Just Love: A Framework for Christian Sexual Ethics

The author utilizes a Neo-Kantian general or formal ethics to address specific issues of sexual morality. In case you are wondering 'just' in the title does not mean 'only' but 'in accord with justice'. It is well written and well thought out. The weakness of the book from a philosophical point of view is that the general ethics is not argued for at length. It is more or less presupposed, although it is presented in an intuitively attractive manner. Most time is spent on applying the Neo-Kantian perspective to sexual matters. This is something which, to my knowledge has not been done before. The ethics elaborated here can be called Christian because of the author's obvious motivation and perspective. It is weak however in providing a basis for the conclusions in scripture and church tradition. Thus this work is exactly what its title indicates, a framework or sketch, rather than a comprehensive treatment.

Dr. Farley's book is carefully written and convincingly argued. As a Catholic moral theologian in these times of limited theological discourse especially on matters concerning sexual ethics, I give Dr. Farley major credit for taking on this subject with honesty and courage. The book provides a wide range of historical evidence on many religious traditions regarding sexuality and she builds to the promise of the virtue of justice based on the human condition in regard to love, most importantly, that is everyone's due and the role of sexuality in love. My favorite part of her book is her discussion of moving beyond only the physical expression of sexuality that she quite rightly, I think, states has had too much emphasis throughout history and trips us up to this day and argues for the importance of the human need and importance of love. I hope all thoughtful, spiritual readers of all religious traditions and sexual orientation who want a thoughtful, well-reasoned theological study and argument for justice in love read this book. Dr. Farley is a refreshing, thoughtful voice on this subject.