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A review by chloe_liese
Shameless: A Sexual Reformation by Nadia Bolz-Weber
5.0
"[O]ur sexual and gender expressions are as integral to who we are as our religious upbringings are. To separate these aspects of ourselves—to separate life as a sexual being from a life with God—is to bifurcate our psyche, like a musical progression that never comes to resolution. [...] Everything that happens to us happens to our bodies. Every act of love, every insult, every moment of pleasure, every interaction with other humans. Every hateful thing we have said or which has been said to us has happened to our bodies. Every kindness, every sorrow. Every ounce of laughter. We carry all of it with us within our skin. We are walking embodiments of our entire story."
That's it right there folks. Nadia Bolz-Weber, with her classic acerbic wit and intelligence, brings her exegetical A-game, a profound open-hearted look at sexuality that reintegrates body and soul, born out of decades ministering to and connecting with human beings who identify outside the normative fold. It's a beautiful and insightful exploration of how the church has vilified sex and sexuality, how biblical interpretation gets broadcasted as biblical truth, and she also makes a beautiful distinction between holiness (wholeness, unity) and purity (separative self-righteousness). Plenty of people will find her too progressive, but that's to be expected. Guess who else was a pretty polarizing, incendiary interpreter and speaker of the Word? The guy who inspires her livelihood and ministry of love--Jesus.
That's it right there folks. Nadia Bolz-Weber, with her classic acerbic wit and intelligence, brings her exegetical A-game, a profound open-hearted look at sexuality that reintegrates body and soul, born out of decades ministering to and connecting with human beings who identify outside the normative fold. It's a beautiful and insightful exploration of how the church has vilified sex and sexuality, how biblical interpretation gets broadcasted as biblical truth, and she also makes a beautiful distinction between holiness (wholeness, unity) and purity (separative self-righteousness). Plenty of people will find her too progressive, but that's to be expected. Guess who else was a pretty polarizing, incendiary interpreter and speaker of the Word? The guy who inspires her livelihood and ministry of love--Jesus.