''The Act of Marriage: The Beauty of Sexual Love'' is a

self-help Self-help or self-improvement is a self-guided improvement''APA Dictionary of Physicology'', 1st ed., Gary R. VandenBos, ed., Washington: American Psychological Association, 2007.—economically, intellectually, or emotionally—often with a subst ...

book, written by

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

writers

Tim LaHaye Timothy Francis LaHaye (April 27, 1926 – July 25, 2016) was an American Baptist evangelical Christian Minister of religion, minister who wrote more than 85 books, both fiction and non-fiction, including the ''Left Behind (series), Left Behind ...

and

Beverly LaHaye Beverly LaHaye (born April 30, 1929) is an American Christian conservative activist and author who founded Concerned Women for America (CWA) in San Diego, California in 1979. She was the wife of Tim LaHaye, the evangelical Christian minister and p ...

Summary

''The Act of Marriage'' explains the sexual satisfaction for Christian married couples. It is based on several books of the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

, notably the Song of Songs. Indeed, the book is noteworthy for opening up dialogue among Christians about their sexuality —especially female sexuality and sexual satisfaction. It discusses birth control and concepts of

sexology Sexology is the scientific study of human sexuality, including human sexual interests, behaviors, and functions. The term ''sexology'' does not generally refer to the non-scientific study of sexuality, such as social criticism. Sexologists app ...

. Jonathan Zimmerman
Tim LaHaye's sex-ed legacy: Before he wrote novels about the apocalypse, he and his wife opened right-wing Christian married couples' eyes
nydailynews.com, USA, July 29, 2016

Reception

In 2016, 2.5 million copies of the book were sold.

Criticism

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' magazine criticized the book as "an explicit Christian sex manual, condemning petting,

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

and

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

." However, many Christian groups hail the book as a milestone in contemporary Christian

sex education Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including emotional relations and responsibilities, human sexual anatomy, Human sexual activity, sexual acti ...

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, took a deep look at this book and others of the sort to explore the impacts they have on gender roles within Protestant Evangelical tradition. While it pushes the boundaries of accepted sexual practice within Evangelical heterosexual marriage to that point, it upholds a strictly

complementarian Complementarianism is a theological view in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, that men and women have different but ''complementary'' roles and responsibilities in marriage, family life, and religious leadership. The word "complementary" and it ...

view of gender. At some points within the text it describes men as "beasts" and "uncontrollable" in the context of sexual desire, while it paints women as pleasers and far less sexual than their husbands.LaHaye, Tim, and Beverly LaHaye. The Act of Marriage: The Beauty of Sexual Love. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1998. Although this seems overly traditionalist, they were not out of line with commonly held cultural belief.

References

External links

''The Act of Marriage'' at the publisher's website

Interview
with

{{DEFAULTSORT:Act of Marriage, The 1976 non-fiction books Evangelical Christian literature Books about marriage Self-help books Sex manuals Zondervan books