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Open Embrace: A Protestant Couple Rethinks Contraception
vBulletin Book Store > vBulletin books beginning with O
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Open Embrace: A Protestant Couple Rethinks Contraception |
Author: Sam Torode
Published: 2002-03 |
List price: $16.00
Our price: $14.40
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As of: September 07th, 2008 04:10:46 AM
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Customer comments on this selection.
 The book has a lot of good in it, but...
The reason I am giving this a low rating is because the authors have changed their views. The statement on their web site was laughable, its sad how far people can fall.
 Not Entirely Convincing
I liked the book, it was a quick easy read. But it's not a keeper. I really feel passionate on the issue of contraception for the Christian couple. I feel this book was more like an idea than a teaching. It seemed the authors were trying to avoid stepping on anyones toes by rather just giving you something to think about rather than share their honest opinions. If I wasn't already letting God control my fertility, this book wouldn't convince me.
This way lies madness.
For the novice, a couple things need to be definitively stated here: Firstly, the Bible says exactly *nothing* about Birth Control, neither pro nor con. Everyone's opinion on the subject, from the Pope on down to John Q. Believer of *any* sect of Christianity is voicing just that: opinion. That's fine, one is allowed to have their own opinion, but they shouldn't mask it as "God's Law," or attempt to apologize it in as "What God meant, but didn't actually say." (For that matter, there's no condemnation of masterbation in the bible either, and the Catholic obsession over the subject stems from a willful misreading of the story of Onan).
The basic concept of Protestantism was to free Christianity from the excesses, corruption, and stifling traditions of Catholicism, and on a functional level, the idea was to only "Speak on those subjects the Bible speaks on, and to be silent where the Bible is silent." The point is, quite simply, that a protestant is to behave in accordance with the things the Bible specifically says, and on subjects that the bible doesn't mention, it's up to your own discression, so long as it is not otherwise immoral. Illicit sex outside of marriage is condemned, so obviously that's bad, as is witchcraft and homosexuality: there's no getting around those if you're Protestant. However, there's no mention of flying in airplanes, voting libertarian, or living in North America, and so all of those things are, therefore, a matter of taste, and not a matter of Divine Command, no matter what the individual may say to the contrary.
My problem with this book is that it asks the reader to take upon him/herself more burden than God Himself requires of them, and it disingenuously presents it in an apologetic fashion, trying to dupe impressionable readers into thinking "This is what God really meant." I have a problem with any "Christian" book that misrepresents the bible, as should anyone who (like me) calls themselves a Christian. It implies that people who do more than is asked of them in this regard will have a more full, rewarding life than 'weaker' people who actually want to have sex with their spouses just because - hey, let's face it: sex is fun - and it implies that people who actually want to have sex are somehow inferior or less in love than those who hold out. This, despite the fact that the Bible clearly says husbands and wives are not to deny themselves to each other.
This book represents a maddening new kind of Fundamentalism in which the Bible itself has only talismanic value, to be quoted only when it confirms preconceived notions (Wether good or bad) that the individual has, and to be misrepresented when it says otherwise, or simply used to bludgeon someone over the head with, knowing that few people - even Christians - have a good working knowledge of the book anyway.
Speaking as a life-long Protestant, I find this book to be disturbing.
Closed Embrace: A Greek Orthodox Couple Rethinks Contraception - Again
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.
Never mind....
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.
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