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<\/a><\/p>\nThe conference included a variety of presentations from theologians, doctors, psychologists, and psychiatrists from around the world. Daniel Duda, TED president, set the tone for the conference with a sermon and a plenary session. In his Friday night sermon, Duda explored the story of Mary and Joseph. Emphasising how protecting Mary cost Joseph his reputation as a \u2018righteous man,\u2019 Duda highlighted, \u201cif reading the Bible gives you justification for abusing, humiliating, disgracing, harming, or hurting other people; or it makes you feel better than others, you are reading the Bible absolutely wrong.\u201d During his plenary session, titled “God, Bible, Sex and Us,” Duda explained the development of the concept of the body in theology, and the biblical principles for human sexuality. These two initial presentations provided a wonderful and foundational framework, a space for conversations guided by strong biblical values, humility, and compassion.<\/p>\n
What follows is not a summary of every presentation, but a brief glimpse of some of the pressing issues regarding sexual education facing both the Church and society. We will continue to bring other presentations from the conference in following issues of tedNEWS<\/em>.<\/p>\n On being a safety net <\/strong><\/p>\n With her usual blend of hard research data and contagious empathy, Mary Jo Vollmer-Sandholm explored current issues in sexuality. Vollmer-Sandholm, a Doctoral Fellow in the Department of Forensic Medicine at Oslo University Hospital, Norway, compellingly challenged participants to create the safe places teens and young adults can go to when they need help.\u00a0 Drawing from over 20-years of\u00a0 experience in paediatrics forensics, Vollmer-Sandholm used cases to illustrate the complex reality teens and young adults navigate each day. How can we help a person struggling with pornography? Or a teenager being pressured to send nude pictures?<\/em><\/p>\n Her presentation \u201cSex and Relationships off the Rails\u201d highlighted the importance of keeping the lines of communication open. With \u201cTeen\u2019s frontal lobes not yet fully developed,\u201d explained Vollmer-Sandholm,”combined with the surge of hormones, and peer-pressure, it can lead them to make poor decisions they regret almost immediately.\u201d Parents who meet such episodes of poor judgment with kindness, and navigate consequences with wisdom, are providing their children with a much-needed safety net. \u201cI want to be a soft-landing place for my children,\u201d Vollmer-Sandholm remarked. \u201cI want them to know that no matter what kind of trouble they get into, they can always come to me.\u201d<\/p>\n Vollmer-Sandholm also led two workshops \u201cReligion and Abuse\u201d and \u201cPornography, Shame, and Healing.\u201d<\/p>\n The consent <\/strong>mythbuster <\/strong><\/p>\n Ansku Jaakkola, a pastor and Couples in Crisis\u00ae counsellor from Finland, explored issues of consent. Armed with a direct style and scientific data, Jaakkola busted common myths on the topic: Does consenting once mean that you are always giving consent?<\/em> \u201cNo. You can rape your spouse,\u201d Jaakkola remarked. Is it OK to have sex with your\u00a0<\/i>spouse while he\/she<\/i>\u00a0is asleep, or irresponsive for any other reason?<\/i> \u201cAbsolutely not!\u201d<\/p>\n If your body is turned on, does this means you are giving consent? \u201c<\/em>No.\u201d Why? Because of\u00a0 arousal non-concordance, a common phenomenon,\u00b9 which means your physiological response doesn\u2019t align with your subjective arousal. \u201cArousal is context-dependent,\u201d Jaakkola remarked, emphasising the importance of paying attention to what a spouse is saying, not just to his\/her bodily reactions.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, you got aroused, so you must have liked it!\u201d is an abusive and completely unscientific way to think about consent and sexuality, Jaakkola asserted. This is important because, for many trauma survivors, understanding that a sexual response can be the result of nerve endings being stimulated (and not their desire), is both liberating and deeply healing.\u00b2<\/p>\n In addition to the plenary session, Jaakkola led a workshop titled \u201cHealing the Orgasm Gap.\u201d<\/p>\n Attachment and sex drive<\/strong><\/p>\n Dr Torben Bergland, General Conference Health Ministries Associate Director, explored the connection between attachment styles and sexuality. Attachment styles \u2013 secure, anxious, avoidant, and disorganised, according to John Bowlby\u2019s theory,\u00b3 form early on in life in response to the degree of attunement we receive from our caregivers. Attachment styles shape the way we bond with people as adults, and, unsurprisingly, our sex lives too. \u201cPeople with an anxious attachment tend to have more frequent sexual experiences,\u201d shared Bergland, quoting from different studies, while those with an avoidant attachment style \u201cperceive their sex drive as relatively low.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n