Sex and the Marriage Covenant: A Basis for Morality

by John F. Kippley

The thesis of this book is that God intends that sexual intercourse should be at least implicitly a renewal of the marriage covenant. From this it follows that the marriage covenant provides the criterion to evaluate the morality of every sexual act. Thus the title, Sex and the Marriage Covenant, is an appropriate description of the book’s contents. Marriage comes into being by a couple unreservedly entering God's covenant of marriage; contraceptive intercourse contradicts the very essence of the marriage covenant. From these considerations, Kippley developed the covenant theology of sexuality described in this book.

Genres: Marriage, Catholic

432 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

John F. Kippley has been active in the family planning movement since 1968 and co-authored The Art of Natural Family Planning with his wife, Sheila. Recently they wrote an on-line manual—Natural Family Planning, launched a website (www.NFPandmore.org), and founded NFP International. Mr. Kippley has also written Marriage Is For Keeps and many articles, some of which are available at their website.

Reviews

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Generally good. I think Part 1 where the author outlines his covenant theology was very well thought out and a valuable read. Later in the book it starts to feel very repetitive, and I was surprised how much time he spent showing that the Church's position on contraception has been consistent. It felt a bit long winded to me, but he did provide a lot of good resources for those wanting to read more. Interesting and worthwhile read, just not particularly riveting.

[Kevin Heldt]

Kippley crafts a compelling argument. The book was quite long though, and I was unable to get very far before I needed to return it to the library. Maybe someday I'll revisit it and get farther.

[Kathleen Ivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good at presenting the facts.