"I can live without sex, but I can't live without intimacy."
In today's landscape of digital interactions, many people long for deeper connections. We have a desire to move from being lonely and disconnected in our relationships to be seen, known, and wholly loved. From friendships to romantic relationships, meaningful and genuine personal connections remain our heart's desire.
College chaplain Rev. Erin Moniz is deeply attuned to the questions and concerns of today's emerging adults. In Knowing and Being Known, she
With her compelling storytelling and expert insights from her research with emerging adults, she emphasizes the significant role of identity and self-worth in fostering meaningful relationships. This comprehensive resource goes beyond the subject of sex, providing a holistic perspective on intimacy that resonates with single emerging adults and married couples alike.
Begin to experience healthy relationships and transform your relational world as you ask better questions to get better answers. To know that we are loved by God is to know our identity in Christ. And this knowing provides us the tools and the path to a healthy, sustainable intimacy that allows us to be at home in our fullness in the gospel and with each other.
Introduction: This Is Not Another Hot Take on Relationships
Section 1: The Problem with Intimacy
1. Defining Intimate Relationships
2. How the Western World Co-opted Our Identities
3. How Christendom Baptized Secularization
4. Our Broken Compasses and the Role of Grace
Section 2: The Gospel of Intimacy
5. Discovering the Origins of Intimacy and Our Desires
6. Deceit, Sin, Fear, and Shame: Why We Can’t Seem to Make Good Choices
7. Knowing and Being Known Through the Three Intimacy Motifs
8. Loneliness and the Location of God
9. What Is the Purpose of Relationships?
Section 3: Where We Go from Here: Implications for the Local Church
10. Examining Intimacy in Our Gospel Communities
11. The Art of Friendship and The Family of God
Epilogue: A Messy Hope
Group Discussion Questions
Acknowledgements