One of my "side jobs" as a youth counselor is to maintain a library for the adolescent girls in the facility to use.

Creating the library was the easy part -- I sent out a memo to everyone on staff, asking them to donate any books that were sitting around, collecting dust on the shelf. Over the next several weeks, I sorted through box after box of donations. Some things got an automatic seal of approval -- Bibles, devotionals, Christian living books, etc. The real challenge was in picking through the novels, deciding which ones should stay, and which ones should go. Because, you see, modern-day fiction is full of sex. Think Harlequin novels are bad? Open up a piece of young adult fiction the next time you're at the local Barnes & Noble, and see how fast your cheeks turn a rosy hue. Of course, it's not just books; it's all of American culture. We sell everything from toothpaste to breakfast cereal, using sex as an advertising ploy. The people of God are running themselves ragged, trying to protect their children, their spouse, and even themselves from the temptation and influence of illicit sex all around them. And yet, in doing so, is it possible that maybe we're pushing too hard? Is there a place for sexuality in "Christian" art, namely fiction writing? Should sex be a hush-hush topic at all times, in all circumstances, or is it -- as my secularist friend with an MBA degree would argue -- sometimes integral to telling a story correctly?

Before becoming a household name by telling wives how to better love their husbands in the book, For Women Only: What You Need To Know About The Inner Lives Of Men (Multnomah), author Shaunti Feldhahn was busy cranking out "spiritual thrillers" for the masses. Her 2003 release, The Lights of Tenth Street (Multnomah), tells the story of a Christian husband and father who is a full-fledged pornography addict, a stripper who is ensnared by the sex industry at large, and the ability of God to break the bonds of lust and shame. Feel nervous yet? You're not the only one. "When I proposed the idea to my publisher of doing a novel about a stripper, as you can imagine there were some raised eyebrows," says Feldhahn.

Feldhahn lowered their blood pressure by assuring them that this was not meant to be a book full of lascivious scenarios about gyrating strippers. And she wasn't writing it for the sake of being controversial, so much as she was writing it in an effort to draw attention to a very real problem plaguing society as a whole, and what we ought to be doing about it, as a community of believers. "Multnomah, to their credit, was totally on board with the idea of a book that wasn't titillating and instead was really about demonstrating the unconditional, nonjudgmental love of Jesus to these women." In other words, sex had a rightful place in the story, and Feldhahn was determined to discuss it without getting too many shocked or angry glares from fellow church folk. "What I did at the time was tell Don Jacobson, the President of Multnomah, that my goal was to write the entire book in a way that it wouldn't cause his then-14-year-old son to stumble. And hopefully, that is the way it's written." FYI, Feldhahn is not the only author to use her novels as a platform to address sexual woundedness and healing. Powerhouse author Karen Kingsbury tackles the emotional and spiritual consequences of premarital sex, as well as the still-taboo topic of unplanned pregnancy outside of marriage, in her novel, When Joy Came To Stay (Multnomah), which came out in 2000. And Francine Rivers delves into the painful subject of rape, and asks her readers whether or not abortion is a viable option in such a situation, in her 1997 work, The Atonement Child (Tyndale). This is, of course, just to name a few.

Okay, most of us can get on board with a gal who writes a novel about the sex industry in an effort to show how depraved it is. What if a Christian author writes about sex... just because? Or is sex ever something we do just because? Christy Award winner Lisa Samson sees the value of writing about sex in its purest form -- and makes no apologies for it. "My first book ended with the pleasureful completion of the act! I can't believe I got away with that. Even now, I try to portray my characters as sensual beings. God created us that way and to ignore it is to ignore something He obviously considers important. I think we need to 'take back' sexuality as it was meant to be, something holy and right and designed for two people committed in marriage." Samson uses common sense to judge the difference between useful information, and "TMI" (too much information)! She notes, "For me, it's all about 'over-sharing.' If it's a

detail my best friend wouldn't even tell me, or something I wouldn't tell my best friend, I won't write it. I talk about sexuality in broader, more psychological terms. Let's face it, 90% of it is all in your head anyway, right?" She goes on to say that she believes that Christian publishing houses have problems with the issue of sexuality, because they don't see how sexuality is a part of a human being's general makeup. When they hear "sexuality" they automatically equate that with "sex acts." "Generally it's not overly accepted," she says, "because I think when people think of sexuality they think of describing the sex act. Shoot, the act itself is just the culmination of the sexual tension, back-and-forth, emotions that have been piling up long before the bedroom scene. Describing sex is describing sex: it's been done zillions of times. It's the emotional/psychological drama leading up to it that's the interesting part, as a writer, to explore. And that usually doesn't include descriptions or use of anybody's genitalia." Audiences, however, don't have to worry about offending masses of people, losing money, or about drawing widespread criticism, and they are much more accepting of sexuality in Christian fiction. "I think they're fine with sexuality. They're not, for the most part, open to detailed sex acts. Not at all. The older I get the less I like reading that stuff myself. And I think it's unfair to put the label of prude upon Christians who don't want to read that. I know a lot of people that find that all a little TMI who aren't evangelical Christians. It's a matter of taste, isn't it?" Samson quipped. Feldhahn agrees. "I personally think most Christians are grateful that this subject can be addressed and is no longer a taboo subject."

Many authors have found a way to talk about sex... without really talking about sex. Remember those old-fashioned, black and white romance movies, where sex was never explicitly shown, it was up to the audience to use their imagination? It seems that CBA fiction is able to present a story, similarly, offering the subject matter up in a way that presents it not as untouchable, but as wholly human and created by God, and yet just sacred and holy enough that we ought to stand in awe of it. What happens in the bedroom doesn't matter -- the fact that the reader understands something happened in the bedroom is information enough. This presents the brethren with a challenge, doesn't it? In a culture where sex has been defined and portrayed by Hollywood writers and studios that know bare skin equals dollar signs, we can, on the one hand, view CBA fiction as merely a "suitable alternative" to "secular literature."

Or, if we're really brave, and we're really sick of seeing God's amazing creation slandered and defaced, we can view this as an opportunity to take back the true meaning, the real intimacy, and the full pleasure of sex. God didn't create sex to be taboo, it was our culture that did that. As the saying goes, "it's all in the approach." Maybe these authors are challenging us to give sex the glory it deserves, and to depict it the way God created it, within a committed marriage, as something so sacred and beautiful that the details need not be shared -- not the way modern culture portrays it. And, more importantly, maybe it challenges us to give sex the respect it deserves. Here's our opportunity to stop running from a touchy subject, and to take it back, claim it as a good, godly creation, and start leading our culture... instead of simply hiding