Who Told You That You Were Naked? | Meditations on the Sexual Body (Dale)

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Uprooting Shame

"Nobody told me that sex is fun.
Sex is fun!
Sex is fun!
They only told me that sex is sin.
Sex is sin!
Sex is sin!"*

And so begins Who Told You That You Were Naked? with a swift interrogation of the Christian shame that is too often imposed upon the Christian body.

"It is imperative ... that we jettison body shaming, our suspicion of pleasure, the moralistic and judgmental repression of both our own sexuality and that of others, as well as the many forms of harmful sex-negativity currently contaminating some areas of Christian thought," writes educator and author Beverly Dale in the book's introduction.

*excerpted from "An Irreverent Journey from Eggbeaters to Vibrators," a one-woman show written by Beverly Dale

A Theology for the Body

Both self-help guide and spiritual inspiration, Who Told You That You Were Naked? is packed with meditations that are biblically grounded and tangibly liberating. Each meditation includes a prayer and prompts for reflection, with themes focusing on purity culture, sacred-sexual bodies, and ethics without repression.

Who Told You That You Were Naked? takes the body's experiences seriously and honestly, wrapping readers in love where they are wounded, inviting holistic reflection on the faith that informs our living, and encouraging movement to (re)connect the spirit and the flesh.

Advance Praise for Who Told You That You Were Naked?

The Rev. Dr. Marvin M. Ellison, author of Making Love Just, commends:

"This book sizzles because Bev Dale appreciates how spirituality, at its best, is about desire. ... Taking up this sacred work allows us to reclaim our divine birthright: a full measure of pleasure, justice, and joy."

The Rev. Dr. Rebecca Voelkel, author of Carnal Knowledge of God, affirms:

"[Beverly Dale] refuses the binaries which are the result of a dominant, distorted, colonized, and colonizing Christianity. Mind, body, and spirit are inextricably woven and celebrated for the bodacious, sacred, healing gift they are."

The Rev. Amy Johnson, UCC Minister for Sexuality Education & Justice, praises:

"In a world where religion has been complicit in cultivating shame and stigma around bodies and relationships, Who Told You That You Were Naked? is a refreshing and bold antidote."

About the Author

The Rev. Dr. Beverly Dale ("Rev. Bev") is an ordained minister whose calling has a specific focus: to help people of faith heal from the wounds of Christian theology that divorces the spirit from the body. She is the founder of the Incarnation Institute for Sex & Faith, an educational nonprofit that teaches an inclusive, science-friendly, and sex-positive Christianity.