Book Foreward

For decades our churches have operated with the assumption that a Christianized version of sex education would have positive effects on our members, affirming the goodness of sexuality while avoiding the pitfalls of secular approaches. What has resulted instead is a Trojan Horse. Perhaps unwittingly, perhaps not, the language and ideas of sexologists like Alfred Kinsey and John Money--language and ideas which do not have support in God's Word--have made their way into the Church. Now, it is not uncommon to hear Christians describe themselves and their children as "sexual from birth," and identifying themselves by their sexuality.

In The Failure of Sex Education in the Church: Mistaken Identity, Compromised Purity, Linda Bartlett puts her finger on the real issue: identity. Through a series of questions and answers, Mrs. Bartlett documents the infiltration of secular ideas regarding sexuality into the Church and the damage it has caused. Decades of sex education in the Church have not resulted in less promiscuity as was hoped. Instruction in purity, she asserts, is a more biblical and holistic approach. Even abstinence education, though well-intended, focuses predominately on sexual intercourse and sexuality rather than addressing biblical manhood and womanhood. The result, according to Mrs. Bartlett, is that children are shown what a great and wonderful thing sex is but told they can't do it until they are married. Talking more about sex, in her opinion, is not the answer.

Mrs. Bartlett has done her research. She has taken painstaking care to reveal the origin of sex education. Then she explains how bringing it into Christian classrooms and homes bestows a false identity and compromises purity. Mrs. Bartlett takes no delight in pointing out flaws and failures, but is motivated by love for her own children and grandchildren and by a love for God's Word and Truth. Sometimes it is difficult to admit that we have erred in our thinking or actions. But as Christians, when we recognize our errors, it behooves us to repent, confess those errors, and seek God's grace in Christ. It is Mrs. Bartlett's hope, and mine, that this book will help us all to do this.

Rev. Paul L. Beisel, S.T.M.

Dr. William Coulson, chief of staff at Rogers' Western Behavioral Sciences Institute in California, was a man of faith who believed that every person is precious. He wanted to help the people he worked with to be better, but his use of encounter groups was a dangerous blend of secular humanism and Christianity. Coulson together with Carl Rogers would speak of "glorious" human potential because "we are the children of a loving Creator who has something marvelous in mind for us." However, Coulson confessed, "We failed to understand the reality of evil in the human life. The result? "We created a miniature utopian society: the encounter group." What was the result? In the words of Coulson, "A disaster." Coulson's warning to concerned Christian parents is chilling: "The net outcome of sex education, styled as Rogerian encountering, is more sexual experience.