Author: Nadia Bolz-Weber
One-sentence summary: Nadia outlines the ways in which the church has previously related to sex and taught about it with the aim of showing that there are far better ways of doing both of those things.
B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 8
Our favorite thing about it: Bolz-Weber boldly questions everything we’ve been taught about sex and it needed to be done.
Our least favorite thing about it: There were a couple parts that dragged to us – but nothing really major.
Main Topics of Discussion: Sex, Homosexuality, Pornography, Abortion, Shame
Our favorite quote: “My argument in this book is this: we should not be more loyal to an idea, a doctrine, or an interpretation of a Bible verse than we are to people. If the teachings of the church are harming the bodies and spirits of people, we should rethink those teachings."
Notes: Based on what we had heard about this book, we expected to be shocked by what we read…and we just weren’t. This book was in large part a response to the purity culture espoused by religious groups. But Nadia also offers a way forward – a different way of viewing things and therefore, a different way of doing things. We were on board with her thinking so it didn’t shock us.
However, there were certain parts that made us stop and think (which was the point). But the book seemed to want to start the conversation and ask really good questions about what we’ve done and what we should change – for the flourishment of ALL God’s children. We really enjoyed her thoughts and the idea of reviewing long-held beliefs. Some of these we’ve already adopted, and like I said – some made us really stop and think. We felt stretched, which is a good thing.
In particular, her ideas about the wholeness of a person including their sexuality were fantastic. As well as her discussion of shame and its relation to sex – and how we have to address that. We also loved her thoughts on the parable of the talents from the Bible – that the key was how the servants viewed their master – that’s what made the difference in what they did with their talents. The humor that Bolz-Weber weaves throughout was great as well.
Memorable Meeting Moments: We met at Jordan Swim’s new restaurant, Pizza Americana in Richardson since this was a joint book pick for us. We then moved to McDonald's after the restaurant closed - we had tea, coffee, and fries while we discussed and talked some more. It was also Stephanie's birthday month!
What We Ate: A goat cheese and pesto appetizer, garlic knots with marinara, a chopped salad Americana, the Fig Manchego pizza, the Carne pizza, and the White pizza (with no mushrooms on half!). We also had the soft-serve gelato to top it off.
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