EAN: 9780141990958

MACCULLOCH DIARMAID LOWER THAN THE ANGELS

'A richly entertaining history of the ways in which  for 3 000 years  the church has tied
itself in knots over sex (and love and marriage) ... fabulous' Observer    The Bible observes
that God made humanity 'for a while a little lower than the angels'. If humans are that close
to angels  does the difference lie in human sexuality and what we do with it? Much of the
political contention and division in societies across the world centres on sexual topics  and
one-third of the global population is Christian in background or outlook. In a single lifetime
Christianity or historically Christian societies have witnessed one of the most extraordinary
about-turns in attitudes to sex and gender in human history. There have followed revolutions in
the place of women in society  a new place for same-sex love amid the spectrum of human
emotions and a public exploration of gender and trans identity. For many the new situation has
brought exciting liberation - for others  fury and fear.  This book seeks to calm fears and
encourage understanding through telling a 3000-year-long tale of Christians encountering sex 
gender and the family  with noises off from their sacred texts. The message of Lower than the
Angels is simple  necessary and timely: to pay attention to the sheer glorious complexity and
contradictions in the history of Christianity. The reader can decide from the story told here
whether there is a single Christian theology of sex  or many contending voices in a symphony
that is not at all complete. Oxford's Emeritus Professor of the History of the Church
introduces an epic of ordinary and extraordinary Christians trying to make sense of themselves
and of humanity's deepest desires  fears and hopes.

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