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A review by the_dragon_starback
Heavy Burdens: Seven Ways LGBTQ Christians Experience Harm in the Church by Bridget Eileen Rivera
challenging
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
This was very good. Bridget Eileen Rivera covers how the church makes celibacy mandatory yet impossible to carry out for some people, how LGBTQ people are seen as sinners without grace, how they are the “folk devils” of today, when the Bible is considered “clear” and the double standards in that area, effeminacy and emasculation, how sex is considered the most important part of a person, and how grace is extended to cis-het Christians on matters of sex and gender but not to LGBTQ people.
My favourite part was about celibacy, especially the history of how the Reformation completely turned everything about sex on its head—turns out that both the Catholics and Reformers were wrong! Luther literally though that sex was more necessary than eating, drinking, and sleeping. No wonder the evangelical church has issues with sex.
What I especially appreciated about this book was that Rivera doesn’t try to convince the reader that same-sex marriage is Biblical or not, or whether Christians should be allowed to transition. Instead, with remarkable grace and tact, she demonstrates how the church hurts LGBTQ people on either side of the argument and how we can extend more grace to everyone involved, because this “issue” is ultimately about people.
My favourite part was about celibacy, especially the history of how the Reformation completely turned everything about sex on its head—turns out that both the Catholics and Reformers were wrong! Luther literally though that sex was more necessary than eating, drinking, and sleeping. No wonder the evangelical church has issues with sex.
What I especially appreciated about this book was that Rivera doesn’t try to convince the reader that same-sex marriage is Biblical or not, or whether Christians should be allowed to transition. Instead, with remarkable grace and tact, she demonstrates how the church hurts LGBTQ people on either side of the argument and how we can extend more grace to everyone involved, because this “issue” is ultimately about people.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Transphobia
Minor: Rape and Sexual assault