Christopher Doyle offers powerful solutions for the church’s confusion of sexuality and gender in the new book, “The Meaning of Sex: A New Christian Ethos”
“The Meaning of Sex: A New Christian Ethos” offers a bold philosophy in the midst of a culture where sex and gender issues are rampant. While the Christian church has traditionally offered a list of ‘Do Not’s’ and ‘Shall Not’s’ when it comes to sexuality, licensed psychotherapist and author Christopher Doyle provides fresh solutions for the Body of Christ to solve the divisive issues of homosexuality, gender identity, and sex outside of marriage.
A sought-after speaker on faith and sexuality, Doyle brings a wealth of experience from his work in the mental and behavioral health field, having worked with hundreds of individuals, couples, and families struggling with sexuality, gender identity, and healthy relationships over the last ten years. Packed with personal testimony and real-life examples of transformed lives and relationships, Doyle describes the many reasons why the Christian community has failed to provide effective solutions for those struggling with sexuality, and how the church can transform their congregation’s response from one of fear to unconditional love. In order to do that, the church must reject hypocrisy, become vulnerable with one another’s unique struggles, and develop what Doyle describes as “Christian Empathy”.
He shares, “When we show human empathy, we are able to put ourselves in the other person’s shoes. Christian empathy, however, is not about making people feel better about themselves, but rather, honoring the emotions and struggles of our fellow sinners with humility and authenticity in order to lead them to something better – Jesus Christ! The former is based on our capacity to choose the right way of treating someone, while the latter relies on our Biblical mandate, guided by the Holy Spirit, and manifesting grace in our lives. If loving is only for the sake of loving – an emotion or way of feeling – then it’s quite temporal. But if loving is pointing someone towards the ultimate Source, our Savior, then it’s everlasting and worth pursuing to the nth degree! This is what distinguishes the ‘good person’ who shows human empathy from the believer practicing Christian empathy.”
Doyle continues:
“But the church often fails at this because it suffers from the ‘ex-sinner syndrome’, which at its core is, hypocrisy. The ‘ex-sinner’ has forgotten her struggle with the ‘I do not do what my will intends’ and fails to recognize how difficult it was to stop her sins. Instead, she says things like: ‘I quit sinning, why can’t you?’ This sort of hypocrisy is toxic when it comes to sexuality, because fundamentally, everyone is sexually and relationally broken and in need of healing. When we collectively pursue the wholeness Jesus calls us to, the sexual ethics that bind us becomes a higher ethos that unites us. Only then, as we bare our souls to each other and become vulnerable with our own unique wounds, can we meet our struggling brothers and sisters where they are and journey towards emotional wholeness and spiritual maturity.”
Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Christopher Doyle’s “The Meaning of Sex: A New Christian Ethos” is a wise and timely discussion that explores the difficult concepts of sexual and gender identity, healthy relationships, and marriage, as it relates to the church and the understanding of the Holy Trinity.
A masterful synthesis of Christian theology and the social sciences, “The Meaning of Sex: A New Christian Ethos” is a must-read for any pastor, Christian counselor, or leader in the church. The book also offers conversational questions at the end of each chapter, perfect for a ten-week Bible study or small group discussion.
