From Shame to Sin: The Christian Transformation of Sexual Morality in Late Antiquity

religion-and-sex

• Christian sexual morality of the second century has a shrill tone precisely because it is the urgent message of an embattled, if confident, group of dissenters.

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• Conjugal intercourse which is had with procreative intention is not in itself a sin, because a righteous will leads the spirit which follows.

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shame

• Many other women left their husbands, and husbands their wives, in the name of sexual purity... Peter's preaching on sexual chastity is the proximate cause of the most famous martyrdom scene.

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• The woman-mad governor tried every device but could not persuade the girl. He ordered her sentenced to a brothel, where she was subjected to the usual threats.

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embodiment

• The structural transformation that enabled the creation of characters like Pelagia and Mary traces the deeper reordering of the form and logic of sexual morality.

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• Paphnutius once believed he had vanquished the demonic impulses that tempted his flesh. His pride earned him a visitation from an angel of the Lord.

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