Lewis tackles the subject modern culture most fiercely resists — and his argument is both more nuanced and more demanding than either its critics or its defenders often admit.

Discussion Questions

6 questions

1.Lewis uses the analogy of an audience that goes wild watching a strip-tease act with food to introduce his argument about the state of sexual appetite in modern culture. What is he suggesting about the relationship between the appetite and the culture that feeds it?

2.He distinguishes between the Christian standard for sexuality (chastity) and the idea that sex itself is shameful or wrong — a distinction he says Christianity has never held. Why is this distinction important, and how does it reframe chastity as a positive rather than negative virtue?

a.How has 'sex-negative' religion (treating sex as inherently dirty) caused damage you have seen?

b.How has 'sex-positive' permissiveness (treating desire as its own justification) caused damage you have seen?

3.Lewis says that chastity is the most unpopular of the Christian virtues. He does not soften the standard, but he does say that those who fail should pick themselves up and try again — and that a long series of failures should not lead to despair. How do grace and standard coexist in Lewis's account?

4.He argues that sexual impulses are among the strongest we have, and that the strength of the temptation does not indicate something wrong with the person — it indicates something precious that the enemy wants to distort. How does this framing change the way you think about sexual struggle?

5.Lewis connects sexual ethics to the virtue of Temperance from the previous chapters — not abstinence but right ordering. How does this connect to his larger argument that God is not about suppression but transformation?

+ 3 more questions in this week

Get all 176 questions across 29 weeks

Get Full Guide — $24.99