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68 of 69 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Collection of Vast Wisdom, June 26, 2005
This review is from: Sex and the Supremacy of Christ (Paperback)
It is always big news when a new book is released under John Piper's name. Sex and the Supremacy of Christ, while listing Piper as a co-editor, contains only a few pages of Piper's writing, with the rest being written by eleven other authors. The book is divided into five parts and eleven chapters. Allow me to provide a brief overview of each of these.
The first part is entitled "God and Sex." The first two chapters comprise John Piper's contribution to the book. Piper asserts two weighty points. First, that sexuality is designed by God as a way to know God in Christ more fully. Second, that knowing God in Christ more fully is designed as a way of guarding and guiding our sexuality. Essentially he wants the reader to believe that sex was given to us so that God could use the language of sex as metaphor so we could know Him more fully. He makes quite a weak attempt at proving this assertion with passages from Ezekiel and Hosea. Unfortunately he is far from convincing and offers no substantial proof. While what he states may be true, and God may have created sexuality as a way to know God in Christ more fully, I do not find that Scripture explicitly tells us so. Thankfully these chapters are short and the book soon picks up steam.
The third chapter, written by Ben Patterson, tells us that sex is good because the God who created sex is good. God is glorified greatly when we receive His gift with thanksgiving and enjoy it the way he meant for it to be enjoyed. We can only glorify God in our sexuality when we use it as He intends for us to use it.
The second section deals with "Sin and Sex." The highlight of the entire book is David Powlison's chapter on "Restoring Pure Joy to the Sexually Broken." He provides biblical wisdom and encouragment for people who have abused sex, or who have been sexually abused. His counsel is loving and pastoral and will surely bring a glimpse of light to many for whom sex has become darkness. Many books have a chapter which alone validates the purchase of the book, and I would suggest that for Sex and the Supremacy of Christ, it is definitely this chapter.
Albert Mohler takes over for the fifth chapter and writes about homosexual marriage being a challenge to the church. As always Mohler is well-researched and insightful. He counsels Christians to love homosexuals (and every other person) more than these people love their sin, but still to see homosexual marriage as a frontal assault on the institution of marriage. While homosexuality is a grave sin, we must not regard it as being the worst of all sins (as we are prone to believe). While it is surely an awful sin in God's eyes, we are all sinners and not one of us is innocent when it comes to sexual sin.
Part three deals with "Men and Sex." Mark Dever and several co-authors challenge single men to live lives of sexual purity. They encourage men to adopt courtship as a model, for they feel it is more biblical than dating. I am not entirely convinced of this, but when I think of my daughter beginning a relationship some day, I certainly hope she courts instead of casually dates. This chapter is very similar to what one would read in any of Josh Harris' books.
Chapter seven is written by C.J. Mahaney and is entitled "Sex, Romance, and the Glory of God." This is the first I have read of Mahaney but very much enjoyed this chapter and hope to read more of his books. He provides wisdom from The Song of Solomon and interprets this book as being about sex and not being primarily an allegory for God's relationship to His church - an assessment I agree with. He challenges the married man to ensure that he has touched his wife's heart and mind before he touches her body and provides many practical pointers for doing just that.
Part four, "Women and Sex," is comprised of two chapters, and as with the men, the first of these deals with single women and the second with those who are married. Caroyln McCulley encourages women to be content with their singleness and helps women see how they can even be a snare to marriages if they are not careful. Carolyn Mahaney writes for married women. The chapter is short and not awfully informative. It includes a fairly typical list of encouragement for wives - be attractive, be available, be anticipatory, be aggressive and be adventuresome.
The final section deals with history and sex. Justin Taylor writes about Martin Luther's sexual revolution, showing the importance of Luther's contribution to the Protestant understanding of marriage and sexuality. Mark Dever closes the book with a chapter examining the Puritans and their understanding of sex.
Like most books which are written by several authors, Sex and the Supremacy of Christ seemed a little uneven. The chapters did not always flow naturally from one to the next, and some were far better than others. However, it is safe to say that while there are not many people who would find equal value in each of the chapters, any reader, whether married or single, male or female, will find at least a few of them exceedingly valuable. The collective wisdom of these men and women of God is a valuable contribution to understanding that sex is given by God and is to be used for His glory. I recommend this book.
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Positive Statement about Sex, July 26, 2005
This review is from: Sex and the Supremacy of Christ (Paperback)
This book grows out of the 2004 Desiring God National Conference with it's theme of "Sex and the Supremacy of Christ". It is a collection of essays by various authors--including John Piper, Al Mohler, Mark Dever and Ben Patterson--on subjects relating to the proper Christian view and use of the God-given gift of sex. The essays are grouped into five categories: God and Sex, Sin and Sex, Men and Sex, Women and Sex, History and Sex.
As one might expect with any book that is a collection of essays by different authors, Sex and the Supremacy of Christ is a little uneven because the quality of the essays varies. Unfortunately, the two chapters by John Piper at the beginning of the book--chapters that seemed to be intended to be the backbone of the book as a whole--were the two chapters I found to be the most unconvincing. Piper's first premise is that "sexuality is designed by God as a way to know God in Christ more fully." I suppose this may be true, but I don't think it's something that we're told in scripture, and I find the scripture passages that Piper uses to try to support this statement require quite a bit of stretching to lend any support at all. In my judgment, then, his argument on this point was unpersuasive.
But despite it's "ho-hum" beginning, there are chapters in the book that I found extremely interesting and valuable. Al Mohler's chapter titled "Homosexual Marriage as a Challenge to the Church: Biblical and Cultural Reflections" was very compelling and helpful to me because he approaches the question a bit differently from so much of what I'd read previously on the issue, writing on homosexual marriage--and marriage in general--as a theological matter. I appreciated in particular the points that in order for the church to respond adequately to the challenge that homosexual marriage presents for us, we must have a theology adequate to explain the deceptiveness of sexual sin, and a theology that has an adequate view of the victory over sin that comes through Christ's work.
I suppose it's because I'm a bit of a history buff that my favorite section of the book was the last one: the section on history and sex. I loved the chapter on Martin Luther's teachings on marriage and sex, which examined the way his teachings and life changed the church's view on the institution of marriage. I found the story of his marriage to Katherine von Bora fascinating, and I hadn't realized the influence he had on the Protestant view of sex and marriage as a good gift from God to be enjoyed rather than something given to us simply a means of procreation. There is also an interesting chapter in this section on the Puritans and their view of sex and marriage.
The sections focusing on men and sex and women and sex were quite practical in nature. They would be useful no matter what your marital status, although perhaps what's found in them is not much different than what can be found in many other Christian books on dating, courtship, sexuality, and marriage.
Overall, I'd recommend this book. No matter what your particular circumstances or interests, you will probably find several of the essays that are especially worthwhile to you. I appreciated that the whole of the book is a positive statement about sex and marriage as one of the good things we are given by God to be used as directed by him and as is pleasing to him.
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This book needed to be written a long time ago!, August 24, 2005
This review is from: Sex and the Supremacy of Christ (Paperback)
Last Spring, Justin Taylor of Between Two Worlds Blog (and Desiring God Ministries) put out a call for bloggers to review a book he had a part in - Sex and the Supremecy of Christ. I was one of the lucky few who got in early enough to be blessed with the opportunity, and below entails my thoughts on the book.
First, I would like to comment on how appropriate the subject for the book is for Christians today. As Christians, we are called to glorify God in all that we do, and within that fall our sexuality. This is often directly opposed by how the world that surrounds us views sex and sexuality. As yet to be perfected Christians we are impacted by the graphicness and pervasiveness of the inappropriate and negative message that society showers us with on a daily basis. This book serves to begin to balance that out by giving us a clear explanation on God's design for sex.
What I liked best in the book:
First, I greatly appreciate the readability of this book. With authors like John Piper and Albert Mohler, there is always the chance that it could quickly become very heady, making it a difficult read for the entry level reader. This is a book that I think most high school students could read, and I would recommend it for that application.
I suspect this book will be challenging to those who have been taught to be ashamed of sex and sexuality. It is a tragedy that some in the body of Christ have perverted one of God's greatest gifts to us in this way. This book takes great steps to undoing some of that harm, and is a great reference for developing a biblically informed view of sexuality. While it is not specifically written as an apologetic against this, it nonetheless would serve ministries well that are helping people overcome those feelings of shame.
The part I enjoyed reading the most was the section on Martin Luther and his wife. It added a needed lightness to what can sometimes be a heavy subject. It also was great to get a window into the life of one of the most influential Christians of all time.
The section I initially felt I would not find very interesting was Dr. Mohler's segment on homosexuality. I was pleasantly surprised by what he had to say. I almost always find Dr. Mohler interesting, but the past two years I have been filled to the top with data, opinions, and stories about homosexuals and Christians. Dr. Mohler made it interesting, and informative, and I suspect I will read the section again. He did not present anything new to me, but he always has a way of saying things that makes me say "I wish I could have said it that way."
I grew up in the church, and I can honestly say I did not hear much regarding any of the topics covered in this book spoken about at church. Sex was something people talked about in private. Sex was something that jokes were made about. Sex was everybody's dirty little secret. I think this book serves to shine a light in an area of much darkness for Christians throughout the world. I highly recommend the book, front to back, without any hesitation. I suspect I will be buying a few copies to share with some important people in my life who might greatly benefit from it.
What I would do different/like to see changed or added:
My criticisms are very limited. I would love to see this offered as a 3 part paperback series, with a Bible study guide to go with it. That way churches could utilize different segments with different groups or at different times. I honestly don't know if something like that is in the works, but I would suggest it if not.
Piggybacking on my previous idea, a section (or perhaps a separate tool) with sermon outlines would another great blessing for the church. Providing a framework for pastors to introduce these subjects to their congregations would be a wonderful gift. While we all know we should be hearing these kinds of things from our pulpits, all too often we are not, and we can see where that has been getting the church. Anything to enable and encourage pastors to utilize this material in their churches would add to it's impact.
I would also like to see an online resource with current info and articles pertaining the subjects discussed. There is a very nice list of references, but they are to print materials. The world is changing, and while I see the humor in asking for electronic info from a paper book, I still think it would be a nice addition for those seeking to grow deeper in these subject areas.
Final Analysis:
I give it 5 of 5 stars, with a hearty reccommendation. I suspect this will be an award winning book, topping many book lists and must read lists in the next few years.
This review was originally posted on my blog at http://mrclm.blogspot.com
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