Marriage Made in Eden: A Pre-Modern Perspective for a Post-Christian World -- By: Leslie McKinney

Journal: Priscilla Papers
Volume: PP 18:4 (Fall 2004)
Article: Marriage Made in Eden: A Pre-Modern Perspective for a Post-Christian World
Author: Leslie McKinney


Marriage Made in Eden:
A Pre-Modern Perspective for a Post-Christian World

Alice P. Mathews and M. Gay Hubbard (Baker 2004)

Reviewed by

Leslie McKinney

Leslie McKinney serves as Pastor of Community at Pilgrim Church, Beverly, Massachusetts. She has a Master of Divinity from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and she is a Doctor of Ministry candidate in “Effective Ministries to Women.” She counsels and facilitates women’s care groups and coordinates prayer in the local church. She is also associate sales agent for Delta Airlines, which allows her to travel extensively.

Alice Mathews and M. Gay Hubbard write an extraordinary book about Christian marriage and family. The book’s purpose is to explore God’s perspective on marriage, an ancient view, for a postmodern world. Marriage Made in Eden is bursting with rich historical, cultural, sociological and biblical background on marriage. But the authors’ unique contribution in advocating for strong, enduring Christian marriage is their belief that God’s purpose for marriage is both to transform us as the people of God and to use us to witness God’s amazing love and power to an unbelieving world.

Alice Mathews, with a Ph.D. in religion and social change, is the Lois W. Bennett Distinguished Associate Professor of Educational Ministries and Women’s Ministries at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. She has a wealth of experience, more than thirty years, in women’s ministry in both the church and parachurch settings.

M. Gay Hubbard holds a Ph.D. in psychology and special education and has over thirty years experience as a psychologist in counseling men and women who struggle to make sense out of the pain and conflict they face in everyday life.

In the first chapter, the authors lay the foundation for the readers, helping them to understand that Marriage Made in Eden presents the case for Christian marriage and explains God’s purpose for marriage (chapter 1). The book is then divided into two parts. In part one, the authors focus on secular culture’s case against marriage. They take as a test case North American culture (chapters 2 and 3). They then give a thorough historical analysis of changing marriage and family patterns beginning with the Puritans up through the present (chapters 4-6). At this point they begin part two of the book, God’s case for marriage, and take the next three chapters to examine Scripture, laying the biblical foundation for their arguments (chapters 7-10). They defend God’s case for marriage by supporting it with a sound biblical theology on Christian marriage and also argue how this theology responds to postmodern culture (chapter 11). The authors put the finishing touch...

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