Love Thy Body
Answering Hard Questions about Life and Sexuality
About
Why the call to Love Thy Body? To counter a pervasive hostility toward the body and biology that drives today's headline stories:
Transgenderism: Activists detach gender from biology. Kids down to kindergarten are being taught their body is irrelevant to their authentic self. Is this affirming--or does it demean the body?
Homosexuality: Advocates disconnect sexuality from biological identity as male or female. Is this liberating--or does it denigrate biology?
Abortion: Supporters say the fetus is not a person, though it is biologically human. Does this mean equality for women--or does it threaten the intrinsic value of all humans?
Euthanasia: Those who lack certain cognitive abilities are said to be human but not persons. Is this compassionate--or does it ultimately put everyone at risk?
In Love Thy Body, bestselling author Nancy Pearcey goes beyond politically correct slogans with a riveting exposé of the dehumanizing worldview that shapes current watershed moral issues, arguing that a holistic Christian view sustains the dignity of the body and biology. Throughout the book, Pearcey entrances readers with compassionate stories of people wrestling with hard questions in their own lives--their pain, their struggles, their triumphs.
"Terrific new book!"--Robert P. George, Princeton University
"Writing with both deep compassion and clear thinking, Nancy Pearcey helps us to better understand the worldview that lies behind the huge cultural shifts we have recently experienced in the West. . . .Pearcey is a wonderful guide."--Sam Allberry, author, Is God Anti-Gay?
"Nancy Pearcey models on every page how to understand secular worldviews. . . . Love Thy Body is a must-read book."--Rosaria Butterfield, former professor, Syracuse University; author, The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert
"An astute but accessible analysis of the intellectual roots of the most important moral ills facing us today: abortion, euthanasia, and redefining the family."--Richard Weikart, California State University, Stanislaus
"Highly readable, insightful, and informative."--Mary Poplin, Claremont Graduate University; author, Is Reality Secular?
"Unmasks the far-reaching practical consequences of mind-body dualism better than anyone I have ever seen."--Jennifer Roback Morse, founder and president, The Ruth Institute
"Love Thy Body richly enhances the treasure box that is Pearcey's collective work."--Glenn T. Stanton, Focus on the Family
"Essential reading . . . Love Thy Body brings clarity and understanding to the multitude of complex and confusing views in discussions about love and sexuality."--Becky Norton Dunlop, Ronald Reagan Distinguished Fellow, The Heritage Foundation
"Pearcey gets straight to the issue of our day: What makes humans valuable in the first place? You must get this book. Don't just read it. Master it."--Scott Klusendorf, president, Life Training Institute
Endorsements
"Liberal secularist ideology rests on a mistake, and Nancy Pearcey, in her terrific new book, puts her finger right on it. In embracing abortion, euthanasia, homosexual conduct and relationships, transgenderism, and the like, liberal secularism conceives the body not as an aspect of the personal reality of the human being, fully sharing in his or her intrinsic worth and dignity, but rather as an extrinsic instrument of the mind or psyche or self--which is considered the true 'person.' This instrumentalization of the body underwrites liberal secularist ethics from top to bottom; yet, as Pearcey shows, it is philosophically as well as theologically untenable. The mental-spiritual and bodily aspects of the human person are a unity. The body truly is part of the personal reality of the human being and shares fully in his or her inherent dignity. From that, as Pearcey demonstrates, much follows for the ethics of life and death and sexuality and marriage."
Robert P. George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence, Princeton University
"Nancy Pearcey unmasks the far-reaching practical consequences of mind-body dualism better than anyone I have ever seen. This book is not only good reading for all well-informed Christians but it should be used as a textbook for applied philosophy. I heartily recommend it."
Jennifer Roback Morse, founder and president, The Ruth Institute
"Nancy Pearcey models on every page how to understand secular worldviews in order to engage them effectively in post-Christian America. Love Thy Body is a must-read book."
Rosaria Butterfield, former professor, Syracuse University; author, The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert
"Nancy Pearcey get straight to the fundamental issue of our day: What makes humans valuable in the first place? How we answer will do nothing less than determine cultural norms on abortion, doctor-assisted suicide, and sexual ethics. For years, I've warned pro-lifers our primary problem is a destructive worldview that defines humans by function, not nature. If you want to engage the culture, you simply must get this book. Don't just read it. Master it."
Scott Klusendorf, president, Life Training Institute; author, The Case for Life
"The group of serious thinkers who speak so clearly and wisely of the application of Christian truth to contemporary society is unfortunately small. Nancy Pearcey is one of the very bright spots in that select group. Each of her books is a gem. Love Thy Body richly enhances the treasure box that is her collective work. And we all benefit. I heartily recommend it."
Glenn T. Stanton, director, Global Family Formation Studies, Focus on the Family
"Nancy Pearcey has once again gifted us with a book that will be of great service to many. Writing with both deep compassion and clear thinking, she helps us to better understand the worldview that lies behind the huge cultural shifts we have recently experienced in the West. This book will equip and inspire many. Pearcey is a wonderful guide."
Sam Allberry, The Gospel Coalition; author, Is God Anti-Gay?
"In this work Nancy Pearcey provides an astute but accessible analysis of the intellectual roots of the most important moral ills facing us today: abortion, euthanasia, sexual immorality, and redefining the family. Pearcey takes us beyond the 'thou shalt not' to show why God's ways are best. Highly recommended!"
Richard Weikart, professor of history, California State University, Stanislaus; author, The Death of Humanity: And the Case for Life and Hitler's Religion
"Nancy Pearcey's characteristic clarity and careful scholarship take the reader through the history of our shifting perceptions on what it means to be human. She unpacks the competing worldviews that undergird central issues of human identity, such as euthanasia, abortion, the hook-up culture, and the like. With a philosopher's mind and the sensitivity of a teacher and parent, Pearcey's scholarship emerges holistically. Love Thy Body is highly readable, insightful, and informative."
Mary Poplin, professor of education, Claremont Graduate University; author, Is Reality Secular?: Testing the Assumptions of Four Global Worldviews
"In an age in which moral discussion is increasingly a shouting match of slogans and monologues, Nancy Pearcey in Love Thy Body shares penetrating wisdom regarding the role that fundamentally different understandings of the nature of reality play in our cultural debates about the painful moral choices facing us regarding life and sexuality. This readable book is a treasure trove of critical insights."
Stanton L. Jones, former provost and professor of psychology, Wheaton College; coauthor, God's Design for Sex
"Like her other monumental works, Total Truth, Saving Leonardo, and Finding Truth, Nancy Pearcey's Love Thy Body is another brilliant and realistic cultural analysis of the inherent problems and practical consequences that flow from secularization. Pearcey not only helps us understand the current application of secularization to our personhood, family, and society, but also its devastating implications in view of who we are and where we live."
Paul R. Shockley, professor of Bible and Theology, College of Biblical Studies-Houston
"Future leaders must have answers about the value and worth of every individual life. Nancy Pearcey once again drills down to truth. Love Thy Body brings clarity and understanding to the multitude of complex and confusing views in discussions about love and sexuality. This book is essential reading for all!"
Becky Norton Dunlop, Ronald Reagan Distinguished Fellow, The Heritage Foundation
"Pearcey invites us into Scripture to celebrate the body as a good gift from God. She refutes the idea that Christianity is 'anti-sex' and 'anti-body' with biblical understanding of the significance of the human being and a high view of the body as God's creation. In the end, only the gospel is actual romance."
Kelly Monroe Kullberg, founder, The Veritas Forum; author, Finding God Beyond Harvard
"Nancy Pearcey's Love Thy Body is what you would expect from her--timely, relevant, insightful, superbly documented, and thoroughly Christian. She does her usual great job of critiquing cultural trends through the lens of a Christian worldview. I highly recommend it."
Scott B. Rae, dean of faculty and professor of Christian ethics, Talbot School of Theology, Biola University
"Nancy has done it again! With her keen mind, depth of analysis, and clear, concise writing, she has provided the best book on the postmodern sexual ideology. She exposes the foundation of this 'new' sexuality and shows how to set forth the beautiful, life-giving truth of human sexuality built into creation. This book is a must-read for any who would engage in the fight to restore the glory and dignity of 'male and female created in God's own image.'"
Darrow L. Miller, cofounder of Disciple Nations Alliance; author, Nurturing the Nations
The Author
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Laura Chiles Nancy R. Pearcey
Nancy Pearcey is a bestselling author and speaker. A former agnostic, she was hailed in The Economist as "America's pre-eminent evangelical Protestant female intellectual." Her work has appeared in the Washington Post, Washington...
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