Sexual Liberation: The Scandal of Christendom
Sex sells, they say, but even today, it is considered forbidden, wrong, or sinful by many in the Western world. This book is an account of the strange ways sexual pleasure has been devalued, even demonized, in the West by the forces of Christendom and its legacy in the modern world. It tells the story of how sex came to be regarded by societies throughout the ages as perverse, sinful, and wrong, and how the motivations of a few have lasted centuries and colored our view of sex and sexuality even today.

Sex sells, they say, but even today it is considered forbidden or sinful by many in the Western world. This book is an account of the ways in which sexual pleasure has been devalued and demonized in the West by the historical forces of Christendom. It tells the story of how sex came to be regarded by societies throughout the ages as perverse, sinful, and wrong, and how the centuries-old motivations of a few have persisted into modern times, coloring our view of sex and sexuality to this day.

For good or ill, Christianity has been, since before the ebbing of the Roman Empire, the principal bearer of public values in the western world. This book traces the changes that have shaped and reshaped what is considered moral sexual behavior (and immoral sexual behavior) by Christians and non-Christians alike. Lawrence's account of the perversion of sexual values begins with the intersection of the early Jesus movement and the morality of the Greco-Roman culture and empire. He goes on to point out the ways Christianity and its moral code were reshaped under the impact of Constantine's adoption of Christianity as the imperial religion, and how key figures of the Middle Ages generally succeeded in promoting a religion whose chief goal was the obliteration of sexual pleasure. The story continues on through the ages until now. This controversial look at sex and Christianity sheds new light on our views of pornography, homosexuality, adultery, and other issues of sex and sexuality.

"1144190287"
Sexual Liberation: The Scandal of Christendom
Sex sells, they say, but even today, it is considered forbidden, wrong, or sinful by many in the Western world. This book is an account of the strange ways sexual pleasure has been devalued, even demonized, in the West by the forces of Christendom and its legacy in the modern world. It tells the story of how sex came to be regarded by societies throughout the ages as perverse, sinful, and wrong, and how the motivations of a few have lasted centuries and colored our view of sex and sexuality even today.

Sex sells, they say, but even today it is considered forbidden or sinful by many in the Western world. This book is an account of the ways in which sexual pleasure has been devalued and demonized in the West by the historical forces of Christendom. It tells the story of how sex came to be regarded by societies throughout the ages as perverse, sinful, and wrong, and how the centuries-old motivations of a few have persisted into modern times, coloring our view of sex and sexuality to this day.

For good or ill, Christianity has been, since before the ebbing of the Roman Empire, the principal bearer of public values in the western world. This book traces the changes that have shaped and reshaped what is considered moral sexual behavior (and immoral sexual behavior) by Christians and non-Christians alike. Lawrence's account of the perversion of sexual values begins with the intersection of the early Jesus movement and the morality of the Greco-Roman culture and empire. He goes on to point out the ways Christianity and its moral code were reshaped under the impact of Constantine's adoption of Christianity as the imperial religion, and how key figures of the Middle Ages generally succeeded in promoting a religion whose chief goal was the obliteration of sexual pleasure. The story continues on through the ages until now. This controversial look at sex and Christianity sheds new light on our views of pornography, homosexuality, adultery, and other issues of sex and sexuality.

65.0 In Stock
Sexual Liberation: The Scandal of Christendom

Sexual Liberation: The Scandal of Christendom

by Raymond J. Lawrence Jr.
Sexual Liberation: The Scandal of Christendom

Sexual Liberation: The Scandal of Christendom

by Raymond J. Lawrence Jr.

Hardcover

$65.00 
  • SHIP THIS ITEM
    Qualifies for Free Shipping
  • PICK UP IN STORE
    Check Availability at Nearby Stores

Related collections and offers


Overview

Sex sells, they say, but even today, it is considered forbidden, wrong, or sinful by many in the Western world. This book is an account of the strange ways sexual pleasure has been devalued, even demonized, in the West by the forces of Christendom and its legacy in the modern world. It tells the story of how sex came to be regarded by societies throughout the ages as perverse, sinful, and wrong, and how the motivations of a few have lasted centuries and colored our view of sex and sexuality even today.

Sex sells, they say, but even today it is considered forbidden or sinful by many in the Western world. This book is an account of the ways in which sexual pleasure has been devalued and demonized in the West by the historical forces of Christendom. It tells the story of how sex came to be regarded by societies throughout the ages as perverse, sinful, and wrong, and how the centuries-old motivations of a few have persisted into modern times, coloring our view of sex and sexuality to this day.

For good or ill, Christianity has been, since before the ebbing of the Roman Empire, the principal bearer of public values in the western world. This book traces the changes that have shaped and reshaped what is considered moral sexual behavior (and immoral sexual behavior) by Christians and non-Christians alike. Lawrence's account of the perversion of sexual values begins with the intersection of the early Jesus movement and the morality of the Greco-Roman culture and empire. He goes on to point out the ways Christianity and its moral code were reshaped under the impact of Constantine's adoption of Christianity as the imperial religion, and how key figures of the Middle Ages generally succeeded in promoting a religion whose chief goal was the obliteration of sexual pleasure. The story continues on through the ages until now. This controversial look at sex and Christianity sheds new light on our views of pornography, homosexuality, adultery, and other issues of sex and sexuality.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780275993733
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date: 01/30/2007
Series: Psychology, Religion, and Spirituality
Pages: 192
Product dimensions: 6.20(w) x 9.30(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Raymond J. Lawrence, Jr. is Director of Pastoral Care at New York Presbyterian Hospital, Columbia University Medical Center, General Secretary of the College of Pastoral Supervision and Psychotherapy, and Director of Pastoral Care at the New York Council of Churches. He is the author of The Poisoning of Eros: Sexual Values in Conflict, which won the 1989 Book Award from the World Congress for Sexology.

Table of Contents


Series Foreword   J. Harold Ellens     ix
Foreword   Donald Capps     xiii
Foreword   Don Jones     xv
Introduction     xvii
The Sexual Life and Teachings of Jesus     1
Jesus: Legitimate or Illegitimate     7
The Two Wives of Paul the Apostle     14
Sexual Pleasure in Judaism     19
Sexual Conduct in the Early Christian Church     27
Constantine's Imperial Cooptation of Christianity     34
Ecce Unde-That's the Place     39
The Victory of Monasticism in the West     45
Bernard, Abelard, and Heloise     51
The Cathars     57
The Two Faces of Thomas More     61
The Reformation as Sexual Revolution     67
The Sexuality of Teresa of Avila     79
From Martin Luther to Anton Boisen     87
Anton Boisen's Contribution to the Sexual Revolution     96
Paul Tillich and Karl Barth: Sexual Outliers     105
Sexual Disarray in the Late Twentieth Century     115
Cause Celebre: From Masturbation to Homosexuality     130
Sexual Disarray in the Churches     135
Postscript     148
Notes     155
Index     167

What People are Saying About This

Robert C. Powell

"Like the child in the fairy tale who noted that the emperor has no clothes the author sees what others miss...This well-documented but easy to read volume is well recommended to thoughtful Christians, Jews befuddled by their Christian colleagues, and anyone trying to comprehend Western sexual ways."

Rev. John M. Gessell

"...a lucid and masterful account of Christianity's shifting attitude toward sex from the positive valuation of its Jewish roots to the contemporary Church's obsessive hysteria about sex. For anyone who is seeking a clue to today's Christian sex wars, this book will provide it."

Rev. Myron C. Madden

"Raymond Lawrence has the courage to undo most of what the church has done through the centuries in making Jesus anything but a poor Palestinian Jew. He does much for my own struggle to give Jesus his Jewishness and his humanity."

From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews