The Gift Of Sex Analysis

This paper is a critique of the book “The Gift of Sex” written by Clifford & Joyce Penner. In today’s culture, the physical and spiritual aspect of sex is neglected. According to the authors sex is an emotional and spiritual act, involving the body, soul, and spirit, the total person. The sexual relationship between a husband and wife is connected to the strong intimate relationship of man and God. Knowing this will bring fulfillment and freedom in marriage and in God. Sexual release is one of the many aspects to a sexual relationship between man and wife. There can be many hindrances that happen in a married couples’ relationship; there is help and hope for them. Sexual blocks can be devastating to a marriage if a partner is battling them.

Clifford and Joyce Penner are recognized internationally as sex therapists, authors and educators. They are the writers of over ten books including “The Gift of Sex” the book being reviewed. The duo conducts sexual enhancement seminars as well as work as sex therapists. Together they have written a straight forward and sensitive guide to understanding couple sexuality and how it all fits into God’s vision of marriage. The Biblical Perspective
God ordained marriage as a covenant agreement from the beginning between man and woman. This covenant is an example of true discipleship (Hornor, 2014). God has given His children skills to maintain intimacy of this covenant between man and women. Often they are ignored or overlooked: confession (sharing secrets), repentance (taking responsibility) and grieving (healing) because we do not associate these things with sexuality (Miles, 2005).
To have healthy sexual experiences couples must take responsibility for their own individual enjoyment and use three approaches:
1. integrating physical knowledge
2. biblical knowledge
3. psychological

The way humans view themselves is a major portion of their self-esteem. The sexual relationship is impacted significantly by body image (Penner & Penner, 2003). This encompasses the breast and penis size in men and women. These issues come from the myth that size increases sexual pleasure (Penner & Penner, 2003).
Every person has an idea of their body image they tend to distort what they imagine to be body faults, many to the point of paranioa (Simon, 2010). They way we see ourselves are based on three factors:
1. Verbal Feedback- the information we receive from significant people in our lives while growing up and forming opinions of about