Thank you for supporting my writing. That’s a great thought you shared. My mind was heading in that direction as I was writing it, but I didn’t get around to articulating it as succinctly as you have.

Underscoring your point about manipulation and fear, I think that resonates across all of our lives; if we’re made in the image of God, then presumably we have an in-built recognition of a genuine offer of “Yes?”. It’s also why manipulation and coercion, whether in sexual violence or any other form, is so abhorrent; it runs against the grain of the influence of the imago dei and stifles a part of our very being… people who perpetrate such things actually deny a fundamental part of our humanity.

Thanks again for a thoughtful post! BTW, I’ve enjoyed this whole series.