Why ‘Slut Shaming’ Has No Place in the Christian Discourse

by Jeremiah Hinton

A deeply regrettable concession that the church has made to a culture obsessed with the exploitation of sexuality is the equation of purity with belovedness. In a bid to occupy one extreme of a culturally constructed whore/virgin dichotomy, the church has departed from the essential truth of the gospel. You are loved now. As you are. There are no special vows, requirements, rings, oaths, or behaviors needed to receive the graceful extension of God's love. The equation of sexual purity with God's acceptance of us is not only a gross misrepresentation of Jesus' boundless love, but

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an inexcusable distortion of what our Creator has said about creation. In this video Pastor Matt Chandler answers the rhetorical question often posed by christian leaders seeking to create obedience through shame, "Who would want you now?" Jesus passionately, adamantly, patiently, and without reservation or exception desires every one of us, regardless of where we have been, done, failed to do, or been told that we are.