Lust and the Lord: a Field Guide to the Christian Dating Habitat

By O. FATTS

Most faiths wrestle with how to effectively deal with human sexuality and moral purity. Christian leaders have been trying to reign in the sex lives of their congregations for centuries but the libido has proven to be a powerful foe. Regrettably for the Church, fornication and adultery seem to go hand in hand with prayer and theology leading to unfortunate scandals. Many Christian singles struggle in their journey to find a spouse and become disillusion with God in the process. Married couples struggle with their sex lives as they try to reconcile their emotions and hormones with scripture. 'Lust and the Lord' gives the first witty yet sharp commentary on the dating habitat of contemporary Christians. From middle school to the mission field each dating habitat is amusingly exposed for better or worse. Years of research on Christian dating is cleverly blended together with humorous illustrations and amusing testimonials on sex and relationships within the Christian dating habitat.

• Language: English
• Publisher: O. FATTS
• Release date: Jan 26, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370619917

O. FATTS

Click the Subscribe to Author button on the left in order to hear about book updates and savvy news that will blow your mind. To watch the award winning documentary on the Congo for FREE copy paste the following link in your browser and enter the promotion code: CongoFans2016 https://vimeo.com/ondemand/wewillwinpeace O. Fatts is a writer and director known for critically acclaimed independent documentaries on complex African subjects. O. Fatts was born, Seth Daniel Chase on April 27th, 1977, Bremerton, Washington, and was raised just outside Annapolis, Maryland. He is the son of Marjorie Elizabeth Chase, and Robert Joseph Chase, a builder and entrepreneur. He has a older brother, Jesse Chase, and a younger sister, Jaime. At Severna Park High school Seth was involved in sports, journalism as well as a few theatrical productions. Seth attended Montana State University, where he majored in Media Theatre Arts with a focus on Motion Picture, Television. While there, Seth won the Panavision New Film maker award for his script: Talking Smack. Seth graduated with honors, fourth in his class and would spend the next five years paying off exorbitant student debt by working in the automotive industry in Portland, Oregon. Once free of debt, Seth left the United States to live in central Africa where he would begin his independent film career. Seth based out of Bujumbura, Burundi for the next eight years funding himself by making advocacy films for international aid organizations. He made the first ever feature length documentary on Gender Based Violence in Burundi. The film was funded by the European Union and went viral upon completion. Called GBV; the film remains one of the most widely viewed Burundian documentaries. Seth published his first book, “Lust and The Lord” in 2017. He considers it the funniest book he has written to date. Seth spends his time between Montana, and Subsaharan Africa. He enjoys both locations but feels more at home in Africa than he does in North America.

Book preview

Lust & The Lord

a Field Guide to the Christian Dating Habitat

O. Fatts

Copyright © 2017 O. Fatts

All rights reserved.

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Contents

Introduction

1. What the!?! A look into the Christian dating habitat.

2. Prepubescent awakening - the Christian junior high school habitat.

3. Pubescent arousal - the Christian high school habitat.

4. The college dating habitat - a world without parents.

5. The Mission field - where anyone can get married.

6. Top down dysfunction - pastors lead the way.

About the Author

Introduction

Lust and the Lord provides the first intimate look into the dating habitat of the only people that make it into heaven. The content found within this guide is taken from first-hand accounts of Christians who have grown up in the conservative evangelical faith. Additional information is compiled from extensive surveys and interviews with Christian leaders and laypersons.

As with many faiths, Christianity has different denominations, sects and/or branches. This field guide mainly focuses on American conservative evangelicals. Footnotes are found throughout the field guide to aid the non-Christian in fully appreciating 'Christian speak'.

CHAPTER ONE

What the!?! A look into the Christian dating habitat.

"Just like most normal teens, we were all thinking about it, ‘sex’. But being evangelical Christians meant we were also worried about the apocalypse because pastors told us we were already in the 'end times'. We didn't want the world to end before we could have sex. But to have sex, we had to be married, and, to get married, you had to at least reach grade ten."

Josiah Peterson (grade 10)

Christian dating is similar to typical dating with the exception that Christians must remain celibate, refrain from lusts, and any type of sexual contact until marriage. This poses a great challenge for many Christians and creates tensions that are not experienced by those who have abstained from Christianity. When you consider the pleasure of celibacy along with other principles of 'Christian living' you have a unique habitat that encourages paradoxical behaviors.

Maybe you've heard the Christian children hymn Jesus loves the little children of the world. According to the Bible, Jesus loves everybody no matter how odd, peculiar, or unsightly they may be. The chorus reads:

"Red and yellow black and white,

they’re all precious in his sight;

Jesus loves the little children

of the world."

Through numerous songs like this one, Christians are taught from childhood that Jesus loves them and they should love others. Christians are to love each other and everyone else in the world no matter what they look like. During the research phase of this field guide, we examined this 'inclusive Christian perspective' on love and dating. Strangely, after years of observing the males and females from middle school to the missionary field, the dating habitat was overwhelmingly monochromatic. Perhaps this can be attributed to the fact that conservative evangelical Christianity is rooted in white, middle-class America. Red, yellow, and black are simply not on the Christian dating color-wheel; it's 99% white.

During our time observing the single conservative Christian male, we have learned that he is acutely fixated on the ‘female selection process’ of the dating experience. The male admits that most Christian females are not built well enough for his instinctual tastes. Males tirelessly search for a female with specific characteristics:

-Physical stature between sizes 0-6

-Shorter than the male

-Size B-C cup