Book Review Pure Desire Essay Example

Book Review: Pure Desire Paper Is related to pornography; worldwide annual revenues exceed $97 billion. Every second $3,075. 64 is spent on pornography. Every second 28,258 Internet users are viewing pornography. Every second 372 Internet users are typing adult search terms into search engines. Every 39 minutes: a new pornographic video is created in the United States. As Unrig says, ?Sex sells?! 2. Each day we are bombarded with immoral sexuality from a myriad of sources ? he television, the radio, music, movies, commercial ads, dating sites, magazines, books, billboards, and the list goes on and on. It seems that there Is nearly no place safe for the mind or the eye to focus. Certainly, this endless barrage of immorality can take a toll on our walk with Christ. To this end Unrig postures, : we live in a sex-saturated, self-gratifying society? and makes an interesting comparison between predictability of California wildfires in the summers. Like fire, sex has the power to harm, but was not Intended that way. We will write a custom essay sample on Book Review: Pure Desire specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Book Review: Pure Desire specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Book Review: Pure Desire specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Both In their original God-given opacity provide very healthy and needed elements for mankind, but when allowed to seep beyond their intended boundaries they become incredibly destructive forces. In today?was world, God?was great gift of sex has assuredly been tainted and has become the devouring force Unrig speaks of; still Christians must strive to understand the goodness of the gift and find a place of moral sanity. I loved Unrig?was use of analogy between fire and sex. With each there are good and bad 1 Family Safe Media. Pornography Statistics _ Retrieved from http familiarized. Com/pornography_statistics. HTML#time. Unrig, Gary. Pure Desire: Moral Sanity in a Sex-Saturated Culture. Discovery House: Grand Rapids, MI. 2010. P. 12. 3 Unrig, Gary. Pure Desire: Moral Sanity In a Sex-Saturated Culture. Discovery House: Grand Rapids, MI. 2010. P. 13. Usages, good and bad outcomes, even good and bad projections onto future generations. No one wakes up in the morning and says ?l?wad lik e for my house to burn to the ground today? and no one wakes up and says ?cell?wad like to become a fornicator today?0 or ?l?wall become a sex fiend and be addicted to Ron?: lets what l?wave always wanted to do with my life. ?D Still the makings of such are everywhere. Reading the book makes one more aware of our sex- saturated state. The lines drawn between the standards of our culture and that of Christianity use to be quite clear. It functioned nearly like the blood-brain barrier of the human body designed to protect the body?was control center at all cost, rejecting foreign agents and keeping impurities at bay. Somehow, the devil has gotten us (Christians) to buy into the decline in moral convictions. Unrig says, : Christian sexual and moral values are under attack?o and I totally agree. As 1 KICK around; we are seeing evidence AT tons clean In people younger and younger. The other day I was looking at a children?was movie with my granddaughters and began to make note of Just how many things in the movie had sexual overtones and again Energies book came to mind. This was an animated movie that was ?created G?0. Further evidence of the validity of Unrig?was argument can be found in the recent revelation of President Obama?was endorsement of gay marriages. As bad as this all seems, Unrig says the problem is much deeper. It is not a matter of right and wrong, nor a matter of good vs.. Bad, nor even a matter of avoiding sin. Rather than avoidance of that which is wrong, this is a matter of pursuing what is right. This book does not simply scold us as children who are too enticed to resist the candy in a candy store, Unrig challenges us to go deeper into who we really are and make decisions to stop failing at avoidance and the transforming task of actively pursuing holiness. 4 Unrig, Gary. Pure Desire: Moral Sanity in a Sex-Saturated Culture. Discovery House: Grand Rapids, MI. 2010. P. 17. Being divorced as a result of my husband?was repeated infidelity and tendencies toward domestic violence, Einstein?was letter to his poor wife was of particular fascination to me. Of course my husband made no such demands, but as he was a pastor, I found myself having something in common with Millie. I wanted my marriage to work, so I did find myself trying to protect the church, and keep the peace in my family. Much like Einstein, my marriage disintegrated and my husband married his mistress, only to end up divorced from her soon after as well. Honestly, t that point in my life it felt I was in the storm or all storms. To my surprise, getting out of the relationship presented a brand new set of dilemmas and learning to live single again was Just as stormy. The ?expected storm?0 is strange meteorological concept, but it well portrays where we are as a culture and Unrig points out that our present day storm includes a 50 percent decline in marriages well divorce rates are climbing; soaring numbers of couples are deciding to cohabitate; children born to unwed mothers has Jumped to 37. 4 percent; the redefinition of marriage and legalization of homosexual marriage ND technological catapulting of use of pornography. After my divorce I found myself somewhere in this storm and it was extremely hard to tell myself that I could not physically do what I had Just lawfully and spiritually been fine doing Just days before. It took some time to face the reality of the Christian dilemma I was in. I do not know that it would have made everything better right away, but I do wish I had had this book way back then. During some counseling and even in one of my other classes, I mentioned some of the content of Pure Desire and in every case people have left skiing how they can get a copy. When I speak of Pure Desire, I emphasized thing that got me hooked right off the back. It is Energies ?coffee the script?0 approach. Unrig changes the game and makes it easier to approach what is basically a huge part of the sanctification process. Most adults and young adults will quickly admit that sexual sin is their largest struggle in the Christian life. We struggle with scriptural mandates like ?sebaceous it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy?0 (Level. 20:26; I Pet. 1:16) and ?CE present your Doodles a living secretly, only, accept tale unto Go The truth is we wrestle constantly with the impure desire of the flesh and try as we might many of us are equally constant in losing the battle. I feel it is this repeated defeat that prompts Unrig to tell readers that the real focus should not be avoidance of sexual sin, but the pursuit of holiness for our own good and the glory of God. This thought makes the words of Romans 8:13 ring in my mind, ?coffer if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live?0. As much as sexual sin is wrong among the unmarried, sexuality is not altogether ring. God created man for woman and created sexual intimacy as a good thing. Through stories and great imagery, Unrig paints vivid mental pictures of the perfection God intended for sexuality within the bounds of marriage, but he paints images Just as dynamic of paradise lost. Starting with Adam and Eve (Gene. 3) Unrig recounts the temptation of the first couple and strategies used against them in the original sin and points out that the same strategies have been working ever since. In Energies comments about what was lost in the first sin, he introduced a view that I have never heard. Some people actually suggest that sexual intercourse was part of the original sin, but this is far from true, however their act of sin did change their sexuality. Of Adam and Eve and God?was original design, I think Unrig said one of the most beautiful things I have ever read, ?cachet two move together in dignity, harmony, and holy physicality, marvelously completing and complementing one another?05. It makes you long for that kind of perfection in your own marital 5 Unrig, Gary. Pure Desire: Moral Sanity in a Sex- Saturated Culture. Discovery House: Grand Rapids, MI. 2010. P. 2 relationships, but sadly, that devil desires to turn our minds and hearts toward our own personal pleasures instead of waiting on God to give us the things we desire. Presently, I am also studying Sanctification and Phenomenology and one thing that really stood out as I read this book was that Energies views and approach to the pursuit of holiness stands in line with what should be our desire as we as Christians understand the process of sanctification better. Yes it is a process, but God wants every part of our lives to line up with His will for us; this is assuredly inclusive of our dies. His desire is that we approach holiness from the inside out. Unrig emphasizes that the Bible is radically ?cooper-body?o ? ?occur bodies matter to the Lord?06. The Spirit of God indwells us and anything that we do which is immoral; we take that Spirit of God with us into. Thinking of that is quite profound and saddening really, Just as I have learned in Phenomenology, our bodies are the temple of God. It is the place where God has chosen to place a special holiness that sets us apart. Unrig makes very clear that it does not matter if our body is strong or rail, if we are saved, the Spirit of God has taken up residence within us and we are responsible for how we carry and treat our bodies. Energies reasoning at times makes me think of the huge campaign against drugs ? Just Say NO! This campaign seemed great at first and the slogan was very catchy, but it lacked something. Telling young people (or old ones for that matter) to say no was good, but not enough. We had to give them something to say yes to. In this writing Unrig took the time to explain why we need to say no, when we need to say no, want snouts give us ten strength to say no, Ana very Importantly when It Is relent to ay yes. I felt this was great because as he said, the church and Christianity can come across as ?secant-body?o. We give sex and the body a bad name 6 Unrig, Gary. Pure Desire: Moral Sanity in a Sex-Saturated Culture. Discovery House: Grand Rapids, MI. 2010. P. 80 at times. I think we are so afraid that our children will run and try it if we make sex sound good or make the body sound fun. That has always puzzled me. As Unrig instructs, ?chew need a compelling purpose for our sexual standard ? to pursue and promote God?was glory?07. What I really admire about this book is that Unrig actually talks about how God purposely designed us for sexual pleasure. It is a divine gift that we need to understand and appreciate. This gift should be respected because of the giver and its cost. We have to begin to put His purpose and purchase above our own pleasures. Unrig tells us that we come for this new age where everyone wants to have their way, pleasures of all sorts are Just a click away, but the Bible tells us differently. ?coffer ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are Gods?0 (l Cord. 6:20). As Christians we stand n utter conflict with our world but we must achieve a level of double vision that allows us to view both the cross and heaven and find ourselves consumed with the holiness of our God and a passion for His glory. What then of our purpose? ? Unrig says ?cote glorify God is to reveal His character, to display His importance, and to promote His reputation?08. In my view each of these reveal something about us as we reveal something about Him. Another thing that is empowering about Unrig?was argument is that he tells readers that we need to flee the temptations of this culture. That kind off nod to the ?essay NO! ?0 campaign too. Normally in our culture fleeing is cowardly or a sign of fear or inferiority, but Unrig tells us that fleeing for righteousness sack is not weakness, rather it is actually a sign of wisdom. He does 7 Unrig, Gary. Pure Desire: Moral Sanity in a Sex-Saturated Culture. Discovery House: Grand Rapids, MI. 2010. P. 80 8 Unrig, Gary. Pure Desire: Moral Sanity in a Sex- Saturated Culture. Discovery House: Grand Rapids, MI. 2010. . 83 not Just tell us to flee if we are single, but he also tells us that there are things the married person should flee as well. Not amongst those things the married should flee are passion, commitment, fidelity, and (dare we say it) spirituality. Unrig lists quotes by the likes of Clement of Alexandria, Jerome, Augustine, Gregory the Great, and Thomas Aquinas all to the contrar y. It surprised me that such great men and biblical scholars had such bananas views of marriage and the valve of sex therein. In their day it was easy to reject sexuality, today in a very contra manner, it is easy to reject God?was will. In our world, ?cultural ideas trump biblical truth, we abuse and misuse God?was good gift?09. Unrig addressed such issue as celibacy by pointing out its values and clarifying Paul?was actual views on the matter, but at the same Unrig made sure that the reader knows the value of intimacy in the correct settings. Once in marriage sex should be a happily obliged duty for the partners. An unusual set of partner Unrig used in the book was that of C. S. Lewis and his wife; partners who really did not start off as partners at all, out It turned Into a great love story. Lawless writings are always fascinating to me, I love the way he words things. When speaking of partners happily bilging to sexuality as a duty within marriage Lewis?was words do not disappoint. He says, of he and his wife, that he and his wife ?suffocated on love; every mode of it?: No cranny of heart or body remained unsatisfied?:?010. It takes my mind to Hebrews 13:4, ?Cambridge is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but warmongers and adulterers God will Judge?0 (KAVA). ?smooth seas don?wet make skillful sailors?o, this African proverbs speaks volumes 1 . 9 Unrig, Gary. Pure Desire: Moral Sanity in a Sex-Saturated Culture. Discovery House: Grand Rapids, MI. 010. P. 86 1 1 Unrig, Gary. Pure Desire: Moral Sanity in a Sex-Saturated Culture. Discovery House: Grand Rapids, MI. 2010. P. 138. We live in morally difficult times and everything about our culture challenges who we say we are. James says, we should count it all Joy but it can be disturbing and disheartening so Unrig says we must not only know our enemy and how he works in our culture but we must understand our struggle. In leading the reader to a better understanding, Unrig points out an interesting distinction between trials and temptations. He says, trials suggests pain, while imitations promise pleasure. Trails are designed by God to refine and strengthen us; temptations seek out vulnerabilities in an effort to weaken us. For me that was a ? WOW! Energies discussion of this really changed my views and caused me to review my trials and temptations. It was like I hit rewind in my own mind and played things back for my own personal analysis. Having been single for quite some time, One Is a Whole Number had a certain appeal to me. I wrote a discussion on the subject of being single and homosexuality and how the church, of all people, tends to fuse the two together. It irritates me. I was very happy the Unrig spent time talking about Paul?was decision to remain single and that being Just as honorable as being married. I agree with Unrig, singleness is a huge, complex, and diverse segment of our society. I fall among the formerly married. I do not know if that is better or worse to have had a time of sexual freedom and have to turn it off or to have never married or had sexual encounters. Living single and staying single does not mean one is gay! Still gayness, is a subject I was glad to see Unrig address. I concur with Energies views on this. We do have to speak the truth about sin, but as Christians we do have a responsibility to speak that truth in the love of God. People do not respond well to harsh criticisms, hatefulness and/or homophobia. It turns people away from God and His people. This is inclusive of single people who are pressured to marry. 12 Unrig, Gary. Pure Desire: Moral Sanity in a Sex-Saturated Culture. Discovery House: Grand Rapids, MI. 2010. P. 155. In our culture, men and women are no longer rushing to marry. They are establishing themselves professionally and fulfilling their own dreams instead of dating for someone else to do it for them. As quoted in the book, Stephanie Cocoon says, most people consider marriage ?cachet dessert?o of life?was meal not ?cachet main course?012. Interestingly, Unrig touch on the double standard that exists Detente women Delve 010 malls Wendell Decanters ay not surer ten same negative connotations or reputations. I know what Paul said to the Corinthians and I know it is useful to be single. It allows more time to serve God and to devote to the ministry, but what Unrig did not cover is the fact that church people do not make it easy for ingle people to live Holy when they should. I think that would make a great subject for his next project. God addressed marriage, singleness and homosexuality in His Word, and Unrig did a good Job of providing spiritual enlightenment of all. In this book, the reader clearly sees that the standards of the world seep into each and every one of those areas causing a steady deterioration of morals and Christian living. Unrig says the best answer or defense against this ungodly infiltration is the Word of God and early introduction (the earlier the better) is necessary. It takes me back to the children s movie I viewed with my granddaughters and how much sexuality was hidden in that film. In that instance I did not choose to stop and/or leave the movie, but in the future I believe I will. Unrig says, ?Cohen major social institutions in our society lack any moral compass to guide them, parents need special wisdom to find their way in one of life?was most significant responsibilities?:?013. Parents must be spiritually equipped and prepared to guide, teach, and protect children. I am normally a big protector, but in this, I think I failed to do what I should have done. It s an area that I think sneaks up on us because the devil slides it in an Grand Rapids, MI. 2010. P. 173. Animated comedy. The book of Proverbs was always one of my grandmother?was (who raised me) favorite books. She used it for nearly every situation. Whether decisions, discipline, child rearing, what to say, how to say it ? it did not really matter. She planted herself in the wisdom of Proverbs. Unrig says, we will never be perfect, we will not necessarily know more than others, be smarter or more spiritual than the rest, but we must apply what we know with greater skill so that we live better lives. That is wisdom. We must apply wisdom to what we teach our children and how we live before them. Unrig gives ten principles for raising children in our society. Paramount in this process is getting a good understanding of sexuality for yourself (Provo. 4:7). I think part of that wisdom and understanding also includes Energies last subject matter. We have to know that hiding in the darkness of our sin (deeds or thoughts) only allows sin to dig deeper towards our core and further corrupt. We have to be wise enough to humble ourselves and repent. It is the way to restore our fellowship tit God.