Real Marriage

Bloggers all over the world are talking about the new book by Mark and Grace Driscoll entitled 'Real Marriage', most centered solely on the 10th chapter which talks sex in marriage. Some evangelicals going so far as to call this book a sex manual because of what amounts to 2 chapters. This shouldn't surprise me really, sex it always a hot topic, add Mark Driscoll and you have a book waiting for critics to critique. However, if you are looking for a blow by blow review on chapter 10 then you will need to look elsewhere because there is so much more to say about this book than the the last few chapters.

When asked to read and review this book my first gut response was 'no way', however then I thought about it and decided that I needed to hear from Grace. You see, I have always had the image of a yelly Mark, a Mark who seemed angry and quite honestly chauvinistic; the Mark who always manages to makes someone unhappy with something he has said.  I wanted to hear what Grace had to say, and I wanted to know if she was just as outdated as I have heard her hubby is. Oh how I was wrong about them and right to read this book!

This book is written with honesty and refreshing directness and it touches on some very tough and sensitive issues within marriage. Sex of course being one of those issues; but this book is more than that, they talk about building your partner up, respecting and loving them and learning how to love them unselfishly but most importantly how to build a loving friendship with each other that will stand the test of time. It also talks about how to find healing from the past, to forgive and to move beyond bitterness to blessings. I believe my favorite chapter was the first, in which we learn about Mark and Grace, and how they came to be together, all their faults and strengths and the dark sins that led them to an unhealthy start in marriage, but also how that marriage was redeemed.

The most important part of this book for me was how very Biblical it is. I didn't feel like I was being fed a line, there were no pat answers, it was gritty and real because that is what life is, and it repeatedly pointed us back to the Bible for answers, not to Mark Driscoll and not to Grace. The answers come from God and God alone, yes, even chapter 10.

I have to say, and this is important, that I think this book has quality written all over it, and that it would be beneficial to singles, newly weds and or people who have been married for years. It is packed with valuable information and asks you to want more from your marriage, and more from yourself as a part of a couple but also as an individual.

buy book here

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group