Bare Marriage Bad Stats, Editing the Bible, and Recycling 1970s Ideas: A Love & Respect Deep Dive Part 2
Feb 12, 2026
Jay Stringer, psychotherapist and author on sexual brokenness, and Beth Felkner Jones, scholar of gender and the New Testament, unpack how a bestselling marriage manual recycles 1970s ideas, leans on shaky statistics, and edits scripture to fit its thesis. They discuss misused research, historical context of biblical passages, and cultural forces that kept these claims influential.
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The Total Woman Blueprint Recycled
- Maribel Morgan's 1971 book The Total Woman taught wives to 'accept, admire, adapt, and appreciate' husbands and sold millions.
- Love & Respect recycles these 1970s ideas rather than inventing something new.
Shaky Data Behind The Core Claim
- Shaunti Feldhahn's survey that Love & Respect cites had a double-barreled, confusing question and only surveyed men.
- Building a gender-dichotomy theory from this flawed data is invalid and unacceptable research practice.
Test Both Sexes Before Making Claims
- When evaluating claims about gender needs, test both sexes and fix invalid survey items flagged by pilot participants.
- Do not build sweeping theological or practical doctrines from a single, flawed sample.
