Lecture: Sex in post-modern society

Corban University,
Salem, Oregon

Sarah C. Williams, D.Phil. (Oxford), presented a Caulkins Lecture at Morning Star Community Church in Salem at the invitation of Corban’s new Dean of Christian Formation and Engagement, Leslie Herrmann.

The subject of the 2-hour interactive tour de force was “Sexuality in the Post-Modern Story.” It was the second of three public lectures in which Williams explores and challenges the link between our contemporary culture of commodification and ideas of personhood, choice, marriage and sexuality.

Williams serves as Research Professor of the History of Christianity at Regent College, Vancouver, B. C. A specialist in the field of nineteenth- and twentieth-century social and cultural history, she focuses her research on the relationship between religion and culture.

At every turn, Williams engaged with her audience with a winsome, well-informed overview of the sweeping cultural changes over the past few decades and past few centuries. In particular, she traced three huge historical arcs.

1. The arc from 1780 to 1850, during which time the Evangelical vision of companionate marriage largely replaced the sub-Christian practices of the 18^th century in the Western world.
2. The arc from 1850 to 1930, during which time the “selfish, individualistic, non-Christian” Romantic vision of marriage replaced the Evangelical vision of companionate marriage.
3. The arc from 1930 to present, during which time the Post-Modern vision of self-actualization and sexual fulfillment—propelled concurrently by birth control, large-scale movement of nuclear families to other places, and economic globalization—undermined any remaining cultural ideas of Christian marriage.

Highlights from her address.

• “Sex has no meaning in post-modern culture.”
• “The only ethic left is consent.” This is why rape is so hard to pinpoint legally. This is why pedophilia will be championed “over the next three to five years, and certainly over the next decade.”
• In 1930, the Lambeth declarations claimed that the Romantic vision of marriage was Christian. It was the biggest revolution since the Evangelical vision of William Wilberforce and the Clapham sect championed the vision of companionate marriage.
• “We need to be careful how we think.”
• “Gender is a very, very new word.” It arises in the 1960s. By the 1990s, it replaces “sex” and “sexuality” in a review of more than 100,000 academic papers.
• “We need more than a new sexual ethic. We need a new social vision.”
• “It’s time to break new ground.”
• Yet, “Our challenge is to love our culture—as it is.”
• There is hope! The Gospel can radically reshape our culture. We can have full confidence in its transforming power.
• Sadly, “We can’t imagine thinking other than as hyper subjectivized individuals.”
• “We need a new vision of the Body of Christ.”
• The biggest single issue in our society isn’t sex; it’s loneliness. Our culture has a heart cry for community.
• In the end, our culture needs to embrace covenantal Christian marriage in community.
• Discipleship is key. It means making Jesus Christ Lord of our lives.
• “We need to live into the Gospel.” 

Sarah C. Williams, D.Phil. (Oxford), presented a Caulkins Lecture at Morning Star Community Church in Salem at the invitation of Corban’s new Dean of Christian Formation and Engagement, Leslie Herrmann.

The subject of the 2-hour interactive tour de force was “Sexuality in the Post-Modern Story.” It was the second of three public lectures in which Williams explores and challenges the link between our contemporary culture of commodification and ideas of personhood, choice, marriage and sexuality.

Williams serves as Research Professor of the History of Christianity at Regent College, Vancouver, B. C. A specialist in the field of nineteenth- and twentieth-century social and cultural history, she focuses her research on the relationship between religion and culture.

At every turn, Williams engaged with her audience with a winsome, well-informed overview of the sweeping cultural changes over the past few decades and past few centuries. In particular, she traced three huge historical arcs.

– The arc from 1780 to 1850, during which time the Evangelical vision of companionate marriage largely replaced the sub-Christian practices of the 18th century in the Western world.
– The arc from 1850 to 1930, during which time the “selfish, individualistic, non-Christian” Romantic vision of marriage replaced the Evangelical vision of companionate marriage.
– The arc from 1930 to present, during which time the Post-Modern vision of self-actualization and sexual fulfillment—propelled concurrently by birth control, large-scale movement of nuclear families to other places, and economic globalization—undermined any remaining cultural ideas of Christian marriage.

Highlights from her address.

“Sex has no meaning in post-modern culture.”
“The only ethic left is consent.” This is why rape is so hard to pinpoint legally. This is why pedophilia will be championed “over the next three to five years, and certainly over the next decade.”
In 1930, the Lambeth declarations claimed that the Romantic vision of marriage was Christian. It was the biggest revolution since the Evangelical vision of William Wilberforce and the Clapham sect championed the vision of companionate marriage.
“We need to be careful how we think.”
“Gender is a very, very new word.” It arises in the 1960s. By the 1990s, it replaces “sex” and “sexuality” in a review of more than 100,000 academic papers.
“We need more than a new sexual ethic. We need a new social vision.”
“It’s time to break new ground.”
Yet, “Our challenge is to love our culture—as it is.”
There is hope! The Gospel can radically reshape our culture. We can have full confidence in its transforming power.
Sadly, “We can’t imagine thinking other than as hyper subjectivized individuals.”
“We need a new vision of the Body of Christ.”
The biggest single issue in our society isn’t sex; it’s loneliness. Our culture has a heart cry for community.
In the end, our culture needs to embrace covenantal Christian marriage in community.
Discipleship is key. It means making Jesus Christ Lord of our lives.
“We need to live into the Gospel.”