Sexuality & Culture

Has God Changed His Mind About Sex?

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?

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

#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.

When Christians Disagree About Sex

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?

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

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

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...

Joshua Harris, Sexuality, and “Deconstructing” Christianity

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

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

#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...

#256: Who Is Jesus to You?

#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...

Webinar: Loving Your LGBT Neighbor

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

#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

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...

#455 How God Changed My Heart (Even After I Changed My Gender) with Laura Smalts

#455 How God Changed My Heart (Even After I Changed My Gender) with Laura Smalts

For most of her childhood, Laura wanted to be a boy. In her 20s, she began hormone therapy, had surgery and lived as Jake for nine years. But she could never quite shake the feeling that none of it was real. “I remember looking at the photo on my driver’s license and saying, ‘I’m not as happy as I think I am.'” In this episode, Laura shares her remarkable story of desperation, hope and transformation.

#313: The Greatest Love Story

#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 love between...

#284: Be a Truth Teller

#284: Be a Truth Teller

If you're tired of smiling on the outside while you are broken and battered on the inside, Ashley Abercrombie has a message for you...

Webinar: Addressing Tough Topics with Truth & Love

Webinar: Addressing Tough Topics with Truth & Love

In July 2019, best-selling author Josh Harris (I Kissed Dating Goodbye) announced that he and his wife are separating. The hundreds of comments to his Instagram post mirror how Christians generally respond to difficult issues and brokenness. One person wrote,...

Drowning in Shallow Christianity

Drowning in Shallow Christianity

I recently met with a friend who shared openly with me about her struggles in marriage. “It’s like living with a robot! He doesn’t seem to know how to connect emotionally. Am I supposed to live the next thirty years with this man? Does God really want me to be so...

Have You Forgotten Who God Is?

Have You Forgotten Who God Is?

In the process of teaching about biblical sexuality, I have at times taken a critical look at traditions Christians have long held as truth. For example, you may have heard a recent Java with Juli episode exploring the missteps and harmful messages of the conservative...

Webinar: Female Friendships—the Good AND the Bad

Webinar: Female Friendships—the Good AND the Bad

We can all agree that having female friends is a great gift in life, but why can they cause so much difficulty? Dr. Juli Slattery hosts this webinar with one of her favorite friends, Erin Smalley! These two share the value in friendship, be honest about why it can be...

Webinar: Rethinking Sexuality: God’s Design and Why It Matters

Webinar: Rethinking Sexuality: God’s Design and Why It Matters

We believe every Christian needs to be equipped with a Biblical understanding of sexuality. Not just, "Don't do it until your married,"but a full, practical, and Biblical narrative that we know, live out, and teach others. Dr. Juli Slattery invites you to join her for...

The “Why” for Every Question About Sexuality

The “Why” for Every Question About Sexuality

When children reach the age of two, they begin asking a question they never stop asking. Why? If you are parenting a young child, you are faced with endless why questions. Why do I have to go to bed so early? Why do I have to eat brussel sprouts? Why do you have to go...

Another Reminder That Something is Wrong

Another Reminder That Something is Wrong

Several months ago, I got really sick. I was in bed for days with a high fever and chills, a deep cough, and no appetite. I gave the illness several days to run its course, treating my symptoms with Tylenol and cough medicine. When I didn’t get better, my husband took...

Why the Word “Purity” is Cringy

Why the Word “Purity” is Cringy

My teenage sons have recently introduced me to a new word… “cringy.” It’s how they describe my attempts to dance and many of my lame puns. But it’s also the word many would associate with the term “sexual purity.” As a ministry, we’ve shied away from teaching about...

The Erosion of Gender and You

The Erosion of Gender and You

Over the past few decades, we’ve slowly been eroding what it means to be male and female. Recently this movement has culminated in normalizing transgenderism and the vilification of anyone who stands upon a traditional definition of male and female. Just last week,...

#474 A Rebel’s Manifesto: How to Live Holy Different with Sean McDowell

#474 A Rebel’s Manifesto: How to Live Holy Different with Sean McDowell

What does it look like to live life as a Christian counter-culturally? How are we called to be in the world but not of the world when it comes to engaging with others, sharing the gospel, and addressing our own sin?

In this interview, Juli hosts author and professor Sean McDowell as they discuss his new book, “A Rebel’s Manifesto.” The book serves as a call and challenge to today’s Christians, urging them to revisit God’s Word and rethink what it means to be salt and light.

#470 Why Did We Start Hating Men? The Toxic War on Masculinity with Nancy Pearcey

#470 Why Did We Start Hating Men? The Toxic War on Masculinity with Nancy Pearcey

When did it become normal for us as a culture not to like men? In this episode Juli’s guest is Nancy Pearcey, esteemed scholar, and author of “The Toxic War on Masculinity: How Christianity Reconciles the Sexes”. She joins Juli to discuss the roots of toxic masculinity, what it means to be a good man, and how to combat the negativity around what it really means to be a man. 

#463 (Bonus) The Need for Grace in Church-Based Conversations About Sex and Gender

#463 (Bonus) The Need for Grace in Church-Based Conversations About Sex and Gender

When it comes to discussions around sex, historically the church has stayed quiet. As more and more pastors, authors, and psychologists within the church begin writing and talking about sex, the challenge becomes how to make these discussions accessible, nuanced, grace-filled, and Bible-based. In this episode, Juli speaks again with author and pastor Joshua Butler, as together they examine the challenges surrounding talking about sex from within the church.

Your Questions About Sex Point to Bigger Questions About God

Your Questions About Sex Point to Bigger Questions About God

Our sexuality is not an isolated part of who we are, but an integrated aspect of what it means to be created in God’s image and loved by Him. Our sexual questions and pain points connect with our deepest longings and fears. It’s impossible to grapple with our sexuality without also confronting our foundational beliefs about God. Is He good? Is He trustworthy? Does He see me? 

Webinar: The Art of Asking Good Questions

Webinar: The Art of Asking Good Questions

In an era of emotionally charged politics, #MeToo, and gender identity questions, we've all witnessed, and likely experienced, how engaging with others can quickly lead to heated conversations and hurt feelings. How do we talk about difficult things in a way that BOTH...

Manhood on a Razor’s Edge

Manhood on a Razor’s Edge

Last week, I spent $44 at Costco on Gillette razor blades for my husband. When I heard Gillette had just released a controversial video on toxic manhood, I wondered if I would regret my purchase. Having just watched the Gillette commercial, I couldn’t be more...