The Act of Marriage

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The Act of Marriage
Tim LaHaye - The Act of Marriage The Beauty of Sexual Love.jpeg
Authors Tim LaHaye and Beverly LaHaye
SubjectChristian studies books, Marriage, Self-help books, Sex manuals
Publisher Zondervan
Publication date
1976, 1998 Updated edition
Publication placeUnited States
Pages400
ISBN 978-0-310-21200-3

The Act of Marriage: The Beauty of Sexual Love is a self-help book, written by Christian writers Tim LaHaye and Beverly LaHaye.

Contents

Summary

The Act of Marriage explains sexual satisfaction for Christian married couples. [1] It is based on several books of the Bible, notably the Song of Songs. [2] The book is noteworthy for opening up dialogue among Christians about their sexuality [3] [4] – especially female sexuality and sexual satisfaction. [5] It discusses birth control and concepts of sexology. [4] The book seeks to depict enjoyment of sex within marriage as positive rather than sinful. It frames marital sex as an important part of a complementarian, divinely designed relationship – with men as aggressive, sexually voracious leaders whose submissive wives provide them with sexual satisfaction to boost their egos and thereby make them more confident leaders, as part of God's design for gender roles. [6]

Reception

As of 2016, 2.5 million copies of the book were sold. [4]

Criticism

Rolling Stone magazine criticized the book as "an explicit Christian sex manual, condemning petting, abortion and homosexuality." [7] However, many Christian groups hail the book as a milestone in contemporary Christian sex education. [8] [9] [10] [11]

Academic study

Within academia, The Act of Marriage is viewed as an interesting insight into the ever-changing relationship between mainstream religion and sexual practice. Michigan State professor Amy DeRogatis examined the book and others of the sort to explore the impacts they have on gender roles within the evangelical Protestant tradition. [2] While it pushes the boundaries of accepted sexual practice within evangelical heterosexual marriage to that point, it upholds a strictly complementarian view of gender. At some points within the text it describes men as "beasts" and "uncontrollable" [12] [ page needed ] in the context of sexual desire, while it paints women as pleasers and far less sexual than their husbands.[ citation needed ]

References

  1. Cerling, Jr., C. E. (March 18, 1977). "Sexual Technique for Christians". Christianity Today . Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  2. 1 2 DeRogatis, Amy (March 13, 2005). "What Would Jesus Do? Sexuality and Salvation in Protestant Evangelical Sex Manuals, 1950s to the Present" . Church History. 74 (1): 97–137. doi:10.1017/S0009640700109679. S2CID   162650465 via Cambridge University Press.
  3. Chapman, Roger (2010). Culture Wars: An Encyclopedia of Issues, Viewpoints, and Voices. M.E. Sharpe. p. 313. ISBN   978-0-7656-2250-1 via Google Books.
  4. 1 2 3 Zimmerman, Jonathan (July 29, 2016). "Tim LaHaye's sex-ed legacy: Before he wrote novels about the apocalypse, he and his wife opened right-wing Christian married couples' eyes". New York Daily News . Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  5. Heller, J. 2002. "Marriage, Womanhood, and the Search for 'Something More': American Evangelical Women's Best-selling 'Self Help' Books, 1972–1979", The Journal of Religion and Pop Culture, 2. "The Journal of Religion and Popular Culture". Archived from the original on 2012-03-18. Retrieved 2017-08-18.
  6. Du Mez, Kristin Kobes (2020). Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation. Liveright Publishing Corporation. p. 91. ISBN   9781631499050. OCLC   1120090251.
  7. Dreyfuss, Robert (January 28, 2004). "Reverend Doomsday: According to Tim LaHaye, the Apocalypse is now". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on August 6, 2007. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  8. Daniel Radosh (April 9, 2008). "Holy sex!". Salon.com. Archived from the original on April 11, 2008.
  9. Laura M. Brotherson, CFLE. ""Don't Forget the Honeymoon!"". Meridian Magazine. Archived from the original on August 28, 2008.
  10. "Husband / Wife Relations". familyfed.org. Archived from the original on October 20, 2008.
  11. "Marriage Moments". www.marriagemoments.org.
  12. LaHaye, Tim; LaHaye, Beverly (1998). The Act of Marriage: The Beauty of Sexual Love. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan.