Marriage Book

Not even finished with 3 chapters of the book, Real Marriage by Mark and Grace Driscoll, and I see what all the controversy is about. I'm not really enjoying this book, not sure I can even finish.

I read this wonderful post by Phil Johnson. You can read the whole thing here. I especially like these three paragraphs:

But if Driscoll's exhibitionism is less ambitious than Young's, Driscoll's approach nevertheless seems darker. He reveals dishonorable and scandalous details about private aspects of his relationship with his wife, her sin, and their sex lives. He does this in a way that elevates him to new heights of mysticism and authority, portraying himself as a prophet and seer entrusted with the ability to see others' sin as if on a movie screen—or so he claims. (Why do his revelatory dreams always feature sexual sin or some violent act involving physical abuse of women? Why do Driscoll's dreams and visions never seem to expose white-collar criminals—tax cheats, embezzlers, or religious hypocrites?)

If you ask me (and some readers have), Mark Driscoll fails to safeguard his wife's honor and reputation. He uncovers her sin for all the world to analyze, giving intimate details that should have been kept between husband and wife. In the process, Driscoll portrays himself first as victim, then as hero. In the words of Todd Friel: "Not a manly thing to do." Oh, sure: he admits a personal fault of his own here and there—but readers are left with the distinct impression that the problems that plagued the Driscolls' marriage for more than a decade stemmed mainly from Grace Driscoll's sin and subsequent cover-up.

Driscoll and his book's endorsers refer to Driscoll's tell-all approach as "transparency"—as if it were an utterly benign and wonderfully humble thing. But given Driscoll's history and swagger, it's hard to see it as anything other than carnal exhibitionism. And someday the Driscoll children will grow up and read their father's account of their mother's fornication.

I guess if it were my Mark and I writing this book, I would be mortified to share something like this with the whole world. Some things are best left unsaid. In the book, he speaks about honoring his wife and he didn't do that by giving us details of what she did. Not cool.....

And the sentence about the kids...wow.... I wonder if the Young's kids have kids too and how they feel about mom and dad on the web in the bed on top of the church? Yuck!!!