Customer Reviews

Is It Lust or Legalism?

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book challenges you to break out of the typical christian paradigm of what is right and what is wrong! This book makes you struggle with what is "the heart of the matter". It is an easy book to read in one sitting, but it will cause you to think for weeks! Author Brad Watson does an excellent job at laying out a concise argument for how much of the church has settled for a list of rules and regulations, when God really wants to get at people's hearts. Watson is not afraid to hit at some "sacred cows", so that many people can be set free from the trappings of legalism! He suggests that maybe God is not as uptight about things, as many preachers suggest. God seems to be more uptight with judgmental preachers (that put heavy weights on people) than he is with "every day struggling people" who are wanting to know Him!

I was greatly challenged and liberated by reading this book. This author is not afraid to challenge the "taboos" of this day. It was an easy read, but it was certainly thought provoking!

This book was just plain wonderful. I wish Joshua Harris would read it if he hasn't already. If you have to choose between reading Watson or Harris, read Watson! The church has been burdening people for far too long with tremendous and unnecessary sexual guilt. Our excessive prudishness is actually dishonoring to God, in my opinion.

In particular, I liked his chapter called "Sexy on Sundays?", in which Watson points out that Paul's command for women to "dress modestly" had very little to do with sexual allure, but rather it was a matter of jewelry and ornate fashions, which was often a way that women would flaunt their riches in front of the less fortunate, and often made the women look like the cult prostitutes and idolators in Corinth.

I would like to see a new edition of this book. I almost gave it four stars because it had a surprisingly high number of grammar and punctuation errors that should not have made it into the final print ("conscious" and "conscience" are two entirely different things, but Watson uses them interchangeably). Nevertheless, I am completely willing to overlook these mistakes, and STILL give it five stars, because the content and the overall message is worth it. Books with zero grammar and punctuation errors aren't necessarily correct in their message.

I loved the book and see how it got Brad's congregation all up in arms. he really hit religion head on when it comes to how sex and sexuality is treating in today's Christian churches.