Altared: The True Story of a She, a He, and How They Both Got Too Worked Up About We

Two young people who thought they might get married to each other because, since they are good young Christians, they were supposed to marry someone, offer a look at what happened when they didn’t quite connect. The authors, pseudonymous to allow greater candor, meet after Eli, then a law student, sends Claire, a writer, an e-mail about an article she wrote. Their relationship develops, and they find that the expectations of evangelical Christian culture regarding marriage almost deform what grows between them. They’re hard on clip-art versions of marital bliss. The two are honest and reflective, and their theological critique of what evangelical Christians understand as love and marriage in light of what Jesus said about love—that loving God and following Christ are to shape one’s heart and choices—is forceful. This does restrict the audience for this book to evangelicals, but that is by design. The authors offer solid arguments for the dignity of living singly, a defense that shouldn’t be necessary but is. This book is a must for evangelicals who come anywhere near to offering premarital counseling or young adult ministry. (Sept. 18)