Marriage Made in Eden: A Pre-Modern Perspective for a Post-Christian World

by Alice P. Mathews, M. Gay Hubbard

Why does marriage today seem to be such a far cry from Paradise? Let's face it. Our culture's version of marriage is not as God designed it to be. With a lot more emphasis on individualism and consumerism, today's married couples tend to lose sight of God's original purpose for marriage-a call for his people to take Jesus' message to the heart of everyday life. Marriage Made in Eden provides a radical alternative to today's view of marriage, giving a glimpse into the historical and cultural aspects that have shaped marriage in America. With this insightful analysis you'll learn how marriage has come to be in the state we now find it and about God's model and purpose for a sacred Christian union. "Alice Mathews and Gay Hubbard bring together decades of experience in this thoughtful, interdisciplinary volume."-Mary Stewart Van Leeuwen, professor of psychology and philosophy, Eastern University "At last a profoundly biblical book on Christian marriage."-Gordon Fee, professor emeritus, Regent College "Must-reading for all Christians concerned with promoting an understanding of marriage that is in accordance with God's intentions."-Stanley J. Grenz, Pioneer McDonald Professor, Carey Theological College Alice P. Mathews is Lois W. Bennett Distinguished Associate Professor of Educational Ministries and Women's Ministries at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. M. Gay Hubbard has more than thirty years of experience as a Christian counselor. She currently is in private practice with Christian Counseling Associates in Osbourne, Kansas.

Genres: Christian Living, Marriage

288 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2004

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 2 out of 5]

The idea of this book is important. Marriage in a pre-industrial era has more in common with post-modern sensibilities. Women contributed economically just a men did in Puritan culture. We need to return to a pre-modern understanding albeit one that is missional and Trinitarian. When we understand that we are made for community of which marriage is the most basic element we are seeing ourselves through the lens of the Trinity. When we realize that our relationship are in process this side of Eden then we can work side my side to make the necessary sacrifices to be missional rather than ingrown in some 1960's narcissistic fashion.
This point is very important but it could have been made in less that a hundred pages.

[Michaela Vindel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half intrigued me with their description of postmodernism and included thought-provoking points on how cultural rather than biblical texts have potentially largely shaped the church’s views of gender roles within the context of marriage.

It helped to describe how God intended marriage to be a unifying, commitment where two become one and yet remain two, and both are equally asked to be self sacrificing, sharing in life together and submitting to one another in love.

It has inspired me to do my own critical exploration of the Bible to better understand passages regarding gender roles as well as how they shape our marriages and relationships today.

It did also point out how the church has expected married couples to endure in silence hardships of various kinds without life long support from their community and how vital that is.

However,
I wasn’t convinced by their writing that it is possible to have a God honoring marriage in our post modern context, nor what that might look like. The book was filled with history regarding the sociological and cultural influences of marriage and how Christians need to be counter cultural.

I was hoping the ending would include more biblical passages and evidence of how to have a God honoring life long marriage. I was also disenchanted that the book was written only from a North American perspective.
It saddened me, considering how rampant divorce is within our culture and in my own family, how little biblical guidance there was in the book for combatting that reality; it merely stately that it is a problem.

Overall, there is much that was left out in my opinion and I found myself thinking: wait that’s it? That’s all they are going to say?

Lastly, although I am gratefully living within the context of a Christian marriage, I don’t believe this book would help to show someone skeptical of the necessity of marriage that it is a sacred, grace-filled, beautiful, God designed and honoring mystery.

[Roland Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

A marriage establishes a new household and a new community that can share God’s love with the world. Christian marriage is therefore inherently missional – it is not about couples, it is not about gender roles, and it is not about power. It is about forming a partnership that spreads the gospel through the power of the Holy Spirit. They conclude, “God’s case for marriage includes the possibility of our being a daily, living demonstration to a watching world of the relationship of Christ to his bride, the church. Thus our marriages and our radically changed lives are vehicles through which God speaks to the world around us.”

See my full review at http://wordsbecamebooks.com/2015/06/0...

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Things I learned from this book: did you know that only time the Bible mentions authority specifically with regard to marriage is in I Cor 7:2-5 where Paul tells the husband and wife that they each have authority over the other's body? This would be mutual authority. Other passages use the word "head" which is a picture of something. Of what? A head on a body. Why do we automatically equate this with authority? Perhaps it is something deeper and more intimate such as connectedness and dependence of a head and a body to one another. This was a good book that over viewed the marriage trends of the last several centuries and looked to Scripture for what marriage should actually look like.

[Justin Denlinger · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this awhile ago (2019), and I don’t remember much of it, other than it makes a case for egalitarian marriage off of a pretty weak philosophy and the standard ignorant reading of Galatians 3:28 (no more male or female [not at all what Paul is saying]).
It was a pretty dry read, too. Not much could be implemented from it to fix the issues in western marriage.
Turns out it’s hard to construct a biblical solution to a problem (divorce, adultery, cohabitation/fornication) when you have discredited most of what the Bible itself says on the matter (marital hierarchy, order of the home, head covering).

[Ashtyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Most of the book is fluff. It’s not very deep or the most convincing. The historical background is good to understand why we view marriage the way we do. But overall not a convincing book. A few good points but you’re better off finding a more professionally written and better researched egalitarian book.

[Jocelin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is totally amazing...it deserves 9 stars. Very insightful, very enriching and gives very pratical bibical knowledge about marriage. It clearly lets you know that marriage is not for the vain, self-serving, egomanical, dictatorial, wimpy, mean, cruel, petty, small-minded person. It really makes you evalute what marriage is and what it is to represent (God's Love and his son's sacrifice. This book has great insight as to what growing in a bibical marriage can do for us and those around us. Really amazing book. This is one to read again and again.