Daffy,
"There is no reason to presume that being a Bible reading, church going Christian leads to any kind of superior morality, sexual or otherwise."

I know that you would like this statement to be true, but is it? Surely it is open to sociological analysis. It seems to me you are operating with a stereotype of the Christian and that you actually have no idea what one would be like. Is there any reason to presume that secular ethics that relies on the obscurity of rights and is sexually free would lead to superior morality, sexual or otherwise?

Who is to say that Updike was a Christian?

A Christian is someone who follows in the footsteps of Christ, thus willing to be crucified if necessary, or whatever equivalent is required, for the love of God and all others. Foregoing certain sexual experiences is surely not as hard as going on the cross.

According to this article, it seems that Updike was ASPIRING to become a Christian, that he struggled for it, but was not there yet.

For a good, yet entertaining, reading about the struggles of people that aspire to be Christians against the forces of sin, I earnestly recommend the Starbridge series of books by Susan Howatch.

<<Sexual freedom is not freedom, it is a distraction from there real game which is raising the next generation in a stable environment.>>

Indeed, sexual freedom is not freedom: it is enslavement to our genes. However, raising the next generation (in a stable environment or otherwise), is not the real game either. It too is a form of enslavement to our genes, merely employing different tactics.

The only "real game" is coming home back to God. For that we should cut off our attachment to our body and its selfish genes, along with their relentless and perpetual desire for procreation.

Sells < "The mayhem produced by the sexual revolution has everything to do with the loss of the Christian tradition. It is only at the altar that vows of taken that set the stage for the formation of families of human flourishing. The Church has been the big defender of marriage. I would have thought that was obvious."

What rubbish. Many people are married away from a church and have successful relationships, as well as those who never marry at all.

Those days went out with the 1950,s Sells, and will never return, thank goodness.
You may mourne the loss of the time when men were 'real 'men and women did as they were told, but I don't.
Don't forget, there were fathers involved in the making of those sinful single mother's children, and this behaviour has been going on since the beginning of time also.

Contraception and single mother's support in our society is the best thing to come out of the sexual revolution, whether the old boy's clubs like it or not...

"After all, if we damned artists who did not live up to theological or moral standards where would we be?"

Pretty much where you are now, I imagine, Peter -- up the creek without a paddle.

'Contraception and single mother's support in our society is the best thing to come out of the sexual revolution, whether the old boy's clubs like it or not... '

very typical self centred feminist dogma Susie. Ignore the fact that 90% plus of men in prison either grew up fatherless or hate their fathers. Fascinating how people who claim not to believe in God hold to such absolute dogmas. Susie cries freedom but only by for a few self centred feminist who despise the natural order of things for varying reasons. Funny enough those 'depised' housewives of the 50's that lived to enhance the family could not of been possibly as self centred and full of as much bitterness displayed by modern day feminist. No wonder they need to rewrite history.

Susan,
Calling me old fashioned is a very weak argument! I see the point of feminism and applaud the fall of patriarchy. However, the extent of marital breakdown in our time has got to be caused by something, perhaps it is because we do not understand marriage like we used to. I found it difficult to fathom the causes of the ending of Updike's first marriage. There seemed to be no grounds other than to trade up.

There are real reasons for marriages ending but it is easier to end a marriage these days than it is to get out of a phone contract.