Begotten, Not Made: Conceiving Manhood in Late Antiquity

by Virginia Burrus

This book interprets fourth-century theological discourse as an incident in the history of masculine gender, arguing that Nicene trinitarian doctrine is a crucial site not only for theological innovation but also for reimagining and reproducing manhood in the late Roman period. When the Trinity became for the first time the sine qua non of doctrinal orthodoxy, masculinity was conceived anew, in terms that heightened the claims of patriarchal authority while cutting manhood loose from its traditional fleshly and familial moorings. In exploring the significance of this late antique movement for the subsequent history of ideals of manhood in the West, this study directly engages, combines, and thereby disrupts the divergent disciplinary perspectives of historical theology, late Roman cultural history, and French feminist theory. The author brings contemporary theorist Luce Irigaray into dialogue with the Patristic corpus to coax out a fresh interpretation of ancient texts and themes. The book centers on performative readings of major works by three prominent fourth-century Fathers―Athanasius of Alexandria, Gregory of Nyssa, and Ambrose of Milan. Each of these ascetic bishops played a crucial role in defending Nicene trinitarian doctrine as the touchstone of orthodox belief; each also modeled a distinctive style of fourth-century masculine self-fashioning. The concluding chapter considers the sum of these three figures from an explicitly feminist theological and theoretical perspective.

256 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2000

About the author

A native of Texas, Virginia Burrus received her B.A. (1981) in Classical Civilization from Yale College, and her M.A. (1984) and Ph.D. (1991) in History of Christianity from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. Currently the the Bishop W. Earl Ledden Professor of Religion at Syracuse University, she had previously taught in Drew University's Theological School and Graduate Division of Religion.

Dr. Burrus's teaching and research interests in the field of ancient Christianity include: gender, sexuality, and the body; martyrdom and asceticism; ancient novels and hagiography; constructions of orthodoxy and heresy; histories of theology and historical theologies. She is past President of the North American Patristics Society, Associate Editor of the Journal of Early Christian Studies, and co-editor of the University of Pennsylvania Press series "Divinations: Rereading Late Ancient Religion."

Reviews

[Neal Spadafora · Rating 4 out of 5]

This work elaborates how a contingent of celibate bishops—Athanasius of Alexandria, Gregory of Nyssa, and Ambrose of Milan—who debated the divinity of the Son were simultaneously negotiating manhood. Like Brown, Burrus highlights not only the instability of masculinity in late antique Christianity, but how the Christian bishops of the 4th century became anxious to prove their masculinity as they gained an unprecedented and, perhaps, unexpected amount of state power.

Whether in Athanasius’ portrayal of the corruptible, material body as feminine and the transcendent divine as masculine, or in Ambrose’s depiction of feminine hysteria as justification for male authority, these figures appropriated traits traditionally associated with femininity to construct a new model of Christian masculinity. Burrus’ aim, thus, is to “add something significant to what we ‘know’ about trinitarian theology, gender, sexuality, asceticism, episcopacy, and Christianization in late antiquity and the relevance of these historical phenomena to our own lives and cultures.”

To this end, Burrus captures how shifts in the state’s relation to ecclesial power often placed celibate bishops in new, powerful positions that demanded rearticulations of how a celibate cleric could hold such power.

[Theresa Barkasy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The work would do well to put forth some of the initial guiding theories of the text (eg. French feminisms) and by contextualizing some of the content that Burrus tries to unpack (eg. What was gender and sex in the ancient world, and how did these ancient Christian authors position themselves in line with, or in opposition to, the ideas of the day?).
The question of the canon should also be brought into view, which was not established until the 5th century. For example, Burrus notes that Athanasius uses Hermas as a source (44), without noting that The Shephard of Hermas was an extremely popular text that often stood in place of Revelation, especially in places like Rome. Furthermore, The Shephard of Hermas also has a lot to say about women, and the conversation between Athanasius and Hermas and their two depictions of gender quite possibly has much to with what Athanasius may be doing with gender.
Without contextualizing the audience, any reader not steeped in these ideas in the ancient world are only reading her interpretation through 21st-century eyes, without being able to see the theological moves that they themselves are making.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly fun book, because Burrus has a surprisingly fun way of writing academic history. Her nose for linguistic nuance in the texts she interprets carries over into her love of puns and allusions in the texts she writes. The book surveys a series of late-antique writers, starting with late 3rd and early 4th century predecessors (Paul of Samosata, Eusebius, Lactantius), and continuing into Athanasius, Gregory of Nyssa, and Ambrose of Milan. A good introduction for how gender criticism can provide meaningful insights into ancient texts by looking at constructions of masculinity and achieved masculinity. Body metaphor and one's theory of the human person matter a TON for how we write (and often for things seemingly unrelated to the body of the theory of the human person), so Burrus' approach is appreciated.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Extremely interesting, if a bit convoluted at times.

I wrote a response paper/review on this book for one of my classes. Maybe I'll copy/paste it up here after I turn it in.