The Book Band

Publisher: Noel Cooper
Genre: religion
Format: trade paperback; 175 pages
Price: $13.95

Noel Cooper is a former Roman Catholic priest and now, as a married layman, a religious educator who has taught and learned about faith from children, teachers and parents for more than 40 years. In The Sexual Believer he explores the value of sexual activity within marriage and a variety of other contexts, including teenage sexual activity, co-habitation, and gay-lesbian-bi relationships. He challenges the notion that adults must make a choice between being religious and being sexual, and asserts that people can be both.

From the epilogue:-

               “This book is intended to stimulate discussion and to reassure people of faith who make responsible decisions every day. No one can be a faithful follower of Jesus all by oneself; decisions are best considered within a context of community.

               “(Many believers) have responsibly rejected the faith community at least partly because of its teachings about sexuality. We are good people, trying to be faithful Christians living in a turbulent world … people of integrity who need the support and encouragement that can be found in listening to each other and sharing our experiences honestly. We are one component of the church. We can be sexual believers.”