Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Orthodixie

Home
Eastern Orthodox
REVIEW: “The Thrill of the Chaste”

REVIEW: “The Thrill of the Chaste”

Last updated on: March 1, 2007 at 8:37 am by Fr. Joseph Huneycutt

REVIEW: “The Thrill of the Chaste” 2007-03-01T08:37:00-06:00 Fr. Joseph Huneycutt

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Thank God, not many of my journals have survived prior to 1992. It’s a bit disappointing, even shocking, to look back and mourn the naiveté, lack of discernment, sins of youth, and things that hindsight whispers are best left undone. Preserve them for posterity? Fuhgetaboutit!

Reading The Thrill of the Chaste – Finding Fulfillment While Keeping Your Clothes On is like a clandestine encounter with a gutsy gal’s diary. The gal is Dawn Eden, and she’s got a story to tell. It’s not always a pretty one, but she twists each chapter’s end toward Beauty.

It helps that she knows how to tell a story. Like St Augustine before her, she can sin and write. For this alone, be thankful. But be warned. Her story might just be your story.

Thanks to the popularity of The Dawn Patrol, Miss Eden is on a first name basis with thousands in the blogosphere. Forgive me if I skip formalities here; to me, she’s Dawn.

As a young man, a kid really, I was smitten with Doris Day. She was sexy before sexy was dirty; virtuous when virtue was cool. Dawn quotes Oscar Levant as saying: “I knew Doris Day before she was a virgin.” She notes: “Yet, audiences didn’t want her any other way. Women adored how Day appeared bold, independent, willing to take risks, and totally in control of herself. Men simply adored her.”

When she writes such things as these, I think: “Hey, that’s my journal!” But for us grown kids, boys and girls from a certain age, Dawn’s writing our story – if not in deed, in word.

“Kids learn what they see in grown-ups – and today’s adults are only too glad to abdicate moral responsibility. Doris Day’s celebrated chastity was the fruit of thousands of years of Judeo-Christian tradition.”

“Chaste” has become laughably arcane because its definition has been twisted. It has come to mean naïve, inexperienced, and prudishly void of pleasure. Truly, if snakes on trees could talk this sounds like what they’d say.

In truth, however, chastity refers not only to abstinence from sexual sin, but to faithfulness in all things. Thus, “Chastity is the name which is common to all the virtues,” writes St John of the Ladder. This Virtue is best pursued by keeping vigil both in church and in personal spiritual warfare (and, of course, in keeping your clothes on).

Chastity is also a byproduct of humility.

Offer to the Lord the weakness of your nature, fully acknowledge your own powerlessness, and imperceptibly you will receive the gift of chastity (St John of the Ladder).

Here’s an example of this truth according to Dawn: “Instead of defining herself by what she lacks – a relationship with a man – she defines herself by what she has: a relationship with God.”

And, you might ask, what made her so smart?

“I spent years grasping at straws, trying to become the kind of person I wanted to be and meet the man I wanted to meet by doing all the wrong things. How did I come to suspect they were the wrong things? Well, for one thing, they didn’t work …”

As you can see, she shoots pretty straight – and she can preach, too:

“Are you in a position today where, like a plant on a windowsill at high noon, you’re able to receive God’s direct sunlight? Or are you approaching God at an angle, letting His light hit you in some places while guarding the rest of yourself jealously in shadow?”

“It’s hard to release our shadows, partly because we’re comfortable the way we are – maybe not happy, but comfortable. More than that, we may not trust that God could enlighten our darkness if we asked Him – and the thought of being disappointed by Him deters us from taking the chance.”

“It’s not about how you meet men. It’s about who you are when you meet men. Take care of the ‘who,’ and the ‘how’ will take care of itself.”

“Being tempted, in and of itself, is not wrong; only acting on it is. Moreover, even if you do act on temptation, you have much to gain by stopping yourself – no matter how far you’ve gone.”

“It’s when you feel most confident in your ability to resist temptation, and when you feel least susceptible to loneliness, that you have to be on your guard for what is spiritually the most dangerous challenge to chastity: the unexpected, utterly embarrassing, seemingly irrational obsession.”

And, yes, there’s diary dirt in the book, too.

The Thrill of the Chaste offers something for every body. But I wouldn’t recommend the book to just anyone. For some, some things are better left unread. For others, her story’s your story; you might share pasts and, God-willing, future paths.

Then there’s the one sentence that she wrote that shocked me. I will not repeat it in this review because it might not be your sentence. It was the one that jumped out at me. I thought she was quoting one of my old journals. I read it several times. I wish she hadn’t written it. I’m glad she did. You might discover it, too. But, the sentence you find won’t be mine. It’ll be yours; and, in some ways, ours.

The end of our rope often resembles that first bitter fruit. Let’s face it: We all have a deep-seated longing for God not only because we fail and miss the mark – but, essentially, because we miss Eden.

Through repentance, trusting in God’s inexhaustible mercy may we all struggle toward Paradise. As Dawn will tell you, it’s never too early to start – and never too late to be chaste.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

March 1, 2007

The Funniest Thing You'll Read (Today)

Next Post

March 1, 2007 What'll James Cameron Make of This?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month November 2016 October 2016 August 2016 May 2016 April 2016 January 2016 September 2015 August 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does "Rabboni" mean, as Mary Magdalene called Jesus after the resurrection?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Teacher Shepherd Savior Messenger