A review by cocoonofbooks
Shameless: A Case for Not Feeling Bad About Feeling Good (About Sex) by Nadia Bolz-Weber

5.0

I have loved all of Nadia Bolz-Weber's books to date, and this one is no exception. What I love most about this "sexual reformation" is that, while she illustrates how many destructive ideas about sex originate in the church, she advocates for a sexual ethic that is not separate from the Christian faith but rather deeply informed by it. Drawing on Scripture, tradition, and liturgy, she advocates for an inclusive sexual ethic that mirrors our best spiritual experiences. Even though my personal experiences of sex and marriage are very different from hers, I still felt acknowledged and included in all of her reflections. She includes relevant history — like why and how recently the evangelical church became anti-abortion — and statistics — that teenage pregnancy is higher where there is abstinence-only education — but also includes many personal stories, both her own and those generously shared by her parishioners.

As with her previous books, I couldn't put this down once I started and yet I regretted it ending so soon. I am grateful to have her words to return to again and again and to point others to who need her flavor of guidance. I can't recommend her work highly enough.