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by Agnes Maude Royden (Author)
This is a fantastic, enlightening treatise on healthy relationships and sex from the perspective of Agnes Maude Royden, the first woman to earn a Doctor of Divinity.
What was progressive in 1921 is now common sense advice for Christians of today, especially those who want to get married. I recommend starting in Chapter 2 or 3 because it takes a little while to get going on things that aren't issues of 1921, but the rest of it was so engrossing I couldn't stop reading and highlighting.
Royden argues that sex was created by God to be a sacred expression of commitment and true love, and to use sex for anything less than this is corrupt and empty - a sham. However, she also argues that just because two people are married doesn't mean they share this kind of love, and just because two people are unmarried does not mean that they cannot share this kind of love, because romantic love is something that transcends documents signed by human institutions.
She argues that many a marriage is upheld as holy when the only thing "holy" about it is a piece of paper, and that thus people should, with careful consideration, allow for divorce under certain circumstances, in order to uphold the ideal of a true sacred and loving marriage. She devotes a chapter or so on the differences (and non-differences) between men and women, on marital rape, and on the harmful ignorance of young women about sex at the time of their wedding.
Regardless on your opinions on sex before (and after) marriage, this book provides an interesting, progressive theological perspective on sex and marriage that deserves to be read and considered by everyone from conservative to liberal, and will be understood by Christians and non-Christians alike.
