With rates of long-term singleness on the rise across Western societies, evangelicals are increasingly reflecting on the challenges this poses for the church. In The Meaning of Singleness: Retrieving an Eschatological Vision for the Contemporary Church, Danielle Treweek reframes the discussion around the Bible’s picture of the creation to come. Author and theologian Barry Danylak spoke with Treweek—founding director of the Single Minded ministry and an Anglican deacon in Sydney—about cultivating a robustly theological understanding of singleness.

What are some the challenges you see with defining singleness?

Singleness is a modern concept that carries lots of baggage. It can mean different things in different contexts. We don’t open 1 Corinthians 7, for instance, and see Paul talking about singleness specifically, but rather a host of related concepts like virginity and betrothal. And elsewhere in Scripture we see categories like widowhood and examples like the eunuchs in Matthew (19:12). So we need to be flexible in how we talk about singleness, recognizing some of the assumptions we’re bringing to that concept.

What is the chief problem with how today’s evangelicals understand singleness?

The chief problem is that, by and large, we have an impoverished theological understanding of singleness. And I see two problematic tendencies that have brought us to this state.

The first problem arises from the fact that we’re very good at looking over our shoulder to Genesis and developing a theology of marriage from Scripture’s account of creation. As Christians, however, we also look forward to what is ahead, to the new creation that Scripture promises. So we have to work out what it means to live in light of this reality we’re heading toward, one that Scripture tells us has already been inaugurated.

The second is failing to realize how much we are products of the world we live in. Paul warns in Romans 12 against being conformed to the patterns of this world (v. 2). But when it comes to matters of marriage, romance, sex, friendship, and community, we’re being discipled by the world without realizing it.

You point out that many popular evangelical writers view personal sanctification as one of the primary purposes of marriage. Why do you see this perspective as mistaken?

Marriage certainly can be helpful for sanctification. But we shouldn’t assume that getting married is the best way to become like Jesus. The Holy Spirit works within us in the context of all our relationships, marital or otherwise. I can certainly see how the Spirit uses marriage bonds to challenge our sinfulness. But you don’t need a spouse to have your sinfulness challenged, either by the Spirit or those around you.