The Hero and the Whore

“Her readings of Leah and Dinah, Potiphar’s wife, Gomer, and other stories of sexual exploitation are equally unflinching, devastating, and even enraging. They’re also creative, fully imagined, and, ultimately, hopeful. I closed this book full of righteous anger and a deep admiration for how Hernandez runs straight at texts of terror and real-life horror stories.” – The Christian Century

“This book will likely challenge, upset, subvert, and anger the reader. It will also, I believe, offer a word of hope to women whose stories mirror those found in this book. It will enlighten those who do not share these realities—including white male cisgender males like me.” – Robert D. Cornwall

“For people with marginalized identities and those who have experienced various forms of violence and oppression, The Hero and the Whore is an invitation into a process of healing and liberation as we reconnect with God, our bodies, and those in our community. For those who have perpetrated violence, even unintentionally and sometimes unconsciously, this book is an invitation to evaluate the ways that our beliefs, actions, and silence have contributed to harm. Wherever we may find ourselves, The Hero and the Whore offers hope for redemption. We can redeem our time. We can redeem our stories. We can be healed. We can be free.” – Sojourners

“‘The women of the Bible can’t change their course of action,’ Camille writes, but ‘knowing their stories helps us to change ours.’ Camille’s words will infuse those in need of healing and liberation with the courage to seek and claim them as their rightful inheritance. She is the perfect person to have by our side as we birth new narratives of our inherent worth and beauty, no matter what our stories have been up to this point. This book oozes with brilliance and love.” – Marla Taviano, author of unbelieve and jaded

“In a time where many are at a crossroads and experiencing deep crises of faith, a necessary theological voice has emerged. What Camille has done in the pages of this book will heal us now, help heal the wounds of the past and work to heal generations to come. We have needed her and this amazing offering and I’m so glad they are both here!”- Candice Marie Benbow, author of Red Lip Theology

“A sagacious guidebook for reclaiming the feminine and restoring the narrative of women in ancient texts. Hernandez provides an informative, compelling and bold theological view serving as a much needed key for liberation from patriarchal centered theology.” – Arielle Estoria, Actor, Author, Poet, Speaker

“The Hero and The Whore is a liberation theology of resistance against the weighty systems of oppression that bear down on us in this new era of White Christian Nationalism. Camille Hernandez lets us into the moments in her life when her keenly honed critical consciousness comes face to face with the supremacist ideologies of white Evangelicalism in the United States. She graciously offers us the acts of resistance that have allowed her to engage with biblical texts that have so often been used to support patriarchy and white supremacy. Her readings of scripture are intuitive and welcoming, inviting the reader to explore how their own story finds meaning within these texts. For anyone feeling pushed to the margins of Christianity, The Hero and the Whore is an excellent spiritual guide for determining what is worthwhile investment in our well-being and what needs to be left behind.” – Sara Moslener, Author, Virgin Nation: Sexual Purity and American Adolescence

“If you’re looking for a book that blends tender care, moving poetry, and careful biblical scholarship, you need to read The Hero & the Whore. Hernandez leads us through the realities of oppression and liberation, reminding us that we don’t have to stay in the toxic colonial spaces that many of us are born into, and we can bravely wrestle with questions we don’t always have answers for. As you enter deeper into the words and poetry found in these pages, you’ll experience the passion of an abolitionist and the hands of a caretaker as Hernandez leads us into stories of trauma, colonization and oppression and through them to the other side. In the time we are living in, we need books that help us tell the truth and help us dream, and this book is one of them. -Kaitlin B Curtice, Award-winning author of Native and Living Resistance