Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I was SO disappointed in this book. I'm a huge fan of Bolz-Weber's previous two books, so requested this with great anticipation. In the past, I loved the way she wove personal stories in and around a clear understanding of theology. Her self-selected title of "Public Theologian" seemed earned. SHAMELESS is a clear departure from this standard. It is downright strange how the author just chucks away entire portions of scripture that don't serve her sense of the way things should be, with a bizarre attitude of, "Let's just agree that those parts are wrong." This book is intellectually lazy, which is such a shame, because it would be great to have a deep dive into these thorny, complicated questions, and really wrestle with how personal and also communal these issues are. This is not easy stuff, and yet Bolz-Weber insists in a rather belligerent way that we all agree that whatever feels good and doesn't (seem to) hurt anyone is fine for all...and that God will also be fine with it, because God loves us too much to require more of us than we decide to require of ourselves. That's a strange and disappointing approach to faith. Also frustrating is her breezy dismissal of her divorce. Of course, she is under no obligation to disclose anything about such a personal matter...except that she chose to write a book about a faithful sexual ethic lived within a Christian tradition, which includes marriage and divorce (and sex outside of marriage) right at the heart of the issue. Because of this, she owed her readers some acknowledgement of how complicated it is (or should be) to break vows one has made to another person before God. I'd hoped for more.