Table of Contents

Chapter One: Accounting for Fidelity

Facing Questions in the Dark - Fidelity as Moral Norm - Fidelity as Intrinsic to Marriage - Sexual Fidelity as Artistic Discipline - Sexual Fidelity and Storytelling

Chapter Two: Erotic Desire and Western Culture

Physical Appetite, Spiritual Need - "I Have a Body" - "I Am a Body" - Dualist versus Wholistic Visions of Embodiment - Wholistic Views of Sexuality: Sigmund Freud - The Corruption of Wholistic Views: Hedonism - Dualist Views of Sexuality: Augustine of Hippo - Dualist Sexual Ethics and the Problem of Orgasm - Individualism and the Sexual "Market" - Talking to Teens about Desire

Chapter Three: Intimacy in Relationships

Casual Sex - Defining Marriage - Individualism and the Need for Fidelity - Vulnerability and Compassion - Acknowledging Each Other's Needs - Trusting Each Other's Integrity - Reciprocity Rather Than "Equality" - Mutual Care - Psychic Boundaries: Neither Lost nor Armed - Fidelity, Intimacy, and Community - Talking to Kids About Intimacy

Chapter Four: The Blessing of Sexual Fidelity

The Wager on Transcendence - Not Blessed but Cursed: Fidelity and Exile - The Bible on Blessing - When Divorce is a Blessing - The Ambiguity of Blessing: Abraham and Sarah - Blessing and the Struggle with Identity: Jacob - Blessing and Community: Mary of Nazareth - Blessing and Rootedness: Psalm 1- Talking to Kids about Blessing

Chapter Five: Teaching Ethics to Kids

Calling Virtue by Name - Storytelling and Virtue - Virtue and Tradition - Constructing Good Stories: Desire - Hearing Good Stories: Intimacy - The Tale Beyond Us to Tell: Blessing