Sex, Love, and Marriage in the 21st Century: The Next Sexual Revolution [Paperback]

Timothy Perper (Author), Martha Cornog (Author), Robert T. Francoeur (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1999

Love, sex, and marriage are changing faster than ever before in human history. The current tidal wave of social changes will continue into the next century, and we will have to adapt our sexual values and relationships to these accelerating changes.

These 22 honest, authentic stories tell of the unconventional paths pioneering church leaders and spiritually-aware women and men have taken in their quest to link their sexuality with their spiritual needs.

Some might see in these unorthodox explorations only tales of promiscuous couplings. But these are not stories of wild thrill-seekers. These are tales told from the core of their being about their deeply felt need for genuine, responsible love and intimacy within a spiritual context.

Their journeys do not promise paradise or instant happiness, as popular magazines do with recipes for lifelong marital bliss and fiery passion. These sojourners have much to teach us, even when we decide that this or that path is not for us. Their individual paths are not nearly as important as the simple message of God and Eros being inseparable that underlies journey. God and Eros can come together in many different relationships. And they must come together if we want to nourish and fulfill the divine spark at the core of our being. These women and men challenge our assumptions and our willingness to adapt to our radically changing world.

Product Details

• Paperback: 244 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse.com (November 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1583483667
• ISBN-13: 978-1583483664
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,459,120 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

As a stay-at-home mom with three little kids practicing yoga in the 70s, I found I really wanted to go to college where I discovered the study of psychology and philosophy. After 10 years as an undergraduate, I dropped out and studied t'ai chi. During this time all of the pieces began to fit together and I knew I had to write the book I wanted to read.

I finished graduate school, and began to teach holistic health, psychology, and women's studies courses. Much of what I said in those classrooms can now be found in my book. I combined the teachings of Freud, Jung, and Erikson with the ancient teachings regarding meridians, auras and chakras. Strange bedfellows, indeed!

Using our intuition provides insight about how the body and mind work together for the highest good. We can be healthy and have healthier relationships when we understand how Emotional and Social IQ are supported by the physical, mental, and spiritual systems that surround us. We can take advantage of thousands of years of study when we open our mind to alternative ways of thinking about the connection between our energy field and all the other people who come in contact with us.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An antidote to conventional thinking, October 17, 2001

By 

Jim Fleckenstein (Herndon, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sex, Love, and Marriage in the 21st Century: The Next Sexual Revolution (Paperback)

The 22 moving stories in this volume are a welcome antidote to conventional thinking about sexuality, spirituality, marriage, monogamy (no, they are not synonymous), and life. Under the influence of Saints Paul and Augustine, Western Christian thought has long driven a wedge between body and spirit. The stories in this book point the way for us to move beyond that false dichotomy.

These are the stories of real people, struggling with real issues of how to nurture and support the Divine within, not by denial, possessiveness, or compressing love into a tiny box of "acceptable" dimensions. Casting off the falsely imposed shackles of Greco-Roman asceticism concentrated through the lens of Puritanism, the people whose stories are told in this volume offer a message of hope to all of us.

These men and women, lay and clergy, drawn from an array of spiritual paths, are not self-indulgent, spoiled, immature, lascivious, lustful, or any of the other pejoritive epithets likely to be hurled by the ignorant defenders of the confining status quo. Their quest to recognize, nurture, and sustain the love instilled in us all by the Creator of life is sober, mature, responsible, and considered.

I strongly urge anyone who wants to have a better, more mature understanding of the alternative ways of loving that we all may ethically, morally, and responsibly choose to read this book.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sex, Love and Marriage in the 21st Century: The Next Sexual, July 6, 2000

By 

C. Heinsohn (Elmdale, KS USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sex, Love, and Marriage in the 21st Century: The Next Sexual Revolution (Paperback)

I appreciate Bill's remarks, but this revolution is not for future generations; it is for ours. There are many of us around Bill's age who have been practicing responsible non-mononogamy for years. As such an individual, this book gave me words for concepts I have struggled to verbalize.

Each of the 22 contributors offered their own personal stories of their journeys to join their sexual selves with their spiritual selves. Our culture has long tried to deny the natural connection between these two elemental parts of each human.

For me, the most enlightening aspect of this book was the devotion to achieving the spiritual/sexual connection that many authors communicated. Their journey was not one of self-pleasuring but rather one of self-fulfillment by connecting with the divine aspect within themselves and others with whom they related deeply. Their's were indeed religious quests.

My rating is not five stars in spite of my glowing remarks about the book. There are technical difficulties with editing that make it a four star book rather that five stars.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Simply doesn't make the grade, April 15, 2005

By 

Anthony D Ravenscroft (Santa Fe, NM United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sex, Love, and Marriage in the 21st Century: The Next Sexual Revolution (Paperback)

Color me unimpressed. It's a good book &, if you have a copy, then by all means read it & keep your mind open.

But, considering what's gone whizzing by in the past 30+ years, I had very high hopes.

First of all, let's be clear: THERE WAS NO "SEXUAL REVOLUTION." Okay? It fizzled. The "revolution" of the 1960s was an utter flop compared to the 1920s. The "changes" we went through in the '60s & '70s were a cause of widespread snickering that continues to this day. Hell, those of us who went through it are watching in mute horror as our kids & grandkids are being put through "abstinence" courses in high school -- yeah, some revolution.

Gays & lesbians fought an on-going & often bloody fight for their so-called "rights." Planned Parenthood employees know that there are snipers & bombers looking for them at work, & strangers targeting their kids at school with "your mommy murders babies" campaigns.

This book isn't bad. It simply re-plows turf that was covered by the pioneers long ago -- it's like discovering Cleveland: kinda been done.

I'm not merely being mean. Go back to some of the "classics" in the field. Try Rustum & Della Roy, "Honest Sex"; Joan & Larry Constantine, "Group Marriage"; anything co-edited by Roger Libby, starting with "Marriage & Alternatives"; James Ramey, "Intimate Friendships"; Deb Anapol, "Polyamory."

BT-DT.

Really, this is second-rate "ammunition" for any sort of revolution. Maybe the authors will produce another volume, & move along into the 1980s.