dispute cannot be resolved while couched in these terms. In this timely work, Steven Schafer invites the reader to move beyond the terms of the current debate toward the underlying doctrinal concerns so often glossed over by that discussion. This book is a work of hermeneutics that engages the contemporary discussion on the legitimacy of same-sex relationships with the grand theological narrative handed down by the church. By placing four contemporary revisionists in dialogue with the work of Augustine, the book provides language and theological avenues to reframe the debate and contributes to the church’s ongoing discernment.

"During a recent day-time television talk show a young woman was informed that her husband had offered her best friend 500 dollars to have sex with him. Needless to say, the young woman (the wife) became very angry and she (along with the talk-show host and most of the audience present) viewed this act as an egregious betrayal"--

The way of a man with a maiden was too wonderful for the writer of Proverbs to understand. Preoccupying so many thoughts and dreams, the subject of countless songs, films and fairy tales, the love between a man and a woman has always been a profound and perplexing mystery. And yet we do not live happily ever after. Four out of ten marriages will end in divorce. Couples now choose to live together rather than marry, and those relationships are even less likely to last. People are having fewer children, later, and with a succession of partners. Ironically, just when so much is expected of love, Western societies are witnessing lower levels of public commitment in sexual relationships than ever before. The scale of this change amounts to a revolution, a major historical paradigm shift. The statistics mask a depth of pain that every pastor and counsellor knows only too well. We must face the inevitable questions: if faithfulness is no longer esteemed, why get married at all? What is marriage? What did God intend when he gave us marriage? Christopher Ash argues that our modern idolization of the sexual relationship contains within itself the seeds of its own destruction. To begin to rebuild a biblical confidence in marriage, we need to understand that the primary blessing and purpose of marriage is not sexual intimacy, but rather serving God in partnership. This in turn leads to the blessings of love, friendship, children, and order in society, and will help us to rediscover that faithfulness which is the heart of marriage. One of those precious rarities - a major piece of biblical scholarship which addresses an issue in todays headlines directly and warmly. One to own, not to borrow. -- David Field Deeply scholarly, extraordinarily thorough and biblically faithful, as well as courageously fresh in rethinking the role of marriage in Gods intention for human life. -- David Wright Christopher Ash studied at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, and then joined the staff at St. Andrew the Great, Cambridge. From there he headed to a church plant and is now Rector of All Saints, Little Shelford. He is married to Carolyn and they have four children.

This original, comprehensive theory of procreative ethics explains what kind of act procreation is and when we may permissibly engage in it. In order to ascertain when the procreative risk is permissible to impose, Weinberg proposes contractualist principles to fairly attend to the interests prospective parents have in procreating and the interests future people have in a life of human flourishing. The book presents a solution to the non-identity problem as well as dilemmas regarding our liberal principles of autonomy, consent, and equality, which may seem to be in tension with our procreative practices.