Pure Sex by Philip Jenson and Tony Payne.
Short, easy to read and to the point. A great corrective to various myths about Christians and sex and will inform you how to deal with the different views of sex that our championed in our secular world.
What Some of You Were edited by Christopher Keen
A sensitive and honest series of stories about Christians and homosexuality. Also has a helpful appendix dealing with biological questions and the issue of change. Again, it is short and won't cover everything, but what it does cover is done with great care and hope in God.
Porn-again Christian by Mark Driscoll (read it online)
The sub title says this is a frank discussion on pornography and masturbation...and yeah, it is.
Especially for guys it will probably bring up most of the questions you are too afraid to ask....and give great Biblical counsel and grace filled advice on these topics. I have been asked this week about the appropriateness and possibility of masturbation if you are not married, well that issue amongst a heap of others is discussed.
Other books I have not read, but which seek to address some of these issues especially for women are:
Restoring Sexual Identity, Hope for Women who struggle with Same Sex Attraction by Anne Paulk.
Every Young woman's Battle - by Etheridge & Arterburn
Every Woman's battle - Etheridge
Restoring Sexual Identity, Hope for Women who struggle with Same Sex Attraction by Anne Paulk.
Every Young woman's Battle - by Etheridge & Arterburn
Every Woman's battle - Etheridge
Feel free to add other resources in your comments if you've found other stuff helpful and Biblical.
I read about a chapter of the Mark Driscoll book, and to be honest, I thought it could do more harm than good. What I read could only make an already difficult issue harder, and make guilt and self-loathing worse.
ReplyDeleteAlso, not everybody will get married. Christians writing about sex issues need to learn that.
Yeah that's a reasonable comment le-messor and perhaps your last comment is not addressed seriously enough in the book.
ReplyDeleteHowever I think the overall tone is actually pretty grace filled and hopeful.
I know Mark's church has benefitted greatly from guys getting off the porn and treating their Christian sisters with purity....(I know you won't disagree on the importance of this)...
Having recently got married, I've been doing a lot of reading. And while the following books are largely helpful in marriage/ marriage preparation, they do also have themes that are applicable across all life stages and in parts deal quite frankly with the singleness and the struggles that I'm sure most of us have faced at some point in our lives.
ReplyDeleteThe First Years of Forever - Ed Wheat, M.D. (with Gloria Okes Perkins)
- Certainly the focus of this book is clearly on those who are engaged/ married. But I find many of the issues discussed rather universal to relationships and I found gaining a grasp of many of the ideas of life long relationships very useful long before I even met my husband. There certainly are sections of the book that would not be particularly helpful for singles though, being focused on the mechanics of sex.
Married for God - Christopher Ash
- This tackles some great issues that apply to everyone (single/dating/engaged/married)and is a very practical book in that it gives you discussion questions at the end of each chapter. A great challenging read! And I'd strongly recommend it to those who are engaged or contemplating marriage (read it together and do the discussion questions together!)
One Flesh - Amelia & Greg Clarke
- Part 1 of this book is a great read for everyone, being a very frank look at God's intentions for sex. I wouldn't recommend reading further than part 1 for those who are not already engaged/ married as it is unlikely to be particularly helpful to you.
Another book that might be helpful when we are thinking through these particularly challenging topics is more psychological in nature.
Boundaries - Dr Henry Cloud & Dr John Townsend.
- Both these guys are Christians and have a lot of knowledge and experience in the field of psychology. When it is tough to work out where you end and someone else begins emotionally, or when you feel like someone else is controlling your life more than you would like but you're not sure why, or how to change it... and so many more really practical discussions on how to be the emotionally whole person that God intended you to be!
"I know Mark's church has benefitted greatly from guys getting off the porn and treating their Christian sisters with purity....(I know you won't disagree on the importance of this)..."
ReplyDeleteYou're right, I fully agree with that. (Btw, call me Mik. messor is just my online name.)
Taryn, I appreciate the balanced way you recommended those books.
No worries Mik...and thanks Taryn for adding to the list...
ReplyDeleteJust finished reading through Mark Driscoll's book and found it a pretty good read. I am pretty familiar with the biblical argument's raised but found the real world examples to be most disturbing, especially in relation to the international sex trade and it's de facto slavery of women.
ReplyDelete