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I'm starting to feel like an old lady. I shook my head at Miley Cyrus at the MTV Music Awards and at Beyonce's performance for the 2013 Super Bowl halftime show. I went out for a drink with friends on my 37th birthday, and we talked for an hour about how to protect our sons and daughters ...

I wrote about paternity leave last week for her.meneutics, and I tried to make three points in that essay: that paternity leave is good for families, that we should thank feminism for the advances towards paternity leave, and that the church has an opportunity, through proactive paternity leave policies, ...

I was surprised to see yesterday that my name showed up a list of 101 Christian Women Speakers compiled by Rachel Held Evans. Surprised and, let's be honest, grateful and flattered and a little bit relieved too. And again, in the name of honesty, I am drawing your attention to this list in part because ...

Pornography. Casual sex. Crude jokes about sex. Hooking up with no strings attached.

Hanna Rosin's most recent Atlantic article, "Boys on the Side," describes highly intelligent, career-oriented women engaging in all of these behaviors with a mere shrug of the shoulders. In the minds of many driven young ...

I have a new post on her.meneutics, MIA: Men Who Don't Use Pornography. It begins:

I don't remember much about sex education in 10th grade, other than anxiety about what topics I might have to discuss with peers. But I do remember a woman who came to our private, secular school to talk about "chastity." ...

A few weeks ago, I wrote a review of Jenell Paris' book, The End of Sexuality. I talked about celibacy as an option for Christians who believe that they cannot engage in same-sex physical relationships. Some of you, with kindness and respect, expressed incredulity about celibacy. Around the same time, ...

There are real reasons for people to get divorced, but the destruction of a marriage should never be celebrated. In "The Divorce Delusion," an article from the New York Times a few weeks back, the writer reflects on popular culture's recent embrace of divorce and comments upon the pain that remains ...

I recently read and reviewed Jenell Paris' book, The End of Sexual Identity: Why Sex is Too Important to Define Who We Are for her.meneutics, the Christianity Today women's blog. I've quoted from and linked to the review below, and I hope you'll take the time to read it and chime in with some comments, ...

Issues surrounding sexuality make headlines all the time. Same-sex marriage in New York State... Questions about children's sexual identities discussed on Motherlode... And, all too often, Christians condemning these conversations.

My fellow her.meneutics blogger Karen Swallow Prior has written an article ...

Is it possible to have sex without having a relationship?

Dannah Gresh, writing for CNN's belief blog, says no. I recommend reading her entire essay, "There's Nothing Brief About a Hookup." To quote her at length:

[Oxytocin] is released during sexual expression. A tiny dose is downloaded during intimate ...

I have a new post at her.menuetics. It begins:

In her new and buzzworthybook, For Better: The Science of a Good Marriage, The New York Times's Tara Parker-Pope examines what brain chemistry and genes have to do with happy marriages. She begins a recent Well column with a question: "Why do some men and ...

So I never did get to tell you more about the Festival of Faith and Writing... Soon, I promise.

For now, I've got a post at Patheos in response to the question: "What's Sex Got to do with It (Christianity, that is)?" (in 100 words or less). My response:

Tenderness. Ecstasy. Vulnerability. Nakedness. Desire. ...

I have a post with some thoughts on Christian arguments for and against gay marriage on The Park Forum: "Same Sex Marriage and Love."

Also, a number of people have asked me about receiving these blog posts via email. To do so, simply scroll down until the column to the right of this post says "Subscribe ...

I have a new post on Christianity Today's Women's Blog: Iris Robinson Jesus Loves You More Than You Will Know.

New Post on the Park Forum: Religion and Women: Nicholas Kristof is Wrong...

For those of you who live in the tri-state area, I wanted to let you know I will be preaching at 8:00 and 10:00 am this Sunday at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in New Providence, NJ. I will also be speaking and reading from Penelope Ayers at the Adult Forum at 11:15 that same morning. In other news, ...

New Post: Women and Happiness on The Park Forum