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I know, myself, that I don't like kissing people I don't love, and if I do love them in the sense of being hungry for them (I'm thinking back to my single days) --- kissing made me a lot hungrier.

All kissing leads to lust? I hope not, I give Mom a kiss on the cheek when I leave the house. Sometimes kissing is just kissing, most of the time, it's just a simple way of showing affection. Ms. Eden's even bringing it up in an interview, tells me she's trying to go for some shock value in promoting her book. Modern people are not offended by simple affectional kissing.

Here's where I think you've made an error in judgment, my friend. Having read Dawn Eden's book "The Thrill of the Chaste," and having followed her blog, albeit intermittently, I can tell you that there is nothing "sensationalistic" or weirdly unbalanced about her.

She's somewhat reserved about after-date kissing. So was I, back in the day, when I was with (1) a date I didn't love, (2) a date who might want to precipitate this into romantic or seductive moves, or (3) a person with whom I, myself might have an urgent yearning for (but not "marriage material.") It was different with my sweetie, my (now) husband-- we kissed to our hearts' desire, oh my, when we were heading toward marriage!

So Ms. Eden is not talking about the kind of hello-kiss you give Mom, the peck on the forehead (and swat on the top of the head) you give your son, or the kind of hug and kiss you might get from a parishioner after church. If you would look a little further into her message, you would know that.