SEX. Splashed across magazine covers, billboards, and computer screens: sex is thrilling, necessary, unavoidable. And everybody's doing it, right? In Real Sex, Lauren Winner speaks candidly about the difficulty (and the importance) of sexual chastity. With nuance and wit, she talks about her own sexual journey. Never dodging tough terms like 'confession' and 'sin', she grounds her discussion of chastity first and foremost in scripture. She confronts cultural lies about sex and challenges how we talk about sex in church (newsflash: however wrong it is, premarital sex can feel liberating and enjoyable!). Building on the thought of Wendell Berry, she argues that sex is communal rather than private, personal rather than public. Refusing to slink away from thorny topics, Winner deftly addresses pornography, masturbation, and the perennial question of 'how far is too far?' Winner also digs deeper: What does chastity have to do with loving my neighbor? How does sexual behavior form habits and expectations? With compassion and grit, she calls us, whether married or single, to pursue chastity as conversion and amendment of life. Real Sex is an essential read for single Christians grappling with chastity, for married Christians committed to monogamy, and for those who council them.
