Sex, Lies, and the Truth: Developing a Christian Ethic in a Post-Christian Society by Linda L. Belleville

Sex, Lies, and the Truth: Developing a Christian Ethic in a Post-Christian Society Reviews

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  Dave Lester

  I really appreciated this book from Linda Belleville. She gives a very brief theology in this work of how sexuality is portrayed in the Scripture. The work she does is as a Biblical scholar which she is. She digs into the language of Scripture regarding the expectations of marital love, adultery, fornication, and homosexuality.
  
  As she brings forth what Scripture clearly says on these issues, she discusses the values of our culture and mentions how sexual values have changed especially over the last couple of decades.
  
  She lays out a challenge to the church that obviously, Christians are already dealing with changing values and systems of thought regarding sexuality. She does this in a surprisingly non-judgmental way. She explains the culture almost in a matter of fact type way and then discusses what the Bible says and calls the church to truly teach this.
  
  The chapter on homosexuality was particularly interesting. She examines the 5 passages of the Bible which discuss homosexuality. She argues that Scripture clearly labels this behavior in the sinful category. In an age where some Biblical scholars are trying to argue around these passages, this section of Belleville's book is indispensable.
  
  One criticism of this book is its length. 114 pages is not a lot of time to deal with an immense issue and agreed, one that the church and culture are in contention over. Belleville wisely avoids political discussions choosing instead to challenge Christians to teach and live out their values.
  
  A good, little known social commentary book on sexuality.
• 
  Nicholas Quient

  Concise, practical and on the conservative side. A nice little resource, if brief and at times overly general.