Embers - a novel by j.m. bridgeman

Sex - In EMBERS There's a bit of sex in this story, between two mature unattached single adults. There is no adultery or violence or betrayal or exploitation. No dirty old man seducing young girls, or vice versa. And no cops. Yet, because of some of the politics (See Sex - Politics) and some of the cultural implications of two unmarried people having sex (See Sex - Culture Failure), I often anticipate backlash from some readers. Some of my personal tenets about sex include: Everyone is different. Never assume. Every time is different, and may mean different things to different individuals. Sex is part of being a whole adult person. If being fully human means the integration of our physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual being, then the sex act may be one or more or all of the above. Let us pray. PS  Rodin to me created some of the sexiest art in the world. 

Sex - Culture Failure It seems to me, attitudes towards sex reflect the chasms which separate different individuals and different groups of people today. Sexual behaviour often reflects culture failure--the failure of one generation to transmit its rules, and the reasons behind those rules, to the next generation. In the past, sex was one of those things God and the men who worked for Him tried to control, especially in women. "You may only have sex with people I approve of, and after seeking and receiving my blessing." After many people abandoned their faith in God (usually cited as after World War I when millions of lives were sacrificed in His name), society began to question its blind faith in those leaders talking to God. In despair and feeling "lost," individuals often rebelled against the old ways. Many chose coupling/intercourse as a form of self-medication. These senses--of sex as reaction, sex as rebellion, sex as a path towards healing--are sti...

Sex - Politics, Choice, and Criminalization It's a pendulum swing, the way our democratic systems work. For a time, we elect people who say "No, no, no!" and "You cannot do that!" and pass laws which step all over the human right to self-determination. Then the pendulum swings back and we elect people who say "Let adults choose according to each one's own beliefs and conscience." A couple of years ago, our former government (here in Canada) passed a law making paying for sex illegal. I don't ever remember hearing it debated, nor any public outcry about "getting back into the bedrooms of the nation" which we've kept private since the first Trudeau was Prime Minister. Nor any debate about how, with one sweep of the pen, we were making criminals of thousands of citizens. Most likely, this change in law (previously, only soliciting was illegal) was a misguided attempt to prevent the exploitation of vulnerable people, especi...