The Unauthorized Guide to Sex and Church [Paperback]

For all the talk about sexual issues with regard to the church --- abortion, homosexuality, pedophilia, and celibacy come immediately to mind --- you'd think sexuality was the church's major concern. If that's what you think, well, it turns out you're not entirely wrong. Carmen Renee Berry's survey of Christian thought on sex reveals an inordinate amount of emphasis on the subject throughout church history.

Berry's "unauthorized guide" is divided into three major sections. The first traces the history of Christian (and Jewish) attitudes toward sex, as well as historical thinking on which sexual practices were considered appropriate and, of course, which were not. Conservatives and liberals alike would do well to read this section in particular; many Christians, I'm sure, would be surprised at how ancient laws regarding property rights helped shape ideas on sexuality that have survived to this day, for instance, or how Luther's early opposition to celibacy helped shape the thinking that led to the Protestant Reformation.

The second section examines four specific issues that stand as obstacles to church unity in contemporary society: sexual purity, celibacy, abortion, and homosexuality. Berry offers insight into each issue by examining them from a variety of perspectives and, in some cases, a variety of denominational perspectives --- a particularly helpful bit of information for anyone who tends to lump all Christians together. The third major section looks at sex scandals in the church, providing some troubling statistics on the incidence of rape, pedophilia and other forms of sexual abuse, sex addiction, pornography, and the like within the church.

Throughout the book, Berry offers resources with regard to each specific issue and provides a separate listing of resources in an appendix. Other appendices offer statistics on sexual misconduct, most of which specifically cite behavior among Christians, and a list of questions readers can use to help discern where they stand on foundational beliefs such as Jesus and the authority of the Bible --- beliefs that go a long way toward predicting and understanding a person's attitude toward sex.

If you're familiar with Berry's other books, such as THE UNAUTHORIZED GUIDE TO CHOOSING A CHURCH and the New York Times bestseller GIRLFRIENDS, you'll be glad to know that she continues with her warm, conversational style of writing in this book. In Berry's hands, church history becomes a series of delightful, interconnected stories that shed light on the way Christian thinking on sexuality has developed. As usual, her wit is never far from the surface.

Berry's purpose in tackling such highly charged topics is commendable; she'd like to see Christians on both sides of, say, the abortion divide talking to each other rather than attacking each other. The same goes for all the other sexually related issues that create division in the church. Berry writes in a way that shows she genuinely wants each side of a given issue to understand how and why the other side has reached the conclusions it has.

One can only hope that her readers will take the hint. Berry has done the church a service by providing a highly readable and entertaining look at the way diverse Christians approach sexual issues; the church would be wise to return the favor by encouraging those diverse Christians to begin a conversation with each other that focuses on finding common ground as well as solutions to sex-related problems that plague the church and society.

I found the the treatment of women throughout our history to be disgusting. If God created women as good and loving creatures-how is it that men can decide differently? The information given made my blood boil even though it is all true. Well presented--surely in the 21st century, the church will recognize the value and contributions of its female members and the discrimination and the persecution can be put aside and we can begin to realize that our sexuality is gift - not evil!

Simply put, Carmen Renee Berry's book on sex and the church is a valuable asset to have in your library. It is a great reference guide to a subject that is controversial and inflammatory, but nonetheless perpetual.

The book is divided into three parts. The first part is basically a history of sex in the church and Judaism. The first chapter, for example, discusses body ownership and rights of women in patriarchal times, and chapter five discusses the early church father's reaction to sexuality. The second part of the book goes into current sexual issues, such as nonmarital sexuality, abortion, and homosexuality. The third part discusses sex scandals that have rocked the church, covering (of course) priestly sexual abuse of children.

The book is fair and well-researched, and Berry is able to write about a sensitive subject nonchalantly. One can almost picture the smirk on her face as she writes. There are also some valuable resources in the appendices.

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