A Better Story by Glynn Harrison

A Better Story: God, Sex & Human Flourishing

(IVP, 2017)

This is an important book. Harrison breaks it into three sections:

He argues that Christians need to better understand and interact with the aftermath of the “cultural upheaval we have come to call the sexual revolution… [where] in the space of just a few decades the Christian moral vision, which had buttressed the ancient institutions of marriage and family for centuries, effectively collapsed.” He offers some great arguments as to why, how, where, and for whom, the sexual revolution has failed. This cites some fascinating research and presents an excellent case.

There are some honest reflections about where the church has gone wrong, where it concentrates on playing ‘defence’, rather than putting up a compelling and positive alternative. Christians today need to put forward the better narrative of “life to the full” in Christ (John 10:10), both in our words and our actions.

The book has some great statements:

“The Christian vision for sex and relationships is grounded in the foundational truth that human beings are creatures made in the image of God. Our identity is defined by this reality. It isn’t something we have discovered within ourselves or constructed for ourselves – our Creator revealed it to us.”

At the same time, there is a realistic understanding about how this is received by the world when Christians speak up and offer this better way to live:

“No matter how winsome, how persuasive, our case, no matter how well we manage to prove its life-giving goodness, standing against the flow always courts rejection. We are fallen, prideful creatures who do not welcome the exposure of sin in our lives. No matter how well we avoid being judgmental, people will feel judged and resentful.”

Nonetheless, the church must not stay silent. We need to be looking for every opportunity to bring the gospel’s hope and goodness into the confusion of this broken world.

Andy Buchan, August 2019.