Book Review: what are you waiting for?

WARNING: This post contains some explicit sexual references and is not appropriate for children!


“What are you Waiting for?” by Dannah Gresh is a revolutionary new book about the importance of abstinence before marriage. Intended for young adults, this book explores what sex really is and encourages non-virgins that it is never too late to start over. Topics explored in this book are masturbation, oral sex, and same-sex relationships. Dannah discusses whether these are considered sex and whether they are sinful acts.

I really wasn’t sure what to expect from this book. The discription made me think of “Theology of the Body” type things- hether something is appropriate during marriage or considered a no-no even after matrimony. That is not what this book is about. This book explores the “before marriage” aspect of common sexual practices in the 21st century. With that said, I still learned a TON of information from this book and think it would be great for someone like my friend who has three young adult daughters who are all struggling with topics from this book. It is also a great resource for anyone who wants to know what God intended theologically for the sexual act.

My Catholic take:
This book has a few things I want to mention to my Catholic friends. The first thing is that the book states:

     “If you are controlled by ir enslaved by anything other than God, it is a sin” (pg 74)

When I read this, a red flag went off for me because I thought that the Catholic view was that once something is an addiction, it is no longer considered an intentional act or sin. I looked it up and found an answer on one of my favorite sites, Catholic.com:

     “Certainly, there are severe cases where one’s culpability can be diminished partially or even completely. In such cases the confessor will inform the penitent that a sin has not been committed. Indeed, a regular confessor or spiritual director is a very real necessity in such extreme situations. But for most people addictive behavior is far less a threat to our freedom than our permissive, victim-oriented culture is inclined to have us believe”

I like that definition- there is sometimes a little grey area! I would hate for a young person who is truly addicted to something impure to deal with such guilty as thinking that they are committing a huge sin even when they cannot stop themselves no matter how hard they try.

One more thing for my Catholic readers: Dannah quoted Scott Hahn! I thought that was awesome! She quoted an excerpt from his book, “The Lamb’s Supper” (one of my all-time favs!).

The following are some resources related to the book that you may want to check out!
Catholic resource for pornography addiction
Pornography Addiction Support Group 
Impurity Addiction Support Group
Dannah Gresh's Website (FULL of awesome info!!)
Read the First Chapter Here!

“I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review”

Thanks for stopping by!
Alicia
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