Biblical sexual ethics were healthy and life-affirming, a Sydney University sexologist has told a conference on "religion in the public square". Patricia Weerakoon, in a joint paper with her son, Sydney Presbyterian minister Kamal Weerakoon, said non-religious people expected the church to be fearful, ignorant, defensive, repressed and hypocritical with only one message about sex: don't do it, The Age reported.
But a biblical understanding of sex was deeply positive - "do it, God made us for it" - while also being honest about human imperfections and limitations.
The Melbourne conference, held last weekend, also heard that neuroscientific studies suggest that "life-long heterosexual monogamy" is most likely to provide both sexual satisfaction and excitement.
Mr Weerakoon told the national conference that neuroscientists working in sexology - which studies gender and sexuality - showed that sexual activity had three stages: lust, love and bonding.
"Biologically, we are wired to desire sex, to fall in love with the person we desire sex with, and for that love to develop into deep attachment. Our bodies are wired to operate best with one sexual partner for life," he said.
"Both academia and pop culture assume that biblical, Christian sexual ethics are at best outdated and irrelevant, and at worst repressive and harmful. We are seen as legalist, repressed, hypocritical killjoys who spend all our time trying to stop everyone from having a good time."
But a biblical sexual anthropology and ethic was the church's gift to the world, he said. "Christians should be out and proud."
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