Sexuality & Culture

Menopause and Sex: What You Need To Know

Pelvic Health Physical Therapist Heather Marra joins the blog to deepen your knowledge about female sexuality and menopause.

Why Christians Need to Care About Sex

“The whole biblical message from Genesis to Revelation can be summarized with five words: God wants to marry us.” – Christopher West

Struggling With Sexual Intimacy? You Might Need A “Sex Break”

Is it ever a good idea to take a break from having sex with your spouse? Juli explains why the answer might be yes.

What Can Church Leaders Do to Combat Porn Use in the Church?

Four ways churches can be strengthened and equipped to develop a healthy approach to combating pornography use.

#542 A Pastor, His Porn Problem, and How His Church Restored Him

Pastor Garrett Kell joins Juli on the podcast to talk about his years-long struggle with porn, coming clean, and how his church responded.

#541 Teaching Sexuality: Pitfalls, Purity Culture, and the Best Path Forward

Noah Filipiak joins Juli to share where he sees a need to provide the youth of today with a better framework for biblical sexuality.

Q&A: How Do I Love My LGBTQ Friends Without Compromising Biblical Truth?

Is it possible to love your LGBTQ friends without compromising biblical truth?

#423: How to “Rethink” Issues in Our Church Culture Around Sexuality & Abuse

We need to be asking some hard questions. In the wake of the SBC investigation, along with the growing tsunami of fallen pastors,...

#540 A Pastoral Perspective on Supporting Those with Gender Dysphoria

Pastor Sam Ferguson joins Juli to get practical about loving the hearts of hurting people while staying rooted in God’s Word.

#522 The Paradox of Hope and Brokenness: Jesus, Depression and SSA

Brenna Blain explains how coming to the end of herself led her to a place desperate enough to long for God Himself, not just His healing.

#519 Why we Need to be Better at Caring for Divorced People in the Church

Laura Petherbridge shares her experience as a divorcee and explains how to walk in love and empathy to those who have experienced divorce.

#508 What Does Healthy Masculinity Actually Look Like?

What can we learn from the lives of the heroes of the faith?

#507 What You Need To Know About The Gender Conversation

John and Sarah Stonestreet explore some of the underlying beliefs surrounding sexuality in our culture.

#488 What Does the Bible Really Say About Same-Sex Marriage?

What is the Biblical essence of marriage and who is it for? Preston Sprinkle discusses his new book “Does the Bible Support Same-Sex Marriage?”

Q&A: How Can I Overcome the Shame I Experienced as a Result of Purity Culture?

How do you overcome any shame you’ve experienced from purity culture?

Q&A: What Is the Difference Between Sexual Integrity and Purity?

What is the difference between sexual integrity and purity?

#426: How To Better Understand the Complexity Beneath Gender Dysphoria

What’s the difference between sexual identity and gender identity? Should parents use preferred pronouns? Or allow kids to dress in...

#403: How Do I Reconcile God’s Goodness with Sexual Pain & Injustice?

How can we reconcile the pain of sexual abuse with faith in a loving God?

#401: Why “Love Is Love” Doesn’t Mean What You Think It Means

Black Lives Matter. Love is love. Hate has no home here. A thread of truth—truth deeply rooted in Christianity—runs through these...

#399: Why Questions About Sex Cause You to Question God

Juli and Hannah kick off the "Making Sense of God & Sex" series with a conversation about how questions around sex always lead...

#378: How One Church Learned To Embrace the Beauty of Broken

Imagine there is a sign on the door of your church that says, “Please leave your sexual brokenness on the steps...

#348: What You Need To Know About the “T” in LGBT, Pt 2

In this episode, Juli continues her conversation with Preston Sprinkle as they dive into biblical questions around...

#347: What You Need To Know About the “T” in LGBT, Pt 1

What was once a rare psychological diagnosis has quickly become an accepted cultural movement. While it's critical...

#543 How the Old Testament Reveals God’s Heart for Women, Sex, and Covenant Love

Dr. Sandra Richter, author of The Epic of Eden, brings a rich and refreshing perspective to women, God, and the Old Testament.

#538 How I Rebuilt Faith In God After Church Abuse

Ryan George shares how he disentangled the manipulation and abuse of his past from who God really is.

Has God Changed His Mind About Sex?

Cultural ideals around sex and sexuality have shifted over the last 100 years, but does this mean God’s design for sex has shifted as well?

#520 Sex, Cancel Culture and the Church: How to Pursue Unity When we Disagree

Hannah Nitz joins Juli for a conversation on why believers need to work to pursue both peace and righteousness within the body of Christ.

#518 Single Sexuality and the Unique Challenges of Widowhood

Dr. Carol Tanksley delves into the complexities faced by widows and sheds light on the emotional and psychological hurdles they face.

Sexual Abuse: How the Church Should Respond

What is the Church’s responsibility in addressing sexual abuse and what steps should we take to prevent it?

#515 Is Attraction Sinful? Unpacking Attachment, Safety, Love and Desire

Hannah Nitz joins Juli for a conversation all about attraction and desire.

Q&A: Can Sexual Sin be Forgiven?

Are some sins less forgivable than others?

Q&A: How Do I Love My LGBTQ Friends Without Compromising Biblical Truth? (Part 2)

Is it possible to love your LGBTQ friends without compromising biblical truth?

Q&A: Is It OK to Call a Transgender Friend by Their Preferred Pronouns?

Is It OK to call a transgender friend by their preferred pronouns?

How The American Church Reinforces Isolation and Why That Needs to Change

What if one of the most important things about church is not what happens at meetings but what happens between them?

#448: When Did Sexual Identity Become a Thing? (and Why Are We Obsessed With It?)

Sexual identity has become a common phrase, a personal choice, a political cause and, for many, the way we introduce ourselves to others (used even by tweens and teens who’ve never had a sexual experience)—and it feels like it all happened overnight. Do you ever wonder how we got here?

#440: Why Don’t Christians Like to Talk About the Real, Hard Stuff in Life?

Are Christians a prickly audience when it comes to sharing our brokenness and pain? Let's change that. Join Juli and...

#436: Friendship Trends Gone Wrong? (How to Keep Your Friendships Healthy)

Boundaries are a tricky part of friendship. Friends help us meet legitimate needs for companionship, spiritual growth,...

#435: What’s the Most Important Thing the Bible Says About Your Identity?

"The journey of the Christian life is that God has increasingly more of me." - Dr. Juli Slattery Juli and Hannah talk about sexual...

#433: Can You Be Gay and Follow Jesus? with Greg Coles

Greg Coles shares why he doesn't love the controversy surrounding the title of his book Single, Gay, Christian, yet why he's...

#432: Unraveling the Threads of Racism & “Love Addiction” in My Story

Why did I have sex with him again? Why can't I stop this masturbation addiction? Why can't I get this fantasy out of my head? Are...

#425: Bonus! How To Build Community & Friendships with Intention and Grace

Feeling stuck in your friendships? You're not alone! As the seasons of life change, our friendships don't always keep up. If you're...

#424: A 54-Year Friendship That Broke Through Cross-Cultural Barriers

Their friendship defied the odds. In the late 60s, in the South, these men weren’t supposed to become friends. Yet, with Jesus as...

#422: How to Care for Both Women and Children in the Wake of the Dobbs Decision

Do you know that God’s heart is for both women and their unborn children, and don’t know where you fit in the pro-life/pro-choice...

Webinar: Making Sense of God & Sex, Live Q&A

How do I bring God my heartache over the fact that my daughter is living in a same-sex relationship? Why does God care if my husband and I are having sex or not? Does God really expect me to give up sex, even if I never marry? When you wrestle with sexual pain or...

#382: Why We’re Not Afraid to Ask Hard Questions About Sex & Christianity

If you feel the pressure to believe that Christians are close-minded and a growing minority, you’re in for an encouraging surprise....

#375: Juli & Jackie on How To Pursue Unity While Standing on Truth

The mics stayed on for more with Jackie Hill Perry. In this unique after-the-show episode, Juli and Jackie share how they’ve...

#352: How Purity Culture and Ravi Zacharias’ Abuse of Power Challenge Our Faith

Juli Slattery and Asheritah Ciuciu sit down for a conversation about the shortcomings of purity culture, the recent...

#351: Why Our Churches Need To Do Better at Valuing the Voices of Women

The women of the Bible have a lot to teach us. Their voices often give us the story behind the story—take Ruth for example, or the...

#329: Addressing Tough Questions About Identity and Sexuality

Theology meets real life in this episode of Java with Juli! We’re asking the difficult questions about identity and sexuality: Why...

#313: The Greatest Love Story

From beginning to end the Bible tells a story about marriage. Woven through chapter and verse is a story of covenant...

#312: Born Again This Way: Rachel’s Story

This may sound like a conversation about being a gay Christian, and it is. But more importantly, it's a...

#295: We All “Desconstruct,” It’s Reconstructing that Matters

Questions about sexuality, sexual abuse, and gender have sent a new wave of “deconstructing” throughout the...

#289: How to Choose Unity (Even When You Disagree)

Juli and her guests discuss their reactions to John MacArthur's recent comments about women teaching the Bible. Join us for a...

#285: Loving Without Compromise

Yes, you can love a gay or lesbian friend without trying to change them. Sadly, many in the LGBT+ community feel shamed by...

How Do We Tell Good From Evil?

Is it wrong to live together before marriage? Does gender really matter? Is it wrong to support gay marriage? These are the types of questions that we often get asked at Authentic Intimacy. Perhaps more than ever, many Christians are confused about right and wrong....

#240: Birth Control & Family Planning

Is it okay to use birth control? Can the pill cause an early abortion? Juli and her guest discuss the ethical issues that surround...

#232: When Sexual Abuse Happens At Church

When sexual abuse happens in the church our leaders are (historically) more likely to defend the powerful than to...

Q&A: Is it okay to have sex before marriage?

Is sex before marriage okay?

Q&A: How do I explain the unbiblical sexual choices others make to my young kids?

How to talk to your kids about other people’s sexual choices.

#537 Can You Be a Christian Feminist?

Dr. Abigail Favale shares why our bodies matter and how we can cultivate a deep and rich theology around sex and gender.

#297: Finding Freedom in the Midst of Brokenness

Laurence Koo, guest speaker at our upcoming Reclaim Conference, shares what freedom looks like when you experience same-sex attraction.

#517 How to Beat Loneliness and Cultivate Deeper Friendships

Jeff Kemp joins Juli to talk about what we need to do to cultivate deep, long-lasting, and life-altering friendships.

Should I Go to a Gay Wedding?

Few topics in today’s world are more divisive in the Christian Church than sexuality.

#494 Purity Culture, Men and Sexual Entitlement

The purity narrative failed men too. Noah Filipiak unpacks some of the harmful ideas passed on to men in an effort to protect purity.

Q&A: What Does God Say About Divorce?

What does God say about divorce? Juli unpacks this layered topic.

#492 How Human Trafficking Causes Us to Rethink What We Believe About God

Author Charles Martin unpacks some of the realities of human trafficking, what it means to be broken, and what it takes to find freedom.

#363: Why Are Christians Afraid Of the LGBT+ Conversation?

Rachel Gilson discusses why it’s more important than ever to maintain a high view of scripture and know what the Bible says about our sexuality.

3 Subconscious Beliefs You May Hold About Living With Same-Sex Attraction

Scripture reveals that the way we think shapes our actions, but have you given thought to what and how you think about our sexuality?

#483 Why You Need a New Theology of Singleness, Even if You’re Married

Join Juli and guest Dr. Danielle Treweek as we kick off week two of our 7-week series exploring various themes around God, sex and intimacy.

#469 Porn, Rape Culture, and Why The Battle Against Sexual Assault Starts at Home

Did you know that on average, each year, around 463,634 Americans are victims of sexual assault? That’s a heartbreaking statistic, and it reveals a very real source of pain and trauma in contemporary American culture. What causes people to commit sexual assault? Is there a way to stop it? Dr. John Foubert joins Juli to discuss some of the reasons these numbers are so high, and what can and needs to be done to prevent sexual assault from happening.

#381: “Show It Off” or “Cover It Up”: Messages That Shape Our Body Image

What messages have you been told about your body and your sexuality? At the coffee shop with Juli are two...

#359: How To Help Women Speak Out Against Sexual Harassment

Tiffany Bluhm wishes this wasn’t her story to tell. Like most victims or bystanders of sexual harassment, she had everything to lose...

#358: Sexuality, Spirituality, and Why We Settle For Counterfeit Intimacy

Have you ever turned to Netflix instead of pursuing sex with your spouse? Have you turned to Instagram instead ending your day by...

#356: Sex & the City of God (What Life Looks Like When We Love God First)

That longing you have to be fully known? God put it there. It’s meant to draw you into intimacy with Him....

#345: What You Need to Know About Progressive Christianity

Compassionate. Inclusive. Nonjudgmental. Who wouldn’t want to be part of a church like this? It’s why...

#333: Is God Good …Even if You’re LGBT?

“We are being shaped by a culture that idolizes romantic and sexual fulfillment. And I just think—Jesus was...

#318: Why Are We Afraid to Touch?

Let’s face it: As Christians, we’re kind of afraid to touch. Touch feels unsafe and sexual—even...

#310: Is God Sexist?

Is God sexist? Does he value men more than he values women? If you've ever wrestled with this question, a...

#304: Stop Caring What Others Think

Are you constantly preoccupied with what others think about you? With how you look, how much money you make, or how many Instagram...

When Christians Disagree About Sex

When the Nashville statement was released, it brought conservative Christianity’s relationship with sexual issues front and center into the mainstream media. USA Today described the Nashville statement this way, “A coalition of conservative evangelical leaders laid...

A Hopeless New Year?

Turning my calendar to January 1 is usually refreshing for me. It represents a new year with a clean slate and excitement ahead. So why does ushering in 2020 feel so heavy and discouraging? There are many indications that our culture is quickly moving in a dangerous...

The World Has a Lot To Say About Sex

If you haven’t noticed, our views on sexuality have changed quite a bit over the past 20 years. Americans are far more accepting of behaviors they once considered to be sexually immoral. Cohabitation, having sex outside of marriage, no-fault divorce, viewing...

Why Promise Rings and Purity Talks Fall Short

True Love Waits. I Kissed Dating Goodbye. Promise rings. These are the touchstones of predominant teaching on sexual purity promoted by the Christian community throughout the past several decades. Yet, the word purity among today’s Christian adults can elicit feelings...

#278: Aging with Enthusiasm & Grace

Tomorrow isn't promised to any of us. How can we be grateful, joyful, and love others well whatever season we're in? Today...

Joshua Harris, Sexuality, and “Deconstructing” Christianity

Recently, the evangelical world has been rocked by the news of Joshua Harris’s decision to leave his marriage and Christian beliefs. Joshua is the bestselling author of I Kissed Dating Goodbye and was a well-known spokesperson for the purity movement of the 1990s. A...

How to Have Tough Conversations

(Presione aquí para leer en español) If you listen to our podcast, Java with Juli, you know that I don’t like small talk. Ever since I was a little girl, I have been able to acutely sense unspoken tension in a room. I’m anxious when I have a conflict with a friend or...

#264: You (Too) Can Help #MeToo

What can you do to make sure the voices of sexual abuse victims continue to be heard following the #MeToo movement? How...

#260: BONUS! Confused About Sexuality? We Understand

Why is there so much confusion in the Church about sex? If God's word is clear on this issue, why do so many great...

#256: Who Is Jesus to You?

Every sexual question is a spiritual question. Every sexual opinion you hold comes from a foundation of who Jesus is to you. In the...

#161: Beyond Pro-Life vs. Pro-Choice

Take the politics out of conversations about abortion. You don't have to choose between valuing the rights of a...

#242: Worried About the Future? Find Hope Here

We naturally fear what we don't understand or can't control -- like the messages and confusion surrounding...

#238: Josh Harris is Rethinking “I Kissed Dating Goodbye”

What if you gave millions of people the wrong advice? Two decades ago Josh Harris turned the Christian dating world...

#235: How the Purity Movement Hurt Us

"I always thought that if I did everything the way God told us to, then I would be blessed, I would be happy, and I would have a...

#218: Rethinking Sexuality in Your Life

Do I really need to save sex for marriage? What’s wrong with porn if I’m not hurting anyone...

Webinar: Loving Your LGBT Neighbor

Ever feel like we're just fumbling through the LGBT conversation, always asking but never really finding Biblical answers to questions like: What does it look like to be friends with my lesbian neighbors? How should I love my gay child and his partner? What if I'm...

#196: Public Me vs. Private Me

What things in your life do you try really hard to hide? If my friends knew that I’m struggling with big temptations If people ever...

How We Love Each Other

I grew up in a family of six kids, all very close in age. My position as “number five” out of six is probably a huge part of why I became a psychologist. My earliest pictures are often of me in a playpen observing family life. As teenagers, my sisters and I became...

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