Bucking against conservative Christian tradition advising against extra-marital sex, the Rev. Bromleigh McCleneghan, a married mother of three and associate pastor for ministry with families at Union Church of Hinsdale in Illinois, says single Christians can have sex as long as it’s “mutually pleasurable and affirming.”
Citing 1 Corinthians 6:18-20, many Mainline Protestant and evangelical churches like the Assemblies of God Church, advise against sexual relations among single Christians.
“Today within our society singles exist for one of two reasons — by choice, or by circumstance. In either case the Bible’s mandate is clear for all unmarried individuals: they are to remain sexually pure (1 Corinthians 6:18-20),” the Assemblies of God church warned.
For McCleneghan, however, whose views are comprehensively captured in her new book, Good Christian Sex: Why Chastity Isn’t the Only Option — And Other Things the Bible Says About Sex, single Christians don’t need to abstain from sex to remain pure since being chaste is about moderation.
McCleneghan believes it’s unfair to ask single Christians who haven’t been called to a life of celibacy to refrain from sexual intimacy when both men and women need sex.
“Plenty of women and men love sex, and need it — we need bodily pleasure, remember — and the abundant life for them will involve seeking out relationships of mutual pleasure. Chastity, or just sex, requires that whether we are married or unmarried, our sex lives restrain our egos, restrain our desire for physical pleasure when pursuing it would bring harm to self or other,” she added. Read full
