Journal: Eikon
Volume: EIKON 04:1 (Spring 2022)
Article: Sexual Ethics And The Sanctity Of Human Life: How Biblical Sexual Morality Dignifies Women And Children
Author: J. Alan Branch

Eikon 4.1 (Spring 2022) p. 104

Sexual Ethics And The Sanctity Of Human Life: How Biblical Sexual Morality Dignifies Women And Children

J. Alan Branch

J. Alan Branch (Ph.D.) is Professor of Christian Ethics at Midwestern Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Eikon 4.1 (Spring 2022) p. 105

Sexual ethics and the sanctity of human life are two inseparable moral issues. Unbiblical views of sexual ethics go hand in hand with devaluing human life, particularly women and children. If one treats sex cheaply, then one will treat other people cheaply,1 and when sexual ethics are cheapened, women and children become the victims of males’ unrestrained sexual appetites.

In the sexual revolution, the demand for sexual freedom preceded the loosening of abortion laws. Because the “free love” generation divorced sexual activity from ethical responsibility, it is no coincidence that the so-called “Summer of Love” in 1967 was followed a few years later in 1973 by legalized abortion. Liberalizing abortion laws is the logical conclusion to the abandonment of sexual restraint.

The sexual revolution claimed to liberate women from what feminists considered the oppressive confines of marriage. But unrestrained sexual ethics actually serve to devalue women as mere objects for sensual gratification, and this contributes to disregard for children. Sexual permissiveness has conditioned our culture, particularly men, to think of children as a bothersome intrusion instead of a gift to be received. The moral issues of sexual ethics and the sanctity of human life are intricately connected, and biblical sexual morality dignifies both women and children. To demonstrate this thesis, five propositions will be presented: First, various forms of unbiblical sexual ethics devalue both women and children by viewing pregnancy as an undesirable outcome of sexual intercourse; second, biblical sexual morality properly connects sexual ethics to the sanctity of human life by teaching that pregnancy is a welcome outcome to sexual intercourse; third, when pregnancy is a welcome outcome to

Eikon 4.1 (Spring 2022) p. 106

sexual intercourse, women are dignified as being more than merely objects for sexual gratification; fourth, when pregnancy is a welcome outcome to sexual intercourse, not only are women dignified, but young children are honored as welcome additions to a family; and finally, biblical sexual morality creates a culture which is safer for women and children as they are honored as co-bearers of the image of God.

I. Various Non-Christian Forms Of Sexual Ethics

To demonstrate the connection between sexual ethics and the sanctity of human life, fi...