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Heavy Burdens: Seven Ways LGBTQ Christians Experience Harm in the Church by Bridget Eileen Rivera
gabby_lee's review
I tried really hard to like and understand this book. As a queer person who grew up in a church, I thought I'd enjoy this work and gain some insight from others in the community. But after 60 pages of nothing but circular logic and talking about sex, I lost interest. The author seemed ambiguous on whether or not queer attraction was a sin, which I found interesting.
dghoiem's review
4.0
A friend of my son is transitioning and I want to love and support her as best I can so I am trying to educate myself and be more loving and supportive. This book was a start.
Heavy Burdens provides a good lesson on the history of the church and where a lot of the unreasonable stances towards the LGBTQ community come from. Even if you believe homosexuality is a sin, that's not an excuse to treat those made in God's image the way so many Christians do. This book does not try to convince anyone that the Bible does not call homosexuality a sin, but it does look at how this became the end all be all of sins to many Christians and ways in which our actions are damaging and how we can better show love to those who are queer.
So many Christians won't go near a book that may challenge their beliefs, but I appreciate the way Rivera doesn't talk down to Christians who don't see eye to eye with her on this issue and simply puts forth a Biblical perspective and provides ways in which we can do better.
Heavy Burdens provides a good lesson on the history of the church and where a lot of the unreasonable stances towards the LGBTQ community come from. Even if you believe homosexuality is a sin, that's not an excuse to treat those made in God's image the way so many Christians do. This book does not try to convince anyone that the Bible does not call homosexuality a sin, but it does look at how this became the end all be all of sins to many Christians and ways in which our actions are damaging and how we can better show love to those who are queer.
So many Christians won't go near a book that may challenge their beliefs, but I appreciate the way Rivera doesn't talk down to Christians who don't see eye to eye with her on this issue and simply puts forth a Biblical perspective and provides ways in which we can do better.
mrindahl's review
5.0
I want every straight person in ministry to read this book. I want every straight person to read this book! I want everyone to read this book!!
Heavy Burdens is somehow both accessible and well-researched, highly readable while still taking its subject seriously. Bridget Eileen Rivera has managed to thread the needle of keeping her book approachable while holding her readers accountable. Anecdotes set the stage for each chapter, highlighting different issues LGBTQ Christians face in the church. Rivera draws on history, sociology, psychology, anthropology, and theology throughout the book, in addition to offering tangible ways to support LGBTQ Christians and resources for further reading.
This book is not an argument for or against same-sex marriage, so don't expect that theology debated here. Instead, prepare to be drawn in by the stories shared, shedding light on the real harm done at the hands of the church.
Heavy Burdens is somehow both accessible and well-researched, highly readable while still taking its subject seriously. Bridget Eileen Rivera has managed to thread the needle of keeping her book approachable while holding her readers accountable. Anecdotes set the stage for each chapter, highlighting different issues LGBTQ Christians face in the church. Rivera draws on history, sociology, psychology, anthropology, and theology throughout the book, in addition to offering tangible ways to support LGBTQ Christians and resources for further reading.
This book is not an argument for or against same-sex marriage, so don't expect that theology debated here. Instead, prepare to be drawn in by the stories shared, shedding light on the real harm done at the hands of the church.
mjingram17's review
challenging
emotional
informative
slow-paced
3.0
i had to push myself to finish this. when i started this book in 2022, i identified as a christian. now finishing it in 2024, it doesn’t really matter to me anymore. so it’s not a bad book, just not relevant to my life.
keegs's review
5.0
I really enjoyed this book. I enjoyed it because I learned a lot about church history as it pertains to sexuality, because of the personal anecdotes about the devastation LGBT+ people have experienced in the church, and because Rivera challenges the reader on multiple fronts.
As a sexual minority and a Christian, I felt very seen and understood by this book. I can’t say I agree with all of Rivera’s points, but she certainly has challenged me. There are a billion sticky notes and highlights in this book for things I want to research, to remember, to lament about, to share with others, to think more deeply through.
I also lead a ministry for LGBT+ people inside and outside the church, and I believe this book will be an excellent resource for me as I do so.
Also also also—Rivera doesn’t always answer debates she beings up and openly asserts that doing so isn’t the point of her book. So, it’s a great read to get the church thinking and being more curious and open and loving and supportive and empathetic.
10/10 recommend
As a sexual minority and a Christian, I felt very seen and understood by this book. I can’t say I agree with all of Rivera’s points, but she certainly has challenged me. There are a billion sticky notes and highlights in this book for things I want to research, to remember, to lament about, to share with others, to think more deeply through.
I also lead a ministry for LGBT+ people inside and outside the church, and I believe this book will be an excellent resource for me as I do so.
Also also also—Rivera doesn’t always answer debates she beings up and openly asserts that doing so isn’t the point of her book. So, it’s a great read to get the church thinking and being more curious and open and loving and supportive and empathetic.
10/10 recommend
gcaseiv's review
5.0
Required reading, especially for Evangelical Christians resistant to anything but the via-gender heterosexual biblical ethic.
gjones19's review
5.0
Reading this book felt significant. Rivera did a great job of contending for the humanization of LGBTQ Christians and highlighting the common blindspots that straight Christians either knowingly or unknowingly have that harm LGBTQ Christians. I think that Christians with all sorts of convictions would benefit from reading this book.
kbozkurtian's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
medium-paced
3.0
This book is a history lesson, sociology lesson, and call to empathy rolled into one. Its personal vignettes are brief but heartbreaking, and Rivera works them into her chapters with finesse. Rivera states several times that Heavy Burdens is not a book about the theological arguments that can be made about these real people’s lives and convictions, and she holds to that commitment well; nonetheless, I found myself wondering how Rivera, a lesbian herself, makes peace with a theology that appears to be non-affirming re: sexuality but affirming re: gender identity.
The book’s weakest point is Burden 6. Rivera can’t seem to decide whether her argument is that expectations for personal expression should be completely separated from sex—recognizing “feminine” and “masculine” as culturally-determined and arbitrary labels, thus rendering gender as a separate category more or less obsolete—or that certain behaviors—labeled “feminine” or “masculine” by the surrounding culture—necessitate an adjustment of gender identity for someone of the “wrong” sex. Particularly because her treatment of sexuality is so strong, I was disappointed by chapters 11 and 12.
Worth reading, particularly for anyone just starting to ask questions about the church’s traditional teaching on sexual ethics.
The book’s weakest point is Burden 6. Rivera can’t seem to decide whether her argument is that expectations for personal expression should be completely separated from sex—recognizing “feminine” and “masculine” as culturally-determined and arbitrary labels, thus rendering gender as a separate category more or less obsolete—or that certain behaviors—labeled “feminine” or “masculine” by the surrounding culture—necessitate an adjustment of gender identity for someone of the “wrong” sex. Particularly because her treatment of sexuality is so strong, I was disappointed by chapters 11 and 12.
Worth reading, particularly for anyone just starting to ask questions about the church’s traditional teaching on sexual ethics.