November 17, 2025 • 15 mins
This is Episode 157 of Christian Research Journal Reads. This is an audio version of the CHRISTIAN RESEARCH JOURNAL article, “Should We Continue to Use the Term Sexual Purity?” by Richard J. Poupard. https://www.equip.org/articles/continue-use-term-sexual-purity/
This article first appeared in the Viewpoint column of the CHRISTIAN RESEARCH JOURNAL, volume 39, number 05 (2016). Viewpoint articles address relevant contemporary issues in discernment and apologetics from a particular perspective that is usually not shared by all Christians, with the intended result that Christians’ thinking on that issue will be stimulated and enhanced (whether or not people end up agreeing with the author’s opinion).
It was also accompanied by Postmodern Realities Episode: 020: Should We Continue to Use the Term Sexual Purity?
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 are available at the following podcast platforms with more being added daily! You can help spread the word about this podcast by giving us a rating and review from the other channels we are listed on and telling others!You can view off our Website at the at this link and off our Journal main page.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/christian-research-journal-reads--6022978/support.
This article first appeared in the Viewpoint column of the CHRISTIAN RESEARCH JOURNAL, volume 39, number 05 (2016). Viewpoint articles address relevant contemporary issues in discernment and apologetics from a particular perspective that is usually not shared by all Christians, with the intended result that Christians’ thinking on that issue will be stimulated and enhanced (whether or not people end up agreeing with the author’s opinion).
It was also accompanied by Postmodern Realities Episode: 020: Should We Continue to Use the Term Sexual Purity?
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 are available at the following podcast platforms with more being added daily! You can help spread the word about this podcast by giving us a rating and review from the other channels we are listed on and telling others!You can view off our Website at the at this link and off our Journal main page.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/christian-research-journal-reads--6022978/support.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
This is episode one hundred and fifty seven of the
Christian Research Journal Reads Podcast. Should We Continue to use
the term Sexual Purity? By Richard J. Poupard. This article
first appeared in the Viewpoint column of the print edition
of the Christian Research Journal, Volume thirty nine, number five
(00:29):
in twenty sixteen. The Christian Research Journal Reads Podcast presents
audio versions of Christian Research Journal articles. To read the
full text of this article and its documentation, please go
to equip dot org. That's e qu ip dot RG.
(00:53):
Should we continue to use the term sexual Purity? By
Richard J. Poopard. This article first appeared in the Viewpoint
column of the Christian Research Journal. Viewpoint articles address relevant
contemporary issues in discernment and apologetics from a particular perspective
that is usually not shared by all Christians, with the
(01:16):
intended result that Christians thinking on that issue will be
stimulated and enhanced, whether or not people end up agreeing
with the author's opinion. Virginity has been treasured and valued
in many ancient and modern cultures. In some countries, doctors
will provide virginity tests before a wedding to ensure that
(01:38):
a female family member retains physical evidence that she has
never engaged in sex. No such tests exists for males.
Failure to provide adequate evidence of virginity justifies the annulment
of the marriage, as well as the heaping of public
shame and humiliation on the family of the tainted. Recently,
(02:01):
a news story reminded me of this sad tradition. During
her wedding ceremony, Marilyn bride Brenlan Bowman, offered a gift
to her proud father in front of three thousand, five
hundred guests. The gift was entitled a certificate of purity
and was presented as a symbol that she had remained
sexually pure prior to her wedding day. She also had
(02:24):
their certificates signed by her doctor confirming that her hymen
was intact as physical evidence of her purity. Brenlan voluntarily
submitted herself to the same test that many women around
the world are forced into in order proudly and demonstrably
to reveal a virginal state before marriage, from sexual abstinence
(02:48):
to sexual purity. Few brides go as far as Brenlin,
but her story is an extreme example of teachings on
sexual purity that have influenced the church for the power generation.
To be clear, God's gift of sexual intimacy is designed
to be enjoyed and experienced within the bounds of a
(03:09):
covenant marriage. This standard requires sexual abstinence prior to marriage,
as well as sexual fidelity within marriage. This truth is
important to proclaim, but we live in a world that
continuously sends a very different message to our youth. The
message that many teens here is that their peers are
(03:30):
all engaging in awesome, consequence free sex. Approximately two decades ago,
many Christians saw the challenges in our more permissive culture
and attempted a new strategy to reach our youth with
the truth. Instead of focusing on sexual abstinence, there was
(03:51):
an attempt to be more positive in the message. Sex
was presented not as a negative act that needed to
be avoided before marriage, but as an amazing experience if
you wait until after marriage. The focus on abstinence was
then redirected to a more positive term, sexual purity. Most
(04:12):
teachings on sexual purity involve making a pledge to keep
one's heart and mind pure by avoiding sexual activity prior
to marriage. This pledge is often done publicly and is
frequently symbolized by a purity ring or some other symbol
of one's pre marital commitment to his or her future spouse.
(04:38):
One of the goals of the movement is to create
a counter culture of sexually pure teens that would counteract
the hyper sexualized world by providing a positive pressure to
remain pure problems with the image of purity. Despite the
laudable goals and motivation of this move there are a
(05:01):
number of concerns regarding the message that is communicated by
the term sexual purity. If a substance is pure, it
takes very little of a contaminant to defile it, and
it is very difficult, if not impossible, to return it
to its pure state. The illustrations frequently used to demonstrate
(05:23):
the concept of sexual purity to young audiences communicate this
very graphically. Girls who have lost their virginity have been
described as a piece of tape that loses its stickiness,
a piece of chewing gum that's been chewed, a cardboard
heart sawed into pieces, and a bruised and partially eaten apple.
(05:48):
Regardless of intention, the message communicated is that your worth
and value are determined by your actions. This message can
affect an individual profoundly. Psychologist Paul Rosen describes this as
a core disgust reaction. Once an object is seen as impure,
(06:10):
no amount of purification is adequate to convince us of
its purity. Many purity educators mention forgiveness, even to the
point that you can be a born again virgin and
retain your sexual purity. However, the message that is communicated
is antithetical to the message of Jesus Christ. The biblical
(06:34):
truth is that human beings aren't intrinsically valuable based on
the image of our creator. We are valuable enough that
Christ died for us despite our failings and sin. Using dirty, defiled,
and unclean objects to describe our worth is precisely what
(06:57):
Jesus does not do. And also that there is no
gradation to this example. You are in either a pure
or impure state, with no in between. There is also
a concern about those who have lost their purity through
no fault of their own. Victims of sexual assault are
(07:20):
more prevalent than we may know. Studies show that as
many as one in four women and one in six
men will be sexually abused in their lifetime. Victims of
abuse frequently struggle with feelings of shame, guilt, and unworthiness,
and their healing can take years of hard work. The
(07:42):
message that premarital sexual activity makes us unclean exacerbates their
shame and delays their healing. The tragic story of Elizabeth
Smart is an example. She was abducted at the age
of fourteen and was rescued nine months later. Speaking during
a form on human trafficking, she recalled quote, I thought,
(08:05):
oh my gosh, I'm that chewed up piece of gum.
Nobody re choose a piece of gum. You throw it away,
And that's how easy it is to feel like you
no longer have worth, you no longer have value end quote.
She cites these thoughts as one reason why she did
not seek to escape the promises of purity and unrealistic
(08:31):
expectations of marriage. There can also be an unintended message
from these teachings that brings challenges to future Christian marriages.
Sexual purity curricula often teach that one of the many
positive benefits for being abstinate is a wonderful life of
(08:51):
sexual intimacy once you are married, saving your sexual purity
as a gift to your spouse on your wedding day.
All but ensures a more satisfying marriage. This can be
problematic for two reasons. First, there is no guarantee that
remaining sexually abstinate will result in a problem free life
(09:14):
of sexual intimacy within marriage. Learning vulnerability and intimacy within
a marriage takes time and hard work. The assurance of
instant sexual fulfillment reduces God's great gift of marital sexual
intimacy into a mere payoff for abstaining from bad behavior.
(09:37):
Disillusionment regarding the challenges of marriage, both inside and outside
of the bedroom, is common in the early years of marriage.
Pre marital programs should strive to strengthen the intimate lives
of future marriages and prepare them for the real world
challenges they will face. Second, although sex is presented as
(10:02):
a positive good after the honeymoon, many couples have a
challenge in flipping the switch from viewing sex as a
defiling act to one that is honoring to God. Some
of the purity pledges include the promise to stay sexually
pure until marriage. What happens then, sex may now be
(10:25):
viewed as some sort of allowable impurity that God tolerates.
Using the aforementioned analogy, engaging in sex still makes you
a piece of used bubblegum, but one that only your
spouse gets to chew. Some individuals even show symptoms similar
to victims of sexual abuse when beginning their marriages. We
(10:50):
need to tell a better and more truthful story about
sex emotional abstinence. There is also a concern with God
and extrapolation of the purity concept from sexual purity to
emotional purity. Teachings on emotional purity center on protecting your
(11:10):
heart by not giving it away to anyone until you
are ready to marry. By allowing yourself to become attracted
to another, purity teachings claim you lose a portion of
your heart that you can never get back. The goal
is to avoid becoming emotionally vulnerable with anyone except for
(11:33):
the person you will soon marry, and thus protect yourself
from dire emotional consequences even if you stay physically abstinate. However,
emotional vulnerability is necessary for many human relationships and a
precursor for biblical love. The fear of opening yourself up
(11:57):
to possible hurt from someone that you care about deeply
is not necessarily a moral good. Do we permanently give
a piece of our heart. Every time we are hurt
by someone we love, should we be encouraging emotional abstinence.
Many of our important human relationships, even those involving friends
(12:20):
and family, carry the risk of emotional pain. The fear
of vulnerability and connection is not a characteristic of a
virtuous person. It has been approximately one generation since the
modern sexual purity movement made inroads in our churches, and
(12:43):
it may be time for a re evaluation. In short,
I believe we need to re examine the messages that
we are sending to our young singles in a world
where hookup culture abounds and casual sex is promoted as
the norm. I understand the temptation and fears about the
(13:03):
dangers of premarital sexuality. Nevertheless, we cannot allow that fear
to distort the theology of sex and, consequently, the life
saving message of the gospel. Current teachings on sexual purity
can act as a form of relationship prosperity gospel. Keep
(13:26):
your heart and body pure, and God will reward you
with a fantastically emotionally, spiritually and sexually fulfilling marriage. If
it were only that easy. Purity is a goal that
we strive for, but will never reach with our behavior
or thoughts. It is only the grace and forgiveness of
(13:50):
Jesus Christ that makes us pure. We need to continue
to teach about the importance of lifelong sexual integrity, including
abstinence before marriage and complete fidelity during marriage. However, we
also need to better communicate the grace and forgiveness offered
(14:13):
to us by Jesus Christ for those who fail to
reach the standard which is all of us. My fear
is that we may be raising a generation of virginal
youth that fail to understand the true message of the Gospel.
I believe we can do better. Thank you for listening
(14:37):
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 other podcasts. Wherever you
(14:58):
find your favorite podcast, you will find the Christian Research
Journal Reads podcast, the Postmodern Realities podcast, which features interviews
with Christian Research Journal authors, our flagship podcast, The Bible
answer Man Broadcast, and the Hank Unplugged podcast, where CRI
(15:20):
President Hank Canagraph takes you out of the studio and
into his study to engage in in depth, free flowing,
essential Christian conversations on critical issues with some of the
most interesting and informative people on the planet. At equipp
dot org you will also find a lot of resources
to equip you, including many thousands of Christian research journal articles.
(15:46):
That's e quip dot org.
This is episode one hundred and fifty seven of the
Christian Research Journal Reads Podcast. Should We Continue to use
the term Sexual Purity? By Richard J. Poupard. This article
first appeared in the Viewpoint column of the print edition
of the Christian Research Journal, Volume thirty nine, number five
(00:29):
in twenty sixteen. The Christian Research Journal Reads Podcast presents
audio versions of Christian Research Journal articles. To read the
full text of this article and its documentation, please go
to equip dot org. That's e qu ip dot RG.
(00:53):
Should we continue to use the term sexual Purity? By
Richard J. Poopard. This article first appeared in the Viewpoint
column of the Christian Research Journal. Viewpoint articles address relevant
contemporary issues in discernment and apologetics from a particular perspective
that is usually not shared by all Christians, with the
(01:16):
intended result that Christians thinking on that issue will be
stimulated and enhanced, whether or not people end up agreeing
with the author's opinion. Virginity has been treasured and valued
in many ancient and modern cultures. In some countries, doctors
will provide virginity tests before a wedding to ensure that
(01:38):
a female family member retains physical evidence that she has
never engaged in sex. No such tests exists for males.
Failure to provide adequate evidence of virginity justifies the annulment
of the marriage, as well as the heaping of public
shame and humiliation on the family of the tainted. Recently,
(02:01):
a news story reminded me of this sad tradition. During
her wedding ceremony, Marilyn bride Brenlan Bowman, offered a gift
to her proud father in front of three thousand, five
hundred guests. The gift was entitled a certificate of purity
and was presented as a symbol that she had remained
sexually pure prior to her wedding day. She also had
(02:24):
their certificates signed by her doctor confirming that her hymen
was intact as physical evidence of her purity. Brenlan voluntarily
submitted herself to the same test that many women around
the world are forced into in order proudly and demonstrably
to reveal a virginal state before marriage, from sexual abstinence
(02:48):
to sexual purity. Few brides go as far as Brenlin,
but her story is an extreme example of teachings on
sexual purity that have influenced the church for the power generation.
To be clear, God's gift of sexual intimacy is designed
to be enjoyed and experienced within the bounds of a
(03:09):
covenant marriage. This standard requires sexual abstinence prior to marriage,
as well as sexual fidelity within marriage. This truth is
important to proclaim, but we live in a world that
continuously sends a very different message to our youth. The
message that many teens here is that their peers are
(03:30):
all engaging in awesome, consequence free sex. Approximately two decades ago,
many Christians saw the challenges in our more permissive culture
and attempted a new strategy to reach our youth with
the truth. Instead of focusing on sexual abstinence, there was
(03:51):
an attempt to be more positive in the message. Sex
was presented not as a negative act that needed to
be avoided before marriage, but as an amazing experience if
you wait until after marriage. The focus on abstinence was
then redirected to a more positive term, sexual purity. Most
(04:12):
teachings on sexual purity involve making a pledge to keep
one's heart and mind pure by avoiding sexual activity prior
to marriage. This pledge is often done publicly and is
frequently symbolized by a purity ring or some other symbol
of one's pre marital commitment to his or her future spouse.
(04:38):
One of the goals of the movement is to create
a counter culture of sexually pure teens that would counteract
the hyper sexualized world by providing a positive pressure to
remain pure problems with the image of purity. Despite the
laudable goals and motivation of this move there are a
(05:01):
number of concerns regarding the message that is communicated by
the term sexual purity. If a substance is pure, it
takes very little of a contaminant to defile it, and
it is very difficult, if not impossible, to return it
to its pure state. The illustrations frequently used to demonstrate
(05:23):
the concept of sexual purity to young audiences communicate this
very graphically. Girls who have lost their virginity have been
described as a piece of tape that loses its stickiness,
a piece of chewing gum that's been chewed, a cardboard
heart sawed into pieces, and a bruised and partially eaten apple.
(05:48):
Regardless of intention, the message communicated is that your worth
and value are determined by your actions. This message can
affect an individual profoundly. Psychologist Paul Rosen describes this as
a core disgust reaction. Once an object is seen as impure,
(06:10):
no amount of purification is adequate to convince us of
its purity. Many purity educators mention forgiveness, even to the
point that you can be a born again virgin and
retain your sexual purity. However, the message that is communicated
is antithetical to the message of Jesus Christ. The biblical
(06:34):
truth is that human beings aren't intrinsically valuable based on
the image of our creator. We are valuable enough that
Christ died for us despite our failings and sin. Using dirty, defiled,
and unclean objects to describe our worth is precisely what
(06:57):
Jesus does not do. And also that there is no
gradation to this example. You are in either a pure
or impure state, with no in between. There is also
a concern about those who have lost their purity through
no fault of their own. Victims of sexual assault are
(07:20):
more prevalent than we may know. Studies show that as
many as one in four women and one in six
men will be sexually abused in their lifetime. Victims of
abuse frequently struggle with feelings of shame, guilt, and unworthiness,
and their healing can take years of hard work. The
(07:42):
message that premarital sexual activity makes us unclean exacerbates their
shame and delays their healing. The tragic story of Elizabeth
Smart is an example. She was abducted at the age
of fourteen and was rescued nine months later. Speaking during
a form on human trafficking, she recalled quote, I thought,
(08:05):
oh my gosh, I'm that chewed up piece of gum.
Nobody re choose a piece of gum. You throw it away,
And that's how easy it is to feel like you
no longer have worth, you no longer have value end quote.
She cites these thoughts as one reason why she did
not seek to escape the promises of purity and unrealistic
(08:31):
expectations of marriage. There can also be an unintended message
from these teachings that brings challenges to future Christian marriages.
Sexual purity curricula often teach that one of the many
positive benefits for being abstinate is a wonderful life of
(08:51):
sexual intimacy once you are married, saving your sexual purity
as a gift to your spouse on your wedding day.
All but ensures a more satisfying marriage. This can be
problematic for two reasons. First, there is no guarantee that
remaining sexually abstinate will result in a problem free life
(09:14):
of sexual intimacy within marriage. Learning vulnerability and intimacy within
a marriage takes time and hard work. The assurance of
instant sexual fulfillment reduces God's great gift of marital sexual
intimacy into a mere payoff for abstaining from bad behavior.
(09:37):
Disillusionment regarding the challenges of marriage, both inside and outside
of the bedroom, is common in the early years of marriage.
Pre marital programs should strive to strengthen the intimate lives
of future marriages and prepare them for the real world
challenges they will face. Second, although sex is presented as
(10:02):
a positive good after the honeymoon, many couples have a
challenge in flipping the switch from viewing sex as a
defiling act to one that is honoring to God. Some
of the purity pledges include the promise to stay sexually
pure until marriage. What happens then, sex may now be
(10:25):
viewed as some sort of allowable impurity that God tolerates.
Using the aforementioned analogy, engaging in sex still makes you
a piece of used bubblegum, but one that only your
spouse gets to chew. Some individuals even show symptoms similar
to victims of sexual abuse when beginning their marriages. We
(10:50):
need to tell a better and more truthful story about
sex emotional abstinence. There is also a concern with God
and extrapolation of the purity concept from sexual purity to
emotional purity. Teachings on emotional purity center on protecting your
(11:10):
heart by not giving it away to anyone until you
are ready to marry. By allowing yourself to become attracted
to another, purity teachings claim you lose a portion of
your heart that you can never get back. The goal
is to avoid becoming emotionally vulnerable with anyone except for
(11:33):
the person you will soon marry, and thus protect yourself
from dire emotional consequences even if you stay physically abstinate. However,
emotional vulnerability is necessary for many human relationships and a
precursor for biblical love. The fear of opening yourself up
(11:57):
to possible hurt from someone that you care about deeply
is not necessarily a moral good. Do we permanently give
a piece of our heart. Every time we are hurt
by someone we love, should we be encouraging emotional abstinence.
Many of our important human relationships, even those involving friends
(12:20):
and family, carry the risk of emotional pain. The fear
of vulnerability and connection is not a characteristic of a
virtuous person. It has been approximately one generation since the
modern sexual purity movement made inroads in our churches, and
(12:43):
it may be time for a re evaluation. In short,
I believe we need to re examine the messages that
we are sending to our young singles in a world
where hookup culture abounds and casual sex is promoted as
the norm. I understand the temptation and fears about the
(13:03):
dangers of premarital sexuality. Nevertheless, we cannot allow that fear
to distort the theology of sex and, consequently, the life
saving message of the gospel. Current teachings on sexual purity
can act as a form of relationship prosperity gospel. Keep
(13:26):
your heart and body pure, and God will reward you
with a fantastically emotionally, spiritually and sexually fulfilling marriage. If
it were only that easy. Purity is a goal that
we strive for, but will never reach with our behavior
or thoughts. It is only the grace and forgiveness of
(13:50):
Jesus Christ that makes us pure. We need to continue
to teach about the importance of lifelong sexual integrity, including
abstinence before marriage and complete fidelity during marriage. However, we
also need to better communicate the grace and forgiveness offered
(14:13):
to us by Jesus Christ for those who fail to
reach the standard which is all of us. My fear
is that we may be raising a generation of virginal
youth that fail to understand the true message of the Gospel.
I believe we can do better. Thank you for listening
(14:37):
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 other podcasts. Wherever you
(14:58):
find your favorite podcast, you will find the Christian Research
Journal Reads podcast, the Postmodern Realities podcast, which features interviews
with Christian Research Journal authors, our flagship podcast, The Bible
answer Man Broadcast, and the Hank Unplugged podcast, where CRI
(15:20):
President Hank Canagraph takes you out of the studio and
into his study to engage in in depth, free flowing,
essential Christian conversations on critical issues with some of the
most interesting and informative people on the planet. At equipp
dot org you will also find a lot of resources
to equip you, including many thousands of Christian research journal articles.
(15:46):
That's e quip dot org.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.