Surprise! A brand new post on Driscollwatch!
Yes, we’re still on Hiatus, and at this point we have no plans to not be on hiatus.
So why are we posting? Well, Pastor Mark and his wife Grace have recently put out a new book called Real Marriage. The book has already sparked a bit of controversy within Christianity in that it apparently endorses anal sex within marriage. This would not be a new thing for pastor Mark. He has already endorsed the practice, with admitted reservations, on the Mars Hill Blog.
The Catholic Church condemns anal sex – even within marriage – because it is not marital in nature. A lot of non Catholic Christians – ok, even a lot of Catholics – do not take Catholic teaching on sexuality very seriously. From the outside it looks like a bunch of obscure and arbitrary, and oppressive rules that keep husbands and wives from enjoying each other completely. While there are a lot of rules, they are certainly not obscure or arbitrary. The rules that Catholics have for sex (i.e. Do not fornicate! Do not commit adultery! Do not use contraception! do not have anal sex!) are all about our freedom! Our freedom to love as God loves!
Pope John Paul II dedicated the first five years of his pontificate to teaching the faithful about real marriage. His series of Wednesday audiences (now known as the Theology of the Body) were designed to help married couples live the fullness of marriage. Young Catholics around the world are embracing the late Holy Father’s wisdom as they apply it to their vocations as husbands and wives and, yes, even celibates. The Theology of the Body is unlike any other theological work on human sexuality.
The Theology of the Body is only now being popularized. One of the leading voices in its popularization is a man named Christopher West. He himself has a controversial approach and, at his own admission, is far from perfect. But he has been quite successful at popularizing the Pope’s teaching and his book, Theology of the Body for Beginners is the best thing we have seen for men and women who aren’t well versed in theology.
So, if you are from Mars Hill OR you are a pastor from an evangelical Church, we want to buy Theology of the Body for Beginners for you. I will buy a copy of this book for the first 5 Mars Hill Church members or evangelical pastors who email me at driscollwatch@gmail.com. The things that you like about the Driscoll’s Real Marriage will likely still be present (complementarian views of sexuality, etc.), but will be elaborated upon at a deeper level. Yes, it is a shift in world view, but it might set you free to love your husband or your wife as God loves.
True love is beautiful. Marriage is beautiful. The Catholic Church’s teaching about marriage is beautiful. We want to share it with you. Just send us an email and so we can tell you the truth of what marriage really is.
Update: Not sure how people are misunderstanding this post, but just to clarify, I am NOT giving out copies of Mark Driscoll’s book. I am giving away 5 copies of Chistopher West’s book called Theology of the Body for Beginners.
Update II: Only one book was claimed despite some relatively heavy traffic, so I’ll extend the offer to any evangelical protestant who wants a copy.
DriscollWatch 