A depressing read but an important one. … The best arguments for Christian morality are (sadly) the ruined lives of those who ignore it. This book … arms pastors and laypeople alike to face what is the most pressing issue of our day.
—Carl R. Trueman, from the foreword
“In a Christian world that is increasingly skeptical of its own history of sexual and marital instruction, this book covers territory old and new. The discerning evangelical will profit from reading Ayers, whose realism and biblical faith drives him to ask and answer questions—and then to offer informed advice—in ways that only a sociologist can.
—Mark Regnerus, professor of sociology, University of Texas-Austin; author of The Future of Christian Marriage
Ayers’s After the Revolution: Sex and the Single Evangelical is one of those resources I’d like to require for every ministry student, every parent, every pastor, and every youth worker. This wonderfully readable book—described by the author as ‘rooted in the Scriptures, an appreciation for the need to live out plain, faithful, normal Christianity, the experience and teaching of successful practices from Christian and social science sources, and an understanding of the causes of sexual promiscuity’—is an essential resource. No shouting, no angry finger-pointing, no apocalyptic sensationalism, no head-in-the-sand wishful thinking; just an understandable account of the biblical vision for sexuality, where, why, and how we are falling short of that vision—especially with young people and singles—and what we can do as parents, youth workers, and pastors to respond to this reality with grace and truth.
—Duffy Robbins, professor of Christian ministry, Grove City College, Grove City, PA
The very paths that the current course of this world say will result in sexual fulfillment actually undermine and undo our human flourishing. Through a balanced, multi-disciplinary approach that skillfully merges biblical theology with sociology and anthropology, David Ayers offers a thorough, up-to-date description of what is on the current cultural landscape regarding sexuality. But rather than presenting only a description of current beliefs and behaviors, he centers readers on what should be by laying out timely prescriptive measures for recovering biblically faithful sexuality for singleness that glorifies God and advances our human flourishing. Pastors, youth workers, parents, and students will find After the Revolution: Sex and the Single Evangelical to be a helpful tool in our efforts to live and lead into God’s grand and glorious design for his good gift of sexuality.
—Walt Mueller, Center for Parent/Youth Understanding
David Ayers has stated explicitly what we evangelicals have known for some time but have been reluctant to speak about. For too long evangelicals have been incrementally imitating the world’s sex-crazed culture that separates sex from marriage. We need to return, says Ayers, to ‘abstinence outside marriage and monogamous faithfulness in marriage.’ Time to face facts! Ayers has assembled the data relying on rigorous sociological research and the results are quite disturbing and incontrovertible. For evangelicals, there needs to be widespread soul searching on our knees. It’s not the particular sin in itself; it’s also the consequences of sexual sin that Ayers brings to our consciousness. This is a book for individual Christians who need to be informed or reminded of the need to jettison the licentious values of this age. It’s a beacon for parents looking to provide clear direction for their children and a measuring rod for pastors who need to take the measure of their flock.
—Robert G. Hall, retired minister, Bronx Household of Faith
After a generation of rejected norms implemented through the sexual revolution, succeeded by a generation of sexual disorder increasingly encouraged by our cultural institutions, the church finds itself and its sexual ethic almost indistinguishable from the surrounding culture. There are, however, signs of hope as the evangelical church in the twenty-first century is today positioned to recover its biblical convictions regarding sexuality and return to normative Christian sexual practices. Dr. Ayers’s research is a welcome and much needed resource to help support such a recovery. His scholarship as a sociologist and his wisdom as a seasoned disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ allows Dr. Ayers to not only clearly describe the problems, but to offer solutions. His book is a tremendous gift to the church that informs, corrects, and encourages Christian singles to live within the blessings of biblically defined sexuality, while offering a distinct alternative to our culture’s sexual confusion.
—Nathanael Devlin, senior pastor, Beverly Heights Presbyterian Church
David Ayers has provided us with an important reminder that sociology is still the only academic discipline that can help us to understand the kind of transformations in character and worldview that have occurred to lead us to our current sexual obsessions. Using sociological data and social theory to illustrate our dilemma—but presented in a conversational, friendly style as he might use when speaking with his own students—Professor Ayers kindly warns us about the spiritual and natural consequences of sin that we can find throughout the Bible. But more importantly, he reminds us that grace is always available to us—even when we sin—as a way to lead us back to God through goodness, repentance, and faith in his redemptive sacrifice for us.
—Anne Hendershott, professor of sociology and director of the Veritas Center for Ethics in Public Life at Franciscan University
This is a very important and timely book by David Ayers, who knows this subject and the data like few others and has presented it in a readable and even engrossing way. Readers will be hooked from the outset by an introduction that is compelling, personal, honest, and, best of all, redemptive. The book will alarm and anger—not just evangelicals, but Protestants generally and also Catholics and believers of all stripes. That’s the righteous reaction to disturbing data that do not lie. Ayers is blunt and does not cower from controversy or sensitive sexual subjects. And yet, to alarm and anger is not Ayers’s ultimate goal. His goal is to awaken and point us to truth—truth in love about biblical-natural sexuality, marriage, and the family. This is about God’s design for sexuality and for holiness. It’s about what God’s children must know and aspire to. Ayers is to be commended for his courage and commitment to those truths.
—Paul Kengor, senior director, The Institute for Faith & Freedom at Grove City College
Just like David Ayers's full-length book on marital and sexual ethics, this publication is a must-read. His observations are sobering. I cried several times as I processed the cumulative weight of his research. His counsel is countercultural, yet his research proves its wisdom. His writing is full of Christ-centered grace and wisdom, and I deeply appreciate his unique perspective. He is a wonderful mix of professional sociologist, committed Christian, experienced pastor, and nurturing parent. What a gift to the church! I wish this content could be somehow downloaded and stored in my own heart and in the heart of everyone I lead.
—Joe Tyrpak, pastor, Tri-County Bible Church; coauthor of the Gospel Meditations series (Church Works Media); producer of The Life of David Brainerd: A Documentary
