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The Act of Marriage

The Act of Marriage

List Price: $6.99
Your Price: $6.29
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: too technical and sterile!
Review: The Act of Marriage, did have its good points- but also alot of bad points. For those going into sex blindly, it may be a good read, however, I found it very manual like. The authors presented sex in a step by step form and did not leave much room for experimentation. Tey made it sound like sex had to be done in a certain orderly and ordered way or it would not be right. (...gently massage the area around the vulva for 5 minutes then proceed to massage the clitoris for ten minutes, making sure finger nails are cut and clean) Sex needs to be spontaneous and fun sometimes! The good part of the book was the mentioning of the Kegel exercises. I was happy to read about them, seeing that you can read about the wonders they do in magazines like Cosmo, I am glad that the Christian women can get in on the info!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Clean and Tasteful
Review: The authors did an excellent job of tastefully explaining the basics of a very personal and private subject. A must for every newlywed couple. A must for marriage counselors and clergy. A must for anyone wanting to understand what is happening with their bodies, regardless of how long they've been sexually active.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Breaking it Down
Review: This book breaks it all down in plain blunt english. It answers questions and goes into great detail about what your too afraid or just don't know to ask your spouse. I picked up this book on the advice of a very smart lady, who has "been there and done that". All i can say is that after i read it, i caught my husband reading it. It opened up lines of communication that had been closed for years. Excellent Book!!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: misleading information
Review: This book gives misleading information on Natural Family Planning (referring to it as the Rhythm Method). Didn't the LaHayes do any current research, or are they just going by very old cliches? My husband and I have been very successfully practicing NFP and it has strenghtened our marraige and respect for God's gifts. To understand God's true purpose for sexual love read Open Embrace by Sam & Bethany Torode instead.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Plus on Practical, Negative on Gender Stereotyping
Review: This book has a lot of good practical information on sex for the Christian contemplating marriage or the newly married who has little or no sexual experience. The authors are frank, which is a plus.

However, this book in my opinion reinforces unhealthy and untrue gender stereotypes. In Tim's pastoral experience counseling women, they all seem to have blushed at the word sex. I wonder if he did all his counseling in the 50s. Men are portrayed as having been designed by God to experience sex primarily as a physical experience, while for women it is not very much a physical act but is an emotional act. My husband experiences it just as much as an emotional and relational act as he does a physical act, as I believe God intended for men, as I also believe he intended for women. I as a woman experience it as a physical act as much as I do an emotional/relational act. I have plenty of friends who are the same way. So much for the gender stereotypes.

The propagation of these old school views on gender angered me so much in fact that I ripped the book into pieces (literally) and threw it away. There are other good Christian books that frankly deal with the topic without pigeon-holing the genders or reinforcing an attitude that has excused men from being disconnected from their emotions and their wives hearts in the most intimate act invented by God. It is an attitude that has encouraged women to be available to meet her husband's physical "needs," as if he needs sex to live, or as if her sexual drive is tiny by comparison (which I believe after the Sexual Revolution society has begun to realize is not the case).

A minor issue but a point of annoyance for me: Tim reminds women to look their best when their husband comes home from work, while the the authors feel no need to say the same to men. This assumes that a) men are the breadwinners while women stay at home to do the domestic deeds (umm, I think times they are a'changin') and that b) women need to be reminded to spend time making themselves look good. Um, 'scuse me, but which gender tends to be more obcessed with their looks, and which gender is the one that tends to look sloppier and could use the reminding. ;-)

For all my criticism, I admit I came to the book with anger-at-men issues, so the presence of some of these issues really lit my fuse; the book is valuable to those that can recognize and overlook the unhealthy gender stereotyping. It does contain much practical, helpful information about the physicality of sex, a topic which Christians, oddly, too often seem unable to talk about amongst ourselves. If the above topics bother you too, though, read The Gift of Sex by Penner and Penner.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: READ THIS BOOK
Review: This book is a must read before getting married. It clears up a lot of misconceptions and sets correct expectations. At the same time, the book correctly portrays sex as fun and enjoyable, while still maintaining a reverent attitude. After 8 years of marriage, I want to go back and read it again!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Must read before marriage
Review: This book is a must read before getting married. It clears up a lot of misconceptions and sets correct expectations. At the same time, the book correctly portrays sex as fun and enjoyable, while still maintaining a reverent attitude. After 8 years of marriage, I want to go back and read it again!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Our Christian Marriage is now hotter than a FIRECRACKER!
Review: This book opened my husband's and my eyes -- and then our hearts! I had always been afraid to ask my husband to do what I wanted in the bedroom, thinking, foolishly, he would come to think of me as one of the prostitutes he regularly ministers to as part of our outreach program. Well, did this book change my mind! I have learned that "crotchless" does NOT equal "unsaved." And our marriage is so strong now, nothing can pull us apart. Thank you, thank you!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A must read for all engaged or married couples.
Review: This book says all the things mom was too embarrassed to pass on to her daughter. Plus all the things dad didn't know to pass on to his son. God made man and woman very different, but he made them fit together in a wonderful way. This book covers the physical aspects of marriage in a wonderful Christian way.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Good
Review: This book was great for those of us who entered marriage with no previous sexual experience. It explained things and offered helpful advice. Maybe some people don't need any tips but I was grateful to gain some knowledge about this area of my marriage that is important to us. It was also wonderful to have it presented in a religious way as part of a marriage rather than from magazine suggestions regarding sex while dating.


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