Table Of ContentSexuality and Holy Longing: Embracing Intimacy
in a Beautiful, Broken World
Second edition
m
The issues raised in Sexuality and Holy Longing remain intensely relevant today, and mc-
c
minn has a message that can and should be heard even by the post-churched skeptic. m
That’s partly because of the unusual comprehensiveness of this book, partly due to its i
N LisA GrAhAm mcmiNN
rich combination of a theology of embodied sexuality and a sociology of embedded N
sexuality, but mainly because of its gentle, accepting, winsome spirit. mcminn simply
exudes the spirit of that wisest college teacher you ever, or never, had. ForEword by david P. GuShEE
—From the foreword by david P. Gushee, mercer University
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Praise for Sexuality and Holy Longing
e
“it is by no coincidence that Lisa Graham mcminn’s update of Sexuality and Holy Long- x
ing is being released at this point in time. In this updated version, McMinn identifies S e x u a l i t y
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cultural shifts in thinking about sexuality within the christian community and creates
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a gentle space for considering different points of view in a manner that invites a more
dialectical perspective on sexuality. i invite you to journey with her through her obser- l
vations and musings to see what connects us as people who are loved deeply by God in i
t AND
a theology of grace regarding our sexuality.”
y
—erica tan, PsyD, coauthor of Sexual Identity Synthesis: Attributions, Meaning-
Making, and the Search for Congruence
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N H o ly lo n g i n g
“When Sexuality and Holy Longing was first published in 2004, only a few authors—
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including Lisa Graham mcminn—willingly grappled with what a whole and holy
sexual ethic might look like. In this new edition, McMinn offers an even more expan- H
sive and inclusive treatment of sexuality, one that remains firmly focused on God’s
o
perfect love for us and our imperfect love for each other. her book will inspire a new
generation of readers with its redemptive message about how we might navigate our l
embodied selves through a clearly broken world.” y
Embracing Intimacy in
—Melanie Mock, George Fox University
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o a Beautiful, Broken World
LisA GrAhAm mcmiNN , author of Growing Strong Daughters, The Contented Soul, n
Walking Gently, and To the Table, is professor of sociology at George Fox University, where
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she is currently a writer in residence. she received her PhD in sociology/systems sci-
ence from Portland state University in 1995. currently she speaks and writes most i
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often in the areas of creation care, agriculture and food ethics, and spiritual formation.
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econd dition
she and her husband live in Newberg, Oregon. g
Sexual Ethics $24.99
Sexuality and Holy Longing
Sexuality and Holy
Longing
Embracing Intimacy in a Beautiful, Broken
World
Lisa Graham McMinn
Fortress Press
Minneapolis
SEXUALITY AND HOLY LONGING
Embracing Intimacy in a Beautiful, Broken World
Second Edition
Copyright © 2019 Fortress Press edition, an imprint of 1517 Media. Text revisions
are new to the 2019 Fortress Press edition and not part of the original Wiley
edition.
First edition copyright © 2004 by Lisa Graham McMinn. All rights reserved.
This edition published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights
reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews, no part of this
book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the
publisher. Email [email protected] or write to Permissions, Fortress Press, PO
Box 1209, Minneapolis, MN 55440-1209.
Scripture taken from the New Living Translation. New Living Translation is a
registered trademark of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Excerpt from “No Easy Victory” used by permission,Christianity Today, 2002.
Cover Image: © iStock 2018; Acrylic Painted Canvas by dilnca
Cover Design: Erin Keeffer
Print ISBN: 978-1-5064-5481-8
Ebook ISBN: 978-1-5064-5482-5
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American
National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed
Library Materials, ANSI Z329, 48-1984.
Manufactured in the U.S.A.
To Mark
Contents
Foreword ix
Acknowledgments xiii
Preface to the New Edition xvii
Introduction 1
1. Sexuality and Culture: Bodies and Scripts 19
2. Passages and Awakenings 61
3. Adolescence: Identity, Awareness, and Choices 99
4. Sleeping Alone: Sexuality and Singleness 137
5. Birthing Babies: The Essence of Early Motherhood 177
and Fatherhood
6. Mysteries of Covenantal Relationships: Living in 219
Grace and Love
Epilogue: Beauty from Ashes 257
Appendix A: An (Incomplete) Glossary of Gender and 263
Sexual Identity Terms
The Author 265
Index 267
Foreword
An awful lot has changed both in US society and church life in the
fourteen years since Lisa Graham McMinn first published her very
significant book Sexuality and Holy Longing, which at the time was
one of the most significant evangelical treatments of sexuality from
both a sociological and theological perspective—and which I very
much welcome in this new second edition.
Frommyperspective,amongthemostsignificantchangeswehave
experienced would have to be the following: the continued dein-
stitutionalization of marriage as the primary context for sexual mat-
ing, procreation, and childrearing; the gradual enshrinement of the
hookup culture; the emergence of technologically aided mate selec-
tion as perhaps the primary method by which people find partners;
the even more ubiquitous presence and use of pornography; the
decline of white Christianity, including the first undeniable down-
turn in white evangelical Christianity; the intensified and even more
contested politicization of US evangelicalism; the waves of scandal
related to clergy sexual abuse, mainly but not exclusively in the US
Catholic Church, with its deeply discrediting effects on Christian
institutions;theshiftoftheweddingbusinessoutsideofthesanctuary
toentertainmentanddestinationvenues;and,ofcourse,theSupreme
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