Sex Au Naturel: Book Review

As part of The Catholic Company's review program, I had the opportunity to read Sex Au Naturel. Here's what I thought:

What It Is:

Sex Au Naturel: What it is and Why it's Good for Your Marriage is a book explaining and defending the Catholic position on sex and contraception.



Who Wrote It:

Canadian Patrick Coffin hosts one of the most popular Catholic radio programs in America, Catholic Answers Live and blogs here.



First Impressions:

After some interesting personal testimony from the author, Sex Au Naturel starts a little slow with some "inside baseball" about the history of the recent internal conflict in Catholic Academia and the clergy about whether or not Humanae Vitae is theologically sound. As a convert to Catholicism, I didn't know what they were talking about some of the time (I.e. specific institutions and events mentioned). It did however help me see why books like this one are so important to have around (because so few people, even within the Church, know, believe, & can articulate the Church's teachings on sexuality and rationale for them.)



Overall Impressions:

Sex Au Naturel does a great job of showing that the Catholic position on sexuality and contraception-that sex is for married couples only, is both unitive and procreative, and that chaste use of natural family planning by married couples is the only moral form of "birth control"- is well grounded in Scripture and natural law as interpreted by centuries of Christian thinkers. I especially liked a section that gave lots of examples of verses from the Bible specifically supporting key aspects of Catholic teaching on sexuality, like verses exalting fertility, pregnancy, and kids and verses deriding contraception, sexual promiscuity, etc.



Pros:

• Great sampling of Bible verses supporting key aspects of church positions on sexuality
• Very readable
• Doesn't shy away from unpopular truths

Cons:

• May be confusing at times to non-Catholics or new Catholics

The Bottom Line:

This book is a great addition to the library of anyone curious about the Catholic Church's position on sexuality. I especially recommend it for engaged couples and parents or teachers of teens/young adults.



Buy It:

You can buy Sex Au Naturel from The Catholic Company for $12.95.



*This review is my honest opinion of the product and exclusively mine. I received a free book to review, but did not receive any monetary compensation.