Unless the Lord Builds the House: Marriage, Household, and Sex in the Christian Tradition from Antiquity to Today (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781961348028)

Unless the Lord Builds the House: Marriage, Household, and Sex in the Christian Tradition from Antiquity to Today offers a sweeping and accessible survey of Christian teaching on marriage, sexuality, and family life-rooted in Scripture, shaped by tradition, and urgently relevant for today. Spanning nearly two thousand years of Christian history, this book uncovers a deep and often surprising unity across church fathers, medieval theologians, and Protestant Reformers on the core purposes of marriage, the moral structure of the household, and the meaning of sexual love. Along the way, the author shares with his readers a multitude of biblical passages and church texts that have shaped the understanding and practice of marriage throughout the Judeo-Christian tradition.

While modern attitudes have drifted far from biblical norms, the Christian tradition has long offered a coherent and deeply humane vision of marriage. In fifty concise, readable chapters, Dr. Ford draws from hundreds of primary sources to explore everything from courtship and celibacy to birth control, wedding ceremonies, marital intimacy, and the sanctity of life. Along the way, he draws on the wisdom of saints, pastors, and theologians who, across the centuries, have shaped a powerful moral framework for love and family rooted in divine truth.

Written for pastors, students, and thoughtful Christians alike, Unless the Lord Builds the House provides a vital resource for anyone seeking to understand or recover a biblical and historic view of the Christian household. Whether you're preparing for marriage, counseling others, or simply longing to understand what the Church has taught on these matters from its earliest days, this book offers clarity, depth, and hope. Dr. Ford's historical insight and theological breadth make this a landmark guide for our confused and fractured age-pointing readers back to the Lord, who alone can heal our wounds, forgive our sins, and restore the beauty of Christian marriage.