Tender Fires: The Spiritual Promise of Sexuality Book

NEW BOOK OFFERS UNIQUE VISION FOR RECONCILING SPIRITUALITY AND SEXUALITY Authors Present Roadmap for Navigating Intimate Relationships Is it possible to reconcile spirituality and sexuality, particularly today when religious tradition, the media, and one's own physical desires often seem to transmit conflicting signals? The answer to this puzzle can be found in an unexpected place - a new book written by a nun and a priest who have worked as psychotherapists and counselors for more than twenty-five years. In TENDER FIRES: The Spiritual Promise of Sexuality, Fran Ferder and John Heagle offer a unique perspective on harmonizing the worlds of sex and belief that will resonate with people of all faiths. "When the Judeo-Christian tradition speaks from its deepest roots about love, mutual respect, the goodness of the body, and the sacredness of relationships, there is no more powerful source of spiritual guidance," write Sister Ferder and Father Heagle. "But for many people, the urgency surrounding contemporary issues of human sexuality seems greater than what our current religious institutions are able - or at least willing - to address." In TENDER FIRES, they explore the connections between spirituality and sexuality, showing how it is possible - "within the unique circumstances of one's life and with God's help and grace" - to become a more responsible lover and life-giver. Based on their work with hundreds of individuals and couples, as well as on extensive knowledge of the Bible and religious history, Sister Ferder and Father Heagle walk readers through an understanding of why sexuality and spirituality are "soul sisters." "Spirituality without sexuality is a phantom - a ghost of piety with a hollow center?Sexuality without spirituality is equally empty - it is literally without spirit," they contend. Including new ways to define terms (such as sexuality as "love energy - having to do with the ways we try to reach one another at the level of the heart"); reflections on what Biblical stories have to teach about sexuality and love; and a broad understanding of sexual diversity, TENDER FIRES makes clear that sex need not engender guilt. "Whether we are married or single, young or old, divorced or remarried, male or female, gay or straight, celibate by choice or by circumstance, each of us is called to make the long and arduous journey of claiming our sexuality with reverence and integrating it with responsibility," write the authors. In TENDER FIRES, they offer a roadmap for navigating this complicated world of intimate relations.Read More