Regulating Sex in the Roman Empire

Ideology, the Bible, and the Early Christians

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Theology, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Gender Studies, Christianity
Cover of the book Regulating Sex in the Roman Empire by David Wheeler-Reed, Yale University Press
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Author: David Wheeler-Reed ISBN: 9780300231311
Publisher: Yale University Press Publication: November 28, 2017
Imprint: Yale University Press Language: English
Author: David Wheeler-Reed
ISBN: 9780300231311
Publisher: Yale University Press
Publication: November 28, 2017
Imprint: Yale University Press
Language: English

A New Testament scholar challenges the belief that American family values are based on “Judeo-Christian” norms by drawing unexpected comparisons between ancient Christian theories and modern discourses

Challenging the long-held assumption that American values—be they Christian or secular—are based on “Judeo-Christian” norms, this provocative study compares ancient Christian discourses on marriage and sexuality with contemporary ones, maintaining that modern family values owe more to Roman Imperial beliefs than to the bible.
 
Engaging with Foucault’s ideas, Wheeler-Reed examines how conservative organizations and the Supreme Court have misunderstood Christian beliefs on marriage and the family. Taking on modern cultural debates on marriage and sexuality, with implications for historians, political thinkers, and jurists, this book undermines the conservative ideology of the family, starting from the position that early Christianity, in its emphasis on celibacy and denunciation of marriage, was in opposition to procreation, the ideological norm in the Greco-Roman world.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

A New Testament scholar challenges the belief that American family values are based on “Judeo-Christian” norms by drawing unexpected comparisons between ancient Christian theories and modern discourses

Challenging the long-held assumption that American values—be they Christian or secular—are based on “Judeo-Christian” norms, this provocative study compares ancient Christian discourses on marriage and sexuality with contemporary ones, maintaining that modern family values owe more to Roman Imperial beliefs than to the bible.
 
Engaging with Foucault’s ideas, Wheeler-Reed examines how conservative organizations and the Supreme Court have misunderstood Christian beliefs on marriage and the family. Taking on modern cultural debates on marriage and sexuality, with implications for historians, political thinkers, and jurists, this book undermines the conservative ideology of the family, starting from the position that early Christianity, in its emphasis on celibacy and denunciation of marriage, was in opposition to procreation, the ideological norm in the Greco-Roman world.

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