Christian Research Journal Reads Episode 124: Why Youth Are Walking Away from Biblical Sexuality and What Parents Can Do about It

This is Episode 124 of Christian Research Journal Reads.This is an audio version of the CHRISTIAN RESEARCH JOURNAL article, “Why Youth Are Walking Away from Biblical Sexuality and What Parents Can Do about It”  by Amy Davison.  This article first appeared in the Christian Research Journal, volume 45, number 2/3  (2022). https://www.equip.org/articles/why-youth-are-walking-away-from-biblical-sexuality-and-what-parents-can-do-about-it/

  It was accompanied by Postmodern Realities Episode 312 Addressing Purity Culture & Sex Positivity.


This podcast presents audio versions of Christian Research Journal articles. As the flagship publication of the Christian Research Institute, the Journal seeks to equip followers of Christ to think and to live Christianly—to exercise truth and experience life. Truth, especially essential Christian doctrine, forms the basis for how we live our lives in Christ. As the apostle Paul instructed Timothy in 1 Tim. 4:16, “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.”The Christian Research Journal enjoyed a print incarnation of almost 45 years. Now exclusively an online publication, the Journal consists of thousands of free articles. We hope that through these audio articles you are not only equipped to proclaim and defend your faith but that as a disciple you also draw closer to Christ in your walk with Him.  You can find the written version of each article that is an episode of Christian Research Journal Reads at the website of the Christian Research Institute, equip.org. All Christian Research Journal articles at equip.org are completely free and do not require a subscription and are not under a paywall.All episodes will be available at the following podcast platforms with more being added daily! You can help spread the word about this new podcast by giving us a rating and review from the other channels we are listed on and telling others!Our Website at the new special link and off our Journal main page.   

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
This is episode one hundred and twenty four of the
Christian Research Journal Reads Podcast. Why youth Are Walking Away
from Biblical Sexuality and What Parents can Do about It?
By Amy Davison. This article first appeared in the print
edition of the Christian Research Journal, Volume forty five, number two,

(00:29):
slash three in twenty twenty two. The Christian Research Journal
Reads Podcast presents audio versions of Christian Research Journal articles.
To read the full article and its documentation, please go
to equip dot org. That's e quip dot org.

Speaker 2 (00:54):
Why youth are Walking away from Biblical sexuality and what
Parents can do about it? Amy Davison, read by Christina
Winterstellar millennials in gen Z increasingly reject Biblical sexuality, and
they aren't shy about saying why. For American evangelical millennials

(01:14):
ages twenty six to forty one, specifically, the shift happened
at least in part with nineties purity culture, which shouldn't
be a shock. Many were blindsided by tyrannical youth pastors
wielding half eaten lollipops chewed gum flowers without petals, symbolic
they said, of budding sexuality gone awry. These metaphors devaluing

(01:39):
the human body while seemingly idolizing virginity were originally intended
to exemplify our need for the redemptive work of Christ,
but too often, overly zealous church leaders made them their
primary focus. Girls had their developing bodies reduced to stumbling
blocks and traps waiting to ensnare their brothers in Christ

(02:01):
hopelessly enslave to their hormones. The quote just don't do
it unquote campaign made it clear that if you wanted
to retain your value, your salvation, even you had better
be a virgin at the altar. While not all cases
were this extreme, the legalistic contagion was so widespread, so damaging,

(02:22):
that many went on their honeymoons and left the church
behind for good. The fallout has deeply affected evangelical gen
Z's perception of sex in the church. They have parents
who are just now shedding the weight of shame placed
upon their teenage shoulders, parents who refused to make their
own children walk through the same sexual minefield. As a result,

(02:46):
they have largely kept silent. They believed that their children
wouldn't listen to their beliefs about sex, let alone wish
to discuss it. As a result, gen Z has been
sexually discipled by secular meetings and sex ed curricula filtered
through identity politics and feminism. The result is a growing

(03:07):
generation living out a progressive sexual worldview. Within progressive sexuality,
purity rings have been exchanged for how to classes on
bondage condoms, not christ protect the heart. Teens who not
long ago would have had to sneak into the darkened
back room of a video store to glimpse and adult

(03:28):
film can access the darkest pornography with a few clicks
on their smartphone. If they aren't watching porn, celebrities encourage
them to make it. Why wouldn't they. They are sexual
beings after all, and sex, not some patriarchal religion, is
the path to empowerment, liberation, even the American Dream. As

(03:51):
much as I wish I could say this is only
a secular problem, statistics disagree. Two years ago, a survey
conducted by Pew Research found that fifty seven percent of
Christians believe that pre marital sex in a committed relationship
is not wrong, while fifty percent hold that hookups sleeping

(04:12):
with someone you are not committed to were perfectly acceptable.
Upwards of eighty percent of unmarried evangelicals between ages eighteen
and twenty nine have had sex. While fifty four percent
of Christians think homosexuality shouldn't be discouraged by the Church.
They claim Christianity in some areas in their life, but

(04:34):
in the bedroom they're clearly progressive. This loss of cultural
ground isn't because there's something wrong with God's design for sexuality.
Clinical psychologist Julie Slattery rightly observes that when culture attacked,
the Church didn't know how to fight. The battle wasn't
just physical, but spiritual and mental. It was never just

(04:57):
about getting Christian teens to have sex. It was about
destroying the biblical worldview, warping sexual appetites, and laying a
false claim to their identity, a battle that culture is winning.
If we desire to raise children who can stand firm,
they need to understand sex for what it truly is,

(05:18):
not as an act between bodies, but as an expression
of our entire worldview. How sex expresses our worldview, a
worldview focus is integral to effectively communicating a whole person
biblical sexual ethic, mind, body, and soul. Without it, our

(05:38):
children receive only a fragmented and often materialist approach to sexuality,
neither of which are biblical. This ultimately was a major
failing point of purity culture. It hyper focused on curbing
the symptom unrestrained sexuality without addressing the root cause, a
broken worldview. We must therefore begin by establishing a foundation

(06:03):
of truth, as this determines the trajectory of one sexual worldview.
For the Christian truth is woven into our very beings.
In the beginning, our bodies were made male and female
Genesis one twenty six. While sin has affected that design
through physical deformities, alternative lifestyles, or inclinations, these consequences of

(06:27):
the fall do not supersede it. Male and female were
made distinct, yet complimentary, and endowed with inherent dignity as
the beloved creation of a loving God. Progressive understanding of
sex and gender, on the other hand, presupposes materialism. The body,
it contends is the valueless result of an evolutionary game

(06:50):
of chance. Biology, which until recently was taken for granted
as that which determines sex. Gender, is now the fleshy
anchor to an art chaoic history full of oppressive gender roles.
The biblical understanding of sex as designed by God now
has to be changed or disavowed, not because it is wrong,

(07:11):
but because today's youth see it as to quote normal
unquote or quote traditional unquote. They don't recognize that in
rejecting God's design, they adopt an understanding of truth devoid
of objective grounding their solution. Nancy Pearcy explains, attempts to
derive truth from a person's sense of self, irrespective of

(07:34):
the body experience, elevated to the role of truthmaker, especially
within LGBTQ plus ideology. Unfortunately, one's sense of self is
highly subjective and governed by ever changing feelings. We certainly
don't see ourselves now as we did when we were
five or fifteen. Experience is likewise subjective and can at

(07:57):
best align with truth, not to terminate. As such, neither
one's sense of self nor personal experience can function as
a grounding or even a filter for truth, because each
can be and often is wrong. Despite this common sense reality,
many youths still cling to progressive beliefs because it offers

(08:19):
a sense of autonomy. I can do what I want
because it doesn't matter, and power I determine who I
am and what is good. This is rife within LGBTQ
plus ideology, which elevates one's sense of self from aspect
of creation to creator. Children need to understand that, in

(08:39):
one way they are correct. Free will ensures that we
can do or attempt to do, as we please. We are, not, however,
free from the consequences of our decisions and actions that
stem from false beliefs, which will naturally become increasingly degrading
until they are disciplined by truth. Quote it feels good

(09:01):
does not imply it is good. The loss of objective
grounding for truth within the progressive sexual ethic entails devastating
consequences for morality. In Genesis three, fashion sex positive activists
teach children that they, through consent and pleasure, determine what
is good, not God. This utilitarian siren song leans many

(09:26):
youth astray, especially when medical authorities give them a free
past to indulge their hedonistic desires. What they don't understand
is that consent and pleasure say only what one is
willing to allow and enjoy, neither of which can determine
goodness or truth. Without biblical morality, design and truth, our

(09:47):
bodies lose all value. They can be used and abused
through early sexual activity and dangerous practices like hooking up.
It isn't until children encounter the biblical world view that
they see themselves and sexuality for what they truly are,
precious creations worthy of protection. As one girl shared with me, quote,

(10:10):
it wasn't until I heard the Gospel that I realized
I had value unquote. How could it be otherwise? Her
worldview promised guilt free sex while quietly calling her worthless
and disposable, a reality she felt all too often, as
evidenced by the scars on her wrists and waste from
numerous suicide attempts. She was only seventeen. Her body testified

(10:36):
to the tragic reality of adopting a progressive sexual worldview.
When we live outside of God's design, we are not
quote living our truth unquote, we are desensitizing ourselves to
reality and distorting the true knowledge of God. We lose
our ability to see Him and instead bow to an

(10:56):
idol made in our own image. First Thessalonians four three
through eight, Romans one eighteen through thirty two. We also
reject the very things God designed as a reflection of
his relationship to his people, marriage and children, both of
which suffer when not submitted to the cross. The need

(11:17):
for leay maud discipleship. Adequately training up our children requires intentionality.
In Deuteronomy four to ten, God commanded his people to
quote teach God's word to their children unquote. Teach in
this passage is the Hebrew word les mad, which means
quote to train, with the implication to put into use unquote.

(11:41):
This is exactly how we are to disciple our children's
sexuality by training them how to understand the Biblical sexual
ethic and lived out in their daily lives. This cannot
be accomplished in one awkward conversation. It requires intentional, lifelong discipleship,
steward and submission to God within the context of his

(12:03):
church discipleship that kids are yearning for the power to decide.
Campaigns surveyed thousands of students to see who held the
most influence on their sexual decision making, parents, media, or
their peers. More than half fifty four percent of teens
ages twelve to fifteen said it was their parents. Parents

(12:25):
were also voted top influencer for teens ages sixteen to nineteen,
though the number shrunk to thirty two percent. It wasn't
until college that friends became the primary source of advice.
This was the same study that revealed parents weren't speaking
because they didn't believe their kids were listening. Don't let
perpetual AirPods, use or eye rolls fool you. Our kids

(12:49):
want our discipleship. If we don't provide it, the world will.
We must therefore teach sex and sexuality for what they
truly are and expression of our entire worldview. This can
be accomplished through both proactive and reactive discipleship. Proactively train
your children to understand the biblical worldview and the existence

(13:12):
of objective truth. This acts as a first line of
defense against progressive sexuality woven within children's media and pop culture.
Next show how progressive arguments on gender identity fracture the
human person and ultimately fail. This involves teaching critical reasoning
skills so that children will discern worldview, truth claims, and

(13:36):
faulty reasoning. Above all, be graciously reactive while modeling God's
design for sex, marriage, and family in your own home
Titus two seven. Our children have to feel welcome to
discussing sex and their sexuality with us, even if they
choose not to. Sometimes, if our children have the maturity

(13:57):
to ask the question. We have the God or day
responsibility to give them an answer, no flinching aloud.

Speaker 1 (14:06):
Thank you for listening to another episode from the Christian
Research Journal Reads podcast, which provides audio articles of Christian
Research Journal articles. If you go to equip dot org,
you will find a brand new article for the Christian
Research Journal published weekly. In addition, please subscribe to our
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(14:30):
find the Christian Research Journal Reads podcast, the Postmodern Realities podcast,
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(14:53):
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(15:15):
Journal articles. That's e q U I P dot O
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