Who Told You That You Were Naked? Quotes

“Shepherd further argues while conjuring the spirit of Alice Walker, “We need to reexamine the things we have been taught, the things we’ve been told are biblical, the terminologies we’ve had defined for us as sexual beings. We need to ‘peel the old white man from our eyeballs before we can see clearly, see ourselves and G ~ d.”
― Candi Dugas, Who Told You That You Were Naked?

“Integrity is this sense of being true to self, true to G ~ d, and true to community. We were exploring where we were not in truth in those three areas. It’s not about permission to have sex with whomever we want. It is about the challenge of owning our truths with our faith, our G ~ d, and our community.”
― Candi Dugas, Who Told You That You Were Naked?

“Yeshua’s (Jesus’) very life and ministry demonstrate the mutual and respectful existence of divinity and humanity within each person.”
― Candi Dugas, Who Told You That You Were Naked?

“Instead of the church’s lessons helping women to participate in loving, mutual relationships, they perpetuate singleness and unfulfilled partnerships because the men in our lives desire confident women who are able to play with the possibilities of sexual engagement.”
― Candi Dugas, Who Told You That You Were Naked?

“With the overall emphasis on condemnation comes a covertly oppressive message of grace. Mary recalls, “The leader of my women’s Bible study is an ordained clergywoman. She told us that no one’s gone to hell for having sex before marriage. If we ’fall off the wagon,’ just repent.” While this kind of message seems to help balance the Puritanical influence, it falls short of affirming sexual desire and its satisfaction for the single woman. The need to repent still declares that her participation in sexual activity is sinful without exception. This declaration is proving to be false and oppressive, sending the single African American woman on an endless sin/ repent merry-go-round of wondering if G ~ d is pleased with her. This woman’s sexual desire is normative, and unrelenting. What does G ~ d think of her acts of satisfaction, whether alone or with a partner? Perhaps a church can help by preaching and teaching a message of holistic human goodness.”
― candi dugas, Who Told You That You Were Naked?