Ep. 3: Unholy Trinity: Purity Part 1
Show Notes
Episode Summary
Examining the first of the three “P”s of American Christianity’s “unholy trinity,” Gary Alan and Melanie dive deeper into the world of Purity and purity culture. In order to honestly discuss how the concept of purity and the resulting “purity culture” of the 1990s and 2000s affected an entire generation, they first look at the history of purity, then delve briefly into the history of purity movements in the United States. They then examine Jesus’ response to the purity system of His day and how He offered a better way.
Quotables
“We want an easy-bake oven religion. We don’t want to consider that issues around sex are complex; we want easy answers.” (tweet this)
“Purity culture reduced Christianity to purely being something about sexual purity, and sexual purity became the barometer for ‘true faith.’” (tweet this)
“Today we see an inordinate number of conversations and energy devoted to sexuality at the expense of having other conversations.” (tweet this)
“If the Israelites taught us anything, it’s that none of us can earn our approval from God.” (tweet this)
“In every way, Jesus turns purity culture on its head. And He offers an alternative.” (tweet this)
“Jesus deliberately replaces the core value of purity with the core value of compassion.” (tweet this)
“Maybe compassion is the highest expression of holiness.” (tweet this)
“Think about it: Jesus Himself is considered impure in comparison to the day’s purity laws. That should tell us something.” (tweet this)
“We are to be compassionate because God is compassionate, and that really should drive all of our conversations about sex and purity.” (tweet this)
“Has purity culture displayed this radical compassion and love to our surrounding cultures? Has it drawn people in because they want we have?” (tweet this)
Timestamps and References
[06:05]—“Be holy as I am holy” references
[11:05]—Jesus for President: Politics for Ordinary Radicals by Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw
[15:40]— 1994 article in The Chicago Tribune about “The Great Stake Out.”
[16:30]—Did these virginity pledges actually work? One study, published in the journal Pediatrics, called “Patient Teenagers? A Comparison of the Sexual Behavior of Virginity Pledgers and Matched Nonpledgers,” concluded that “the sexual behavior of virginity pledgers does not differ from that of closely matched nonpledgers, and pledgers are less likely to protect themselves from pregnancy and disease before marriage.”
[18:55]—I Survived "I Kissed Dating Goodbye" documentary
[29:28]—Virgin Nation: Sexual Purity and American Adolescence by Sara Moslener
[32:15]—There are many books that document Hitler’s racism, but an excellent (and recent) one is Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson.
[39:24]—Luke 6:36: “Be compassionate as I am compassionate.”
[40:22]—Mark 7:15
[40:32]—Matthew 5:8
[43:01]—Matthew 11:28-30
[43:33]—Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch, Acts 8:26-40
[44:30]—Galatians 3:28
[45:04]—John 13:35
Helpful Resources for Your Personal Research
“Inside the Scam of the ‘Purity’ Movement” by Sarah Stankorb (need Cosmopolitan subscription to read)
Beyond Shame: Creating a Healthy Sex Life on Your Own Terms by Matthias Roberts
Sex, God, and the Conservative Church: Erasing Shame from Sexual Intimacy by Tina Schermer Sellers, PhD
Pure: Inside the Evangelical Movement That Shamed a Generation of Young Women and How I Broke Free by Linda Kay Klein
Break Free Together from Linda Kay Klein
Shameless: A Sexual Reformation by Nadia Bolz-Weber
Talking Back to Purity Culture: Rediscovering Faithful Christian Sexuality by Rachel Joy Welcher
“Whatever Happened To Those Girls Who Signed ‘Purity Pledges’? Hint: It's Not Good” by Bust Magazine
“After the promise: the STD consequences of adolescent virginity pledges” study
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Credits
This episode was written by Gary Alan Taylor and Melanie Mudge (read their bios here) and produced by The Sophia Society.
Music is by Faith in Foxholes, and sound levels were mixed by Joshua Mudge.
