The Invention of Sodomy in Christian Theology (Volume 1997) (The Chicago Series on Sexuality History and Society)

About this book

In this startling original work of historical detection Mark D. Jordan explores the invention of Sodomy by medieval Christendom examining its conceptual foundations in theology and gauging its impact on Christian sexual ethics both then and now. This book is for everyone involved in the ongoing debate within organized religions and society in general over moral judgments of same-sex eroticism. "A crucial contribution to our understanding of the tortured and tortuous relationship between men who love men and the Christian religionindeed between our kind and Western society as a whole. . . . The true power of Jordans study is that it gives back to gay and lesbian people our place in history and that it places before modern theologians and church leaders a detailed history of fear inconsistency hatred and oppression that must be faced both intellectually and pastorally."Michael B. Kelly Screaming Hyena "A detailed and disturbing tour through the back roads of medieval Christian thought."Dennis OBrien Commonweal "Being gay and being Catholic are not necessarily incompatible modes of life Jordan argues. . . . Compelling and deeply learned."Virginia Quarterly Review