Shameless

October 8, 2018
In this mix of memoir and call to action, Bolz-Weber (Pastrix) draws on experiences from friends, congregants, and her life growing up evangelical in order to offer a new framework for Christian teachings about sex, gender, and relationships. A former pastor, Bolz-Weber expertly sets her critique of Christianity’s current teachings and her own ideas for reform in dialogue with biblical texts, early and recent Christian thinkers, and evangelical cultural models for femininity, masculinity, and sex. Her aim is to retrieve what’s of value from within Christianity—and posit what is missing and needed—in order to create a more forgiving, empowering community that encompasses the many Christians (and non-Christians) who find themselves left out in the cold by the church. Bolz-Weber proposes dropping the abstinence-only approach by instead using concern as the criteria for sexual health. By this standard, a devout Christian with concern for his or her spiritual health would abstain from sex before marriage. More concern for healthy sexuality from Christian teachers would also, in Bolz-Weber’s estimation, allow room for rethinking “sexual ethics, gender, orientation, extramarital sex, and the inherent goodness of the human body.” The book is aimed at multiple readerships: disaffected and alienated Christians; ex-Christians who left the church due to restrictive, problematic, and heteronormative teachings; and the still-committed Christians who struggle with those same teachings. Accessibly written, Bolz-Weber’s powerful book effectively presents sexually liberating and inclusive guidance within a Christian context.

December 1, 2018

Bolz-Weber (Accidental Saints) seeks to "reach for a new Christian sexual ethic" by examining sexual morality through her experiences and the lens of people she's encountered in her church. The author draws inspiration from Martin Luther, as someone who taught differently than the established church at the time. Unfortunately, she characterizes his basis as siding with people who were being harmed by the church rather than his actual stance of Sola Scriptura--Scripture alone as the standard of truth. With this work, Bolz-Weber encourages Christians and the church to reshape teaching in light of human experience. Within that framework, her stories are fascinating but do not directly address the core issue of how the Bible treats sexuality. Instead, she engagingly shares her own memories and those of some of her parishioners while also relating the history behind the church's teachings on relationships. Finally, she presents a sexual ethic based on principles such as gratitude, connection, and shamelessness. VERDICT Bolz-Weber's latest will appeal to readers of her previous books and those seeking an alternative treatment of Christian sexual ethics. Recommended for libraries where author demand is high.--Ray Arnett, Anderson, SC

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2019
The whip-smart pastor and author of Accidental Saints: Finding God in All the Wrong People (2015) channels Martin Luther and calls for the church to reform its approach to sex.Too many of Bolz-Weber's congregants have been hurt by Christian teachings about sex: couples who marry as virgins only to find they can't "flip a switch" to suddenly approach "sex as joyful and natural and God-given"; or middle-aged women who can't bring themselves to wear a V-neck because they are haunted by teachings about modesty they learned as teens. The author, who is now divorced, insists that the church should not be more faithful to abstract principles than to people. "If the teachings of the church are harming the bodies and spirits of people," she writes, "we should rethink those teachings." Indeed, a healthy attitude toward sex might be more faithful to the Bible's teachings anyway. In the Creation story, notes Bolz-Weber, Adam and Eve were told to be fruitful and multiply--"the very first blessing was sex." Among many other issues, the author, a recovering alcoholic and former comic, addresses pornography, abortion, and debates about transgender bathroom use. Consistent with the title, Bolz-Weber wants readers to feel unashamed about their bodies even as she invites them to grieve the moments in their sexual histories where they have been hurt or caused hurt. She also writes straightforwardly about desire: "I know that when I see my lover, something within me uncoils...a wildness, part velvet, part forest fire." Not exactly the usual stuff of Christian sex books--and that's a good thing. Throughout, the author's voice is inviting, as is the narrative layout: Homiletical reflections on scriptural themes are set in clearly separated boxes, and illustrations--e.g., a risible page from a Christian workbook that details the kinds of cosmetics and speech that increase femininity--make the book an easy, enjoyable read.Sure to be helpful to many readers and just as sure to be controversial.

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November 15, 2018
Bolz-Weber, author of Pastrix (2013) and Accidental Saints: Finding God in All the Wrong People (2015), continues her examination of Christianity, in both professional and personal contexts. Often talking with parishioners from Denver's House for All Saints and Sinners, the church she founded, Bolz-Weber focuses here on sexuality and the ways the church has created fear and shame in both straight and LBGTQ communities. A former stand-up comedian and a recovering alcoholic, Bolz-Weber cuts to the chase in vivid language that doesn't shy away from the occasional swear word. She speaks with a couple disappointed with sex, after waiting for marriage as they had been instructed to do from childhood; with a woman who spent years hiding that she was gay; a transgender individual whose face and figure "do not allow her to pass." But she's not only reaching out, she's also looking inward, remembering her own relationships?most personally, her abortion. Honest and witty, Bolz-Weber is also skilled at reimagining Bible stories and passages (her take on Song of Songs is especially enlightening). This kicks shame in the butt.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)