Loveology: God. Love. Marriage. Sex. And the Never-Ending Story of Male and Female

Portland, Ore., pastor Comer (My Name Is Hope) takes a historical and biblical view of male-female relationships, drawing from stories such as Adam and Eve and Isaac and Rebekah. He refers to Hebrew words for three types of love: friendship, erotic, and unconditional. He also addresses gender wars: “Marriage is a place where Jesus’ healing power is at work to set people free from thousands of years of fighting between the sexes and from all the wounding we carry from the war.” His writing is informal and infectious, growing on the reader as the topics get more intimate. Before it became a book, Comer’s content was presented in a seminar with 2,000 young adults in a warehouse in Portland. So it includes a no-holds barred q&a transcribed from that seminar about masturbation, sex, marriage, and same-sex attractions. Gay or straight, he writes, “to God, your sexuality does not define you. Rather, God defines you. The Scriptures open by saying you are made in God’s image. Because of that you have intrinsic value, worth, and dignity.” (Feb. 4)