Customer Reviews

Open Embrace: A Protestant Couple Rethinks Contraception

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Four years after writing this book, the Torodes have changed their mind on natural family planning. Why? It's apparently too difficult and causes too much guilt to the husband in a married relationship (...huh?). They no longer advocate NFP, and instead condone certain forms of contraception (google "Open Embrace" - one of the top hits is an essay that rejects the principles set forth in this book). This may or may not have any bearing, but they've also joined the Greek Orthodox church - as such, I'm not exactly sure if there's any part of the book's title that's actually true for the authors any more. Do some homework on the Torodes before you purchase this book to see if it's worthwhile to buy it; this doesn't mean that I'm necessarily condemning or endorsing it, but ask yourself whether you'd want to take the advice of a couple who have recanted their position a mere four years after publication.

From a slightly more cynical perspective, I can't help but wonder why the Torodes are still allowing the book to be sold if they no longer agree with what they've written in it. While they might be embarassed with the book's contents, I'm sure they're not embarassed about spending the royalties.

Sam and Bethany have done a beautiful job with Open Embrace! Humble, practical, inspiring, down-to-earth, well-written, and easy-to-read, it is a book that every couple should read. Singles will appreciate its message as well. Rarely have I read a book which said so clearly what I thought and believed on a subject. Bethany writes so sweetly of the blessing of motherhood, sharing from her heart. And Sam does a great yet humble job of laying forth their findings about birth control and natural family planning. They don't force an opinion on you, but leave the reader to draw their own conclusion, encouraging you to pray and study about it for yourselves. This couple has stood up as a voice for their generation. May they be an inspiration to young and old alike to follow God's design for love and family!

The preface says: "the previous generation pioneered in forgetting the oldest things. Perhaps this generation will pioneer in remembering them."

If you are looking for an alternative to Birth Control in your Christian marriage, this is the primer for you: a first-person account by a husband and wife team, Sam & Bethany Torode, on the merits of Natural Family Planning (NFP) in their marriage and a short survey on the fall from grace of contemporary Evangelical leadership in the realm of sexual intimacy and attitudes towards the procreation of children. This is a very well and personably written marriage account with grounding in the historical and doctrinal position of the Church through the ages, transcending any particular denominational affiliation. An exhilirating, joyful marriage primer to be recommended for engaged couples, newlyweds, and a sobering side-hand indictment of popular attitudes inside the Evangelical community.

This young couple articulately reflects a growing conscience across Christian denominations on the physical dangers of the birth control pill and on the spiritual benefits of listening to the wisdom of Christians who have gone before us. A hard hitting book that is destined to help rally a coalescing movement in the Protestant Evangelical world . The writers write with a comfort level that comes from growing up in the Evangelical church, but also from first-hand experience in rubbing shoulders with other living and genuine believers in the Orthodox and the Roman Catholic community. "We are not alone!" is the refreshing rallying spirit of this marriage primer.

This book has a "rage de vivre" that is refreshing, unequivocally prolife, and completely in sync with other Christians who have embraced and experienced the notion that in Christian marriage can be found joy and contentment as God intended it to be. Instead of a gradual dissapearance into oblivion, the Christian life is meant to be one of perpetual and exciting growth, and in the area of sexuality and the procreation of children, the Torodes leave no room for exception. This is the antidote to your average pre-marriage counseling book. It will make you believe in love all over again.

It's important for anyone considering this book to know that a mere five years later the authors now disagree with the main argument of the book (though I'm sure they'd love for you to buy one anyway). Now that they've laid a guilt trip on their readers, the Torodes have apparently changed their minds about NFP [...]. They now think that "NFP often lays an unfair burden of guilt on men" and "it's a theological attack on women to always require that abstinence during the time of the wife's peak sexual desire" (a less passive and more honest way of stating this would be to say that "Sam and Bethany Torode have laid an unfair burden of guilt..." and "Sam and Bethany Torode have launched a theological attack on women..."). One would hope that next time Eerdmans will be more cautious about giving a hearing to such inexperienced authors, and that the hastily offered opinions of the Torodes not be taken very seriously in whatever other books they write.

I wish that more Protestant leaders and couples would read this book and seriously examine the issue of contraception. When my husband and I were in our pre-marital class, we tried to address contraception and the abortive aspects of the Pill and our views were completely dismissed. I am so glad that a Protestant couple has finally written a book about this. Natural Family Planning is all to often pushed aside without any consideration. This issue was a small step in my beginning to look into Church history and eventually being received into the Catholic Church. The things I have learned about contraception and NFP are often dismissed because I am not taken seriously by my Protestant friends. I hope that this book greatly impacts the Protestant community and that Christians begin to seriously examine this important issue. The only reason I give this book 4 stars is that I wish it were longer. But it is an excellent introduction to the moral controversy that contraceptive use presents to Christians of all denominations.

I am a convert to Catholicism, and I was drawn to OPEN EMBRACE because I was interested in exploring Christian thinking about contraception more deeply. Frankly, I didn't expect much from this slim volume, which is written by a young Protestant couple. I thought it would be a bit lightweight. I could not have been more wrong.

Sam and Bethany Torode share the exploration which led them to enter into a marriage without artificial contraception. They have honed in on the central arguments, and they present them with startling, succinct clarity. Each chapter covers a single aspect of the topic in just a few pages - going straight to the heart of the matter. The resulting book allows one to cover the topic in a short evening.

But the real beauty of OPEN EMBRACE, which I will carry with me for a long while, is the profound faith of this young couple. Their love for God and each other shines through every single line. This is no academic exercise, but rather a deeply-felt walk with God. I feel blessed to have been allowed to share in it, and I am grateful to them for allowing me to see the spiritual beauty of a marriage that is genuinely open to life. I am a better Christian for having spent a few hours with this remarkable couple.

My husband and I are newlyweds, like the Torodes, and we greatly appreciated the timeless wisdom and fresh insights this couple brings to the discussion about Christian marriage. Though we had already embraced the historical Christian teaching against contraception and are using Natural Family Planning as our means of spacing our children, we were challenged by this book to reconsider how long to wait before having children. For all Christians concerned about birth control issues, particularly regarding the Pill, this book is an absolute must-read.

Though the book does not claim to offer any practical or technical information about Natural Family Planning, there is one statement that is incorrect. They say that only 3-7 days of abstinence are required per menstrual cycle if a couple is using NFP to postpone or avoid pregnancy. 7-10 days is the minimum abstinence requirement for the NFP-using couples we know, ourselves included. But as for the philosophy and reasons behind NFP use in marriage, this book is among the best.

I am in my junior year in college, and my friends are starting to get married. Birth control has become a frequently discussed topic, and when I stumbled across this little book things changed. Several of us have decided that, when the time comes, NFP is the best choice for us.

The Natural Family Planning (NFP) method isn't frequently heard of in Protestant circles, but boy does it ever make sense! The Torodes make an excellent case by simply presenting factual information interspersed with their own story. They have a wisdom that exceeds their years--even my mom was impressed, and she's tough! This would be an excellent discussion for a Christian book group and should be required reading in premarital counseling. Involving the husband in the fertility process more and making every child's conception a desired event are good ideas if you ask me...

The Torodes discuss all of the widely available birth control options that are widely available today (except for some really new ones that administer the same drugs with the same effect, i.e. nuva ring or patch versus the pill). Their reasons for not chosing one method or another are given briefly. I think that to make a decision that was as fully informed as possible, one might want to look further into what she says. Not that it's wrong at all, but because it's not too in-depth. This book isn't a manual, though. It is an excellent starting place.

The authors are a young couple recently married who share their thinking about sex, marriage, and contraception. The book offers a compelling alternative to the unquestioned use of contraception. The authors main purpose is to encourage readers to examine for themselves the facts about contraception and Natural Family Planning. Whatever your position on the subject of contraception, this is a book which will provide food for serious thought. Granddparents and other members of the extended family will find this a book that will be helpful.

This book could be very helpful for all engaged and married Christian couples, as so many Protestants today don't give contraception a second thought. I don't agree with them on every single point they make, but they certainly criticize contraception adequately in order to make people truly think about what they're using.