Sexual Liberation: The Scandal of Christendom

by Raymond J. Lawrence Jr.

Sex sells, they say, but even today it is considered forbidden or sinful by many in the Western world. This book is an account of the ways in which sexual pleasure has been devalued and demonized in the West by the historical forces of Christendom. It tells the story of how sex came to be regarded by societies throughout the ages as perverse, sinful, and wrong, and how the centuries-old motivations of a few have persisted into modern times, coloring our view of sex and sexuality to this day.

For good or ill, Christianity has been, since before the ebbing of the Roman Empire, the principal bearer of public values in the western world. This book traces the changes that have shaped and reshaped what is considered moral sexual behavior (and immoral sexual behavior) by Christians and non-Christians alike. Lawrence's account of the perversion of sexual values begins with the intersection of the early Jesus movement and the morality of the Greco-Roman culture and empire. He goes on to point out the ways Christianity and its moral code were reshaped under the impact of Constantine's adoption of Christianity as the imperial religion, and how key figures of the Middle Ages generally succeeded in promoting a religion whose chief goal was the obliteration of sexual pleasure. The story continues on through the ages until now. This controversial look at sex and Christianity sheds new light on our views of pornography, homosexuality, adultery, and other issues of sex and sexuality.

Genres: Religion, History, Sexuality, Nonfiction

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 30, 2007

Reviews

[Bob Griffin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Raymond Lawrence, like Sigmund Freud, is obsessed with sex. The only difference between Lawrence, Freud and the rest of us is they are willing and very capable of talking and writing about it.
If the Christian Church and our American Society would listen to Lawrence's explanations of the history of sexuality and learn from his historical documentations, we could change our thinking and our attitudes to accept our sexuality, have healthier attitudes, relationships, marriages, etc. A must read for the seriously religious person. Read it and learn.

[Beth · Rating 1 out of 5]

I enjoyed it up until the last few chapters, which as another reviewer already outlined, were absolute garbage.

Edit: After having taken a class on non-canonical texts from a reputable scholar, I also doubt the credibility of Lawrence's scholarship in earlier chapters.