One mark of contemporary western perspectives on sexual morality, diverse as they may be, is that sex is understood to have no essential or objective meaning. Rather, those involved define its meaning and design their sexual lives according to whether they derive pleasure from it, or whether they experience it as an expression of affection or love. Thus it is difficult to establish criteria by which to judge the morality of the act or the relationship, and contemporary sexual ethics is reduced to a defense of whatever behaviors and attitudes are currently embraced.

By contrast, in The Meaning of Sex, Dennis Hollinger argues that “there is inherent meaning to sex. And it is in this meaning that we find designs for our sexual lives” (p. 12). While he examines the contribution of various disciplines to our understanding of sex, he grounds his perspective in what the Bible reveals about sex in relation to creation, theological anthropology, and marriage. He insists that “sex is a good gift of God with very specific purposes, and those purposes best find their fulfillment in a very specific context—the marriage of a man and a woman” (p. 13).

The first part of this book discusses frameworks for sexual ethics. Chapter One considers major theories of ethics, including consequentialist, principle, and virtue approaches, and the diverse implications they have for sexual morality. The second chapter discusses worldview-perspectives on sex, including asceticism, naturalism, humanism, monism, and pluralism. The third chapter contrasts such perspectives with a biblical worldview, focusing on the significance of its metanarrative of creation, fall, redemption, and consummation for sexual ethics. Chapter four examines what Hollinger finds to be the primary purposes of sex presented in Scripture, which are “consummation of marriage, procreation, love, and pleasure” (p. 95).

In the second part of the book, Hollinger applies a biblical worldview to select topics, including premarital sex, sex in marriage, homosexuality, reproductive technologies, and Christian living in a world obsessed with sex. In these chapters, he discusses a wide range of issues, such as pornography, lust, cohabitation, contraception, the media, and more. He considers historical and contemporary debates, but the final arbiter is Scripture. But instead of simply appealing to commands, he argues that the standard by which to judge the morality of sex is whether it is set within the context of the purposes that are given by God and revealed in the Bible.

Unlike many books on sexual morality from a Christian perspective that focus primarily on actions and attitudes that are right or wrong, Hollinger describes both the “what” and the “why” of a biblical ethics of sex. The discussion of the design and purposes of sex in the first part of the book is helpful for laying a foundation for what follows. When he turns to the issues, he focuses on the joy of following the Creator’s plan for good sex, and he does so with pastoral wisdom and sensitivity. As such, it is a significant work of evangelical sexual ethics. His closing chapter, “Living in a Sex-Crazed World,” is especially helpful for Christians to reflect on faithful living in a fallen world, pointing the way to wholeness and satisfaction in our sexual lives before a confused world, for God’s glory and our good.

This book is worth reading. It is written primarily for Christians and will be beneficial for scholars and pastors yet very accessible for lay persons. Hollinger also seeks to connect with those who are not Christian by appealing to natural revelation, especially in his chapter on the purposes of sex. In my judgment these appeals could be bolstered by engaging significantly with Natural Law thinkers. Where relevant, he notes sociological studies and statistics that demonstrate negative consequences of sexual behavior that strays from God’s design. He rightly claims that a Christian perspective cannot be built primarily on arguments from consequences, for doing so “capitulates to a [utilitarian] framework that undermines a biblical ethic” (p. 127). Nevertheless, it should be said more clearly than Hollinger does that an appeal to consequences is not the same as Consequentialism. God so orders the world that our behavior has consequences for good or evil, and one reason that the Bible appeals to the consequences of disobedience is that we might avoid self-destruction and enjoy his blessings.

Hollinger nicely engages not only the most relevant biblical texts, but also a wide range of authors, Christian and secular, traditionalists and revisionists. He affirms biblical teaching without being heavy-handed. At times it seems that Hollinger is too gentle, as when he says that “mental adultery is not the same as physical adultery, but it does impact the character of a person and increases the possibility of adultery with the mental partner” (p. 160). While we ought to reflect Jesus’ love and compassion, we also ought to reflect his boldness in exposing the heart of sin, as in his teaching on lust in Matt 5:28. Lust is problematic, not first because it impacts our character or opens the possibility of physical adultery, but because it is sin and thus offends God and others, exposes our sinfulness, and corrupts the beauty, goodness, and meaning of sex. The above example, however, is not indicative of Hollinger’s treatment of the issues, and I commend this book as one that is faithful to biblical teaching and an important contribution to Christian sexual ethics.

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