Bromleigh McCleneghan, a pastor of a Union Church in Chicago, has written Good Christian Sex for what she calls mainstream, Protestant Christians who have come to accept that people may live together before marriage, but are concerned to ensure sex and sexual behaviour remains good and not bad.
It finds the goodness of sex in the belief that it belongs to our being human. That includes seeing sexual desire and pleasure as something positive, whether in relation to oneself or in relation to others. The author writes of her own experiences, openly, sometimes self-critically, but always very sensibly.
This is a commonsense book likely to benefit greatly those who seek an alternative to the traditional norm of faithfulness in marriage and celibacy in singleness. It invites critical reading. It has helpful chapters on the nature of fidelity, on sexual abuse and lust which treats others as objects, and offers useful reflections on the wisdom of controlling one’s sexual desires and their expression, just as much as we need to control our appetite for food.
Very easy reading, leaving no stone untouched.
William Loader