I’ve mentioned this book before: Hooked by Joe McIlhaney and Freda Bush. While it’s not specifically a Christian book, it is a wisdom resource for thinking about sex, our minds, our bodies, our emotions, and our lives. Below are two paragraphs from the last chapter of the book. These paragraphs are helpful in and of themselves and they give a good summary of what this book is about:
As we have shown with the most current science available today, over and over again, sex cannot be dismissed as an activity with little or no impact on the person as a whole. We know sex involves the entire individual. Perhaps the most damaging philosophy about sex in recent years has been the attempt to separate sex from the whole person. Neuroscientific evidence has revealed this approach to be not only false but also dangerous. Popular culture would have you believe that young people should become sexually active when they feel “ready” and that not to become involved sexually at that point in their lives will cause them to be sexually naive and repressed. As we’ve seen, the facts tell a very different story.
Current neuroscience research shows us that the human mind is an astounding organ, one we will never totally comprehend. But beyond that, just as the brain is remarkably complex, it is even more difficult to fully grasp what it means to be fully human. There is far more to human experience than we can ever explain. Life is not just a collection of choices. Nor are we robots or mechanical beings who hopelessly get hooked on certain behaviors. And to think that we are nothing more than a group of “brain cells” or neurochemicals moved about by our environment is ridiculous. We cannot be explained by quantity, matter, or motion. However, we do know and understand some things about ourselves. This information, properly interpreted and utilized, gives us direction toward the most beneficial behavior choices. It gives us so much new insight into how to live in harmony with our innate nature and, therefore, to be more fully human. Living in accordance with this information gives us the greatest possible chance to enjoy our lives to the fullest.
Shane Lems
Hammond, WI, 54015
The Reformed Reader Blog 