Foreword

In January 1997, we decided to reprint and distribute Herbert W. Armstrong’s final book, Mystery of the Ages. Weeks later, the Worldwide Church of God filed a lawsuit trying to stop us. (Mr. Armstrong founded the Worldwide Church, but after he died, his successor rejected his teachings and stopped producing his written materials.) We responded to its lawsuit by filing our own

counterclaim—seeking to reprint and distribute 18 additional works of Mr. Armstrong’s that we consider central to our beliefs.

The Missing Dimension in Sex is one of those 18 works. There simply is no other book like it. When you read it, you will understand why.

As Mr. Armstrong explained in “Read This First” (see page ix), he began working on this book in 1949, a year after he founded Ambassador College in Pasadena, California. He needed a textbook for his Principles of Living course. But he soon discovered that this material needed to reach a much wider audience. So he wrote this book with you in mind.

He first published it in 1964 under the name God Speaks Out on “The New Morality.” At that time, a cultural revolution was sweeping across the Western world. “The revolt is on,” Mr. Armstrong wrote, “against prudery, repression and ignorance.” The world had gone from saying nothing about sex to saying everything—but much of it was wrong! This “new” knowledge, he said, was wholly physical. None of the so-called “authorities” approached the subject of sex from a biblical foundation. That’s why the fruits of the revolution have been so evil.

In 1971, seven years after the book’s release, Mr. Armstrong published it under its new name, The Missing Dimension in Sex. By that point, the whole moral climate of society had changed. It had changed so much—and for the worse—he felt it absolutely necessary to revise and update the book, even though it proved to be very costly. As you probably know, Mr. Armstrong gave away his books free of charge to those who requested them. To print nearly a half-million copies, he wrote in 1971, was a “huge undertaking.” But because of the need, it was well worth the effort and expense.

In 1980, just before Mr. Armstrong released his third and final revision of the book (the one we have reprinted for you here), he underscored the book’s importance. “Parents sorely need this knowledge,” he wrote. “It’s plain enough once you see it in your Bible. Single people need it. Youths need it. Children need right teaching from parents. But most parents either could not properly teach their children—or else have felt too embarrassed.

“Teenagers need proper knowledge, yet heretofore it has not been available to them. In this age of pressures toward promiscuity, blinded by false teachings, adolescents cannot be expected to resist premarital sex unless their minds are opened to intelligent acceptance of God’s purposes and laws for our good—for a more abundant and truly pleasurable and happy life.

“Married people need this knowledge if their marriage is to be preserved and happy” (letter to Plain Truth subscribers, Nov. 3, 1980).

During the 25 years this book was in print (from 1964 to 1989), more than 1.5 million copies were distributed. Now, after the Worldwide Church of God discontinued it and rejected its knowledge, we are thrilled to offer it to you gratis—without cost.

This book is about much more than sex. It’s a guidebook for living. It’s about God’s purpose for man—and how He is fulfilling that purpose through love, marriage and sex. Take Mr. Armstrong’s advice and read it and reread it, from beginning to end.

Gerald Flurry, Pastor General, Philadelphia Church of God