A professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, Dr. Cindy Meston, published new research in the August, 2007 issue of "Archives of Sexual Behavior" listing 237 reasons why people want to have sexual relations.

Meston's research team studied men and women ages 17 to 54 over a five-year period and came up with the list of reasons. They asked UT Austin students to rank these reasons.

The #1 reason given by both men and women for wanting to have sex was, "I was attracted to the person." Other reasons included, "It's fun," "I wanted release," and "The opportunity presented itself."

There was a strange twist to the research, however. Some people had terrible motivations for wanting to have sex. Perhaps the worst was, "I wanted to give someone a sexually transmitted disease like herpes or AIDS." This reason ranked #1 for women and #2 for men in the list of "negative reasons" for wanting to have sex. This desire to use sex as a deadly weapon is an alarming development.

Another alarming development was that God got a bad rap when it came to the ranking. In the original research, people said they wanted to have sex because they "Wanted to feel closer to God." However, the University of Texas students ranked it as the 10th most negative reason for having sex. Sadly, it was slotted between "I wanted to hurt/humiliate the person" and "I wanted to breakup my relationship."

Too often, Christianity gets a bad rap about sexuality from critics. They say that Christians are too narrow when it comes to sex--or far worse things. Most Christians don't believe that "anything goes," of course, but most do think that sex is a good thing and that Christan sexuality is a gift from God. They realize that sexual union can be, and often is, a spiritual experience.

Most wouldn't agree with the University of Texas student ranking --they would say that "Wanted to feel closer to God" is an excellent, positive and wholesome reason for wanting to have sex.

Is the Bible negative about sexuality as many non-Christians think? Of course not! It speaks about all aspects of sexuality, and is only negative in areas where the wise writers felt people could bring harm to themselves, their families or society by indulging in questionable behavior.

The reality is, the Bible is mostly positive when it speaks of human sexuality.

In Genesis, men and women are encouraged to "become one." The Song of Solomon is filled with sensual images, and that is a basis for understanding Christian sexuality. In 1 Corinthians 7, the Apostle Paul says, "It is better to marry than to burn [with passion]" and that men and women should not withhold sexual pleasure from each other, "except for times of prayer." In the Bible, sexuality and spirituality go hand-in-hand.

Christian sexuality is different because Christian couples can bring a little bit of heaven into their sexual relationship by realizing the experience is not just between husband and wife, but also involves the presence of God. God brings a special unity and harmony into relationships, and that changes the dynamics of sexual experience.