DESCRIPTION: Popular Western culture is highly sexualized; our identities have become hitched to our sexuality, including our sexual practices or "preferences." Contemporary Western Christian culture is generally muddled about how our sexuality matters for our discipleship; we often unknowingly adopt the assumptions of our broader culture and fail to reflect on the implications of doing so for our life and witness. This course explores our sexuality from a theological perspective and encourages development of an alternative vision for how our sexuality matters for our personal discipleship and communal witness.

SIGNIFICANCE FOR LIFE AND MINISTRY: As embodied creatures, we are all sexual. Christians must honestly wrestle with our sexual desires and practices and seek to open ourselves to God's gracious transformation. It is also critical for us to compassionately approach this complex aspect of our humanity as friends, leaders in communities, teachers, and members of churches. In these capacities we must seek to respond faithfully to this ordinary aspect of our lives that has become a source of societal and ecclesial division, as well as considerable personal and interpersonal difficulty for many of us.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: First, students will gain tools for analyzing how our culture shapes our perceptions of sexuality. Second, students will reflect on how despite Scripture's temporal and cultural distance from us, theological interpretation can guide us in our sexual beliefs and practice. Third, students will develop a culturally-relevant sexual ethic informed by social science, Scripture, and church tradition. Fourth, students will practice in the classroom and in their writing civil discourse and "convicted civility" when discussing sex and sexuality.

COURSE FORMAT: The class will meet twice a week for two-hour sessions that will consist of interactive lectures and small group discussion.

REQUIRED READING:

Anderson, Matthew Lee. Earthen Vessels: Why Our Bodies Matter to Our Faith. Bethany House, 2011. 255 pages. ISBN: 978-0764208560. Publisher price: $14.99.

Hill, Wesley. Washed and Waiting: Reflections on Christian Faithfulness and Homosexuality. Zondervan, 2010. 160 pages. ISBN: 978-0-310-33003. Publisher price: $14.99.

Paris, Jenell Williams. The End of Sexual Identity: Why Sex is Too Important to Define Who We Are. InterVarsity Press, 2011. 160 pages. ISBN: 978-0-8308-3836-3. Publisher price: $15.00.

Regnerus, Mark, and Jeremy Uecker. Premarital Sex in America: How Young Americans Meet, Mate, and Think about Marrying. Oxford, 2011. 250 pages excluding regression models and notes (we are reading about 200 pages of this text). ISBN: 978-0-19-974328-5. Publisher price: $24.95.

Sheldrake, Philip. Befriending Our Desires. 2nd ed. Darton, Longman & Todd, 2002. 120 pages. ISBN: 978-0232524468. Publisher price: $20.00.

Simon, Caroline J. Bringing Sex into Focus: The Quest for Sexual Integrity. IVP Academic, 2012. 176 pages. Publisher price: $15.00.

Via, Dan O., and Robert A. J. Gagnon. Homosexuality and the Bible: Two Views. Fortress, 2003. 128 pages. ISBN: 0-8006-3618-X. Publisher price: $15.00.

Numerous shorter readings, including some by Augustine, Sarah Coakley, Ellen Davis, Christian Smith, and Linda Whitehead. Note: Because several of these books are relatively easy reads, total pages for quarter come to approximately 1,500 pages.