One Man, One Woman: A Catholics Guide to Defending Marriage [Paperback]

Dale O'Leary (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 15, 2007

From global U.N. conferences to small parish gatherings, for over a decade veteran pro-family advocate Dale O Leary has been fighting against the redefinition of marriage, and educating others to do the same. But along the way she has continually encountered one dismaying problem: earnest people who want to defend the traditional definition of marriage one man, one woman but who find themselves unable to counter the many myths and misunderstandings spread by gay-marriage propagandists. The first ever marriage-defense book written with Catholics in mind, One Man, One Woman does not merely quote Scripture; it builds on the philosophical personalism of John Paul II and the natural theology of Thomas Aquinas, and treats marriage in its sacramental fullness. And yet it does much more than unpack Church teaching: One Man, One Woman uniquely draws together every facet of the gay marriage issue: politics, biology, social science, religion, philosophy, and social activism. O Leary bares the ideological roots of gay activism, dissects its tactics, and gives you the tools to defeat it in your local school or city hall. She unearths long-suppressed research demonstrating the real cause of same-sex attraction (scientists have never found a gay gene and never will). She shows how marriage redefinition in Europe and Canada has already taken a predictable (to all but the radical social engineers behind such experiments) toll on marriage rates, family stability, and the well-being of children. And she points to ominous signs that the United States is on a similar course: towards a future in which marriage is voided of meaning, religion is censored of its bigoted teachings, and schoolchildren are forced to tolerate sin and sickness against their parents wishes. But the fight is not lost yet, and O Leary includes a twelve-point practical strategy for protecting the ages-old definition of marriage. Whether you re collecting ballot signatures, building ecumenical coalitions, or just trying to answer the challenges of a friend or relative, One Man, One Woman is your single source for the understanding you need to defend marriage with truth and compassion.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dale O'Leary is an award-winning journalist and internationally known lecturer on marriage, feminism, life issues, and the Culture War. Her previous book, The Gender Agenda: Redefining Equality, has been published in three languages.

Product Details

• Paperback: 340 pages
• Publisher: Sophia Institute Press (August 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933184299
• ISBN-13: 978-1933184296
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,002,362 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spot on, August 10, 2009

By 

Grover S. Stuart - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: One Man, One Woman: A Catholics Guide to Defending Marriage (Paperback)

I differ with the reviewers who rated the book poorly. Having personal acquaintance with members of a group is not necessary if writing about said group by studying the available literature. It's very common for sociologists to summarize research about a human group without ever doing primary research. That is what this author has done.

The statements made in this book match what I have observed first hand among my male homosexual friends and coworkers. And the author makes clear that the book was written not out of bigotry or hatred, but out of a need to pursue the truth. The reasons some are homosexual and some are hetero is under-explored because of the anger such research inspires in members of the homosexual community.

To another reviewer-- I don't believe any book deserves to be recycled, especially not one as topical and well researched as this one.

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic resource, November 13, 2009

By 

S. Johnson - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: One Man, One Woman: A Catholics Guide to Defending Marriage (Paperback)

This book is an excellent resource for anyone wanting to cut through the propaganda regarding same-sex so-called "marriage." I think that the book would be especially helpful for those who understand that there is something wrong with the idea of changing the definition of marriage but cannot completely articulate why this is so. In spite of the subtitle, there is very little that is exclusively Catholic about this book, so I hope that it will appeal to a wider range of people than just Catholics...truth is truth.

Obviously, those who already strongly disagree that marriage is necessarily between one man and one woman aren't going to like the book, hence the negative reviews.

45 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Marriage is worth defending, September 21, 2007

By 

William Muehlenberg (Melbourne Australia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: One Man, One Woman: A Catholics Guide to Defending Marriage (Paperback)

This book seeks to do two things: affirm the traditional understanding of heterosexual marriage, and challenge the homosexual offensive. Of course the two go together. There is probably no greater threat to the institutions of marriage and family than that posed by the militant homosexual lobby.

O'Leary rightly argues that the homosexual assault on marriage and family is part of a much bigger political and ideological onslaught which she terms the "Sexual Left". It is a good designation, and refers to a number of malicious fellow travellers: the sexual liberationists, the radical feminists, the pro-abortion crowd, the population control movement, and the homosexual lobby.

Together these various activist groups and social engineers have been causing great harm to not just marriage and family, but to children and religious freedom as well. In this book O'Leary shows just how all these things are under attack, and demonstrates the importance of heterosexual marriage.

As to the issue of homosexuality, O'Leary covers all the bases. She challenges a number of myths that have long been peddled by the homosexual lobby and its supporters. These include the claim that 1 in 10 is homosexual; that homosexuality is genetically based, that homosexuals cannot change; that all relationships are of equal value; that children do just fine raised in same-sex households; and that the Bible does not condemn committed homosexual relationships.

Each of these claims is examined in some detail and found to be without factual basis. Consider the issue of same-sex parenting. Is it really true that family structure makes no difference to the outcome of children? The social science data clearly shows that family structure does matter.

The data is twofold: positively, the data shows how children thrive with two biological opposite-sex parents, and negatively, the data shows the harm done to children when raised in other households, especially same-sex "families". Yet a typical homosexual response is to say these negative outcomes are simply due to "homophobia" in society.

Yet as O'Leary points out, even with widespread social acceptance of heterosexual divorce, the pain and negative outcomes for children has not lessened. So why should we assume that "even in a totally accepting society, permanently and purposefully fatherless and motherless children [in same-sex households] will simply `adjust'?"

The risks to children raised in same-sex households are many. They are of course put in a situation - deliberately - where they will be deprived of either a biological mother or biological father. The research on the risks of such a situation is by now simply overwhelming and irrefutable.

Children will also be in the care of two adults who still are suffering from gender identity confusion, which is what homosexuality is really all about. People who are same-sex attracted suffer from more emotional, psychological and developmental problems than do heterosexuals, as the research so clearly demonstrates, and it is in that less than ideal environment the children must be raised.

Children are also at greater risk of sexual abuse if raised in any other family structure than the two-parent biological family, as O'Leary documents.

Family structure does matter, in other words, and children should not be the guinea pigs of radical social experimentation. The commodification of children is simply magnified in alternative lifestyle households.

O'Leary also spends a large portion of this book looking at the same-sex marriage debate, and the enormous negative consequences which follow from the legal recognition of homosexual marriage. Many problems arise. As just one example, when we legalise same-sex marriage, we open a door which no one can easily shut. The slippery slope sets in big time, in other words.

The growing acceptance of the polyamory movement is just one case in point. "After all, if same-sex couples have rights, why not those whose preferred family form involves three or more partners?" Indeed, as O'Leary argues, the case for polyamory may in fact be stronger than the case for same-sex marriage:

"In contrast to same-sex marriage, there is historical and cultural precedent for it." Moreover, unlike "same-sex marriage, polygamy provides a father and a mother (and then some) for children".

O'Leary concludes by offering a 12-point strategy for taking on the Sexual Left in general and the same-sex marriage advocates in particular. These include: telling the truth about homosexuality; codifying into law the true nature of heterosexual marriage; informing people of the harm children especially experience because of the agenda of the Sexual left; and living well our own marriages.

The battle over marriage is far from over, and it is unclear which side will prevail. But for those concerned about protecting marriage and family, this book is an important part of our arsenal, and deserves careful reading.