A Lily Among the Thorns Imagining a New Christian Sexuality

In A Lily Among the Thorns, De La Torre examines the Bible, current events, history and our culture-at-large to show how and why racism, sexism, and classism have distorted Christianity’s central teachings about sexuality. The author shows how the church’s traditionally negative attitudes toward sex in general—and toward women, people of color, and gays in particular—have made it difficult, if not impossible, to create a biblically based and just sexual ethic. But when the Bible is read from the viewpoint of those who have been marginalized in our society, preconceived notions about Christianity and sex get turned on their heads. Taking on hot-button topics such as pornography, homosexuality, prostitution, and celibacy, the author examines how “reading from the margins” provides a liberating approach to dealing with issues of sexuality.

A Note of Thanks ix

Preface xi

Introduction 1

PART ONE Restoring Great Sex

1. Liberating the Female Body 13

2. Liberating the Body of Color 36

3. The Body and Its Pleasures 50

4. A Sexual Ethics for the Body 70

PART TWO Having Great Sex

5. Great Sex in Marriage 89

6. Sex and the Single Christian 108

7. Same-Sex Relationships 130

8. Predatory Sex 158

Notes 185

The Author 199

Index 201

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