Forefront Conversations with Jana Bennett

What this episode covers

1 Corinthians 7:34 says "An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit." For many people -- women, especially -- Paul's words on the virtue of his own singleness may be the only answer they're given to the question of "what value is there in being single?" For far too long, the American church has perpetuated the idea that being single is only noteworthy because it means that one is on the path to being married, further cementing the hurtful stigma that being single means lack of fulfillment. Jana Bennett had heard enough of this, so she wrote the book "Singleness and the Church: A New Theology of the Single Life" with the purpose of changing the conversation around the value that being single can have as individuals and as church members even if they're not emulating Paul and devoting their body and soul to mission work (because, honestly, who is?). Steering the conversation are Brittany Kahn and Kim Owens, the co-leaders of Forefront's Singled Out small group. ABOUT JANA Jana Marguerite Bennett is the Chair of Department of Religious Studies at the University of Dayton a mortal theologian, and in addition to writing about singleness, has also written about technology and the use of technology ("Aquinas on the Web? Doing Theology in an Internet Age"). She also gives public lectures on marriage and sexuality, Christian asceticism, technology use, war and peace, and environmental care and is the Co-Editor of the Journal of Disability and Religion. For more information on Singled Out, visit https://forefrontnyc.churchcenter.com/groups/small-groups/singled-out

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