Sex and the Iworld: Rethinking Relationship Beyond an Age of Individualism

A pastor who is also a politics professor examines current issues pertaining to sexuality and society and asks, What kind of world are we creating? And is it the world we want to live in? With no finger-pointing, and a cordial openness to responses from all points of view, Dale Kuehne contrasts the "tWorld," in which traditional morality reigned and recent innovations would have been inconceivable, with the post-Enlightenment "iWorld," in which these innovations are promoted because the perceived immediate needs of the individual are paramount. Both, he finds, fall short of the "rWorld," the larger web of healthy and nourishing social relationships that provides the context for a biblical understanding of individual sexuality. This book will transform the conversation on sexuality among college students, campus ministers, church and ministry leaders, and all readers with an eye on culture and public policy.EXCERPTEven as the broader culture has deviated from the traditional understanding of sexual ethics and marriage, so have Christians. . . . Given the rapid shift in the sexual behavior of Christians, it should come as no surprise that when the church attempts to respond to the questions posed by the Sexual Revolution, it does so with mixed messages, a muted voice, and little impact. . . . The answer for the church is not to withdraw permanently from the public debate about sexual morality. Instead we need to step back, think deeply about what we believe, and rearticulate it in a better way. Most of all, we need to practice what we profess and in doing so, reengage the culture in a dialogue about the meaning of sexuality.

Dale S. Kuehne (PhD, Georgetown University) is the Richard L. Bready Professor of Ethics, Economics, and the Common Good at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire. In addition, he serves as pastor of Emmanuel Covenant Church in Nashua, New Hampshire. Kuehne has authored Massachusetts Congregationalist Political Thought, 1760-1790 and numerous articles.