Liberating Sexuality: Justice Between the Sheets

by Miguel A. de la Torre

For two thousand years, Christianity has been wrong about sex. To this day Christians grapple with defining gender, sexism, heterosexism, and what constitutes healthy sex. Miguel A. De La Torre--noted ethicist and scholar on the intersection of religion with race, class, gender, and sexuality--shines new light on these intimate issues in Liberating Sexuality , a provocative compilation of his writings that apply justice to the most private parts of our lives.

Grounded in biblical scholarship, Liberating Sexuality will help you discover new ways of thinking about God beyond gender, heterosexism, masturbation, and many other topics. Wrestle with controversial topics such as an androgynous Jesus, ethical S&M, and confronting racism in one's sexual preference. Gain a critical understanding of how others view their own sexuality in ways you could never before comprehend.

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction

240 pages, Paperback

Published September 6, 2016

About the author

De La Torre received a Masters in Divinity from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a doctorate from Temple University in social ethics. The focus of his academic pursuit has been ethics within contemporary U.S. thought, specifically how religion affects race, class, and gender oppression. He specializes in applying a social scientific approach to Latino/a religiosity within this country, Liberation theologies in Latin America, and postmodern/postcolonial social theory.

De La Torre currently servers as the Professor of Social Ethics and Latino/a Studies at Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado.

Reviews

[Emmy]

Sorry, I’m not impressed. Firstly, the writing was very unpolished, and the lack of helpful editing really took away from the over all value of the book. Besides that, I focused on the chapters and sections that directly addressed issues of sexuality, so this review is based on those passages. There was definitely some good scholarship but enough of it jumped from research to assumption without sufficient explanation that I’m hesitant to put trust in his conclusions. While he referenced and addressed Biblical passages throughout, often with clear perspective and solid background research, some of his more basic interpretations suffered. Over all, while he has great ideas about social justice and pulls no punches when it comes to the harms of discrimination in American culture, his “Christian sexual ethic” seems more like an unfinished attempt to liberate sexual norms from Western tradition than a true and thorough exploration of Biblical guides to right, healthy, and God honoring sexuality. 2/10