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Title: Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe by John Boswell ISBN: 0-679-75164-5 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 30 May, 1995 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.92 (12 reviews)
Rating: 2
Summary: A fantastic misreading of history
Comment: I find it amazing that so many readers think that Boswell, may he rest in peace, has discovered that in fact the early church actually blessed same sex unions. THis book, combined with his "Christianity, Social Tolorance, and Homosexuality", has done more to promote the legitimacy of homosexuality in theological terms than any other other, with Spong's half-baked attempts coming in a close second.
Please understand that I am not trying to bash gays or gays who are living the CHristian life. It is only that this sort of book misrepresents that tradition of the Church- east and west.
Read Boswell, by all means. But also read critiques. One very useful and kind critique is found in Marva Dawn's "Sexual Character" which goes into great detail about the scholarship of Boswell. I must say that the question is so very important to the Church and society and the Church should not be vindictive or loose withthe facts- but neither should those who disagree with the Tradition.
THere are several thorough reviews of Boswell's books at First THings so I won't repeat what is written there. However, I would suggest that we all need to be careful in reading into texts and history what would make us feel better about ourselves. Orthodox and heretic both do this, and it is exactly why we need to listen carefully to all sides as dispassionately as possible.
Rating: 5
Summary: ABOUT MORE THAN ONLY SAME-SEX UNIONS
Comment: Boswell's book should be read by everyone interested in some kind of "fixed union", even heterosexuals who want to be married by the Church. Some very interesting insights to all "unions". If you're like me, you'll want to abolish or redefine "marriage" in the 21st century.
Rating: 5
Summary: Not always opposites attract
Comment: Friends of mine who had been familiar with Boswell's first book, 'Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality', from its initial publication in 1980 waited impatiently for the follow-up volume. In the end, it took fourteen years to produce, and sadly, did not live up the expectations that had been given it.
Firstly, it did not in fact reveal (if such places exist, the not-always-so-hidden charge behind the disappointment) communities that had continued the practice of tolerance to same-sex couples through the last millenium within the structures of Christendom.
For part of the book he covers old ground, talking about the milieu of the Greco-Roman world, and talks about the development of the idea of marriage and liturgical practices for that. He then proceeds to give examples of liturgies which, Boswell claims, are proof that the church did recognise and bless same-sex unions. This claim is still debated, as there is no blantant 'I now pronounce you husband and husband (or wife and wife)' kinds of statements or liturgies here, but rather testimony to friendship, companionship, communal support, of a sort that is ambiguous.
While this book is important for liturgical forms and narrative discussion (although the narratives can be reinterpreted as something different from Boswell's), it failed to deliver the knock-out punch readers of the first book had been waiting for, i.e., conclusive proof the church was up to no good. Boswell does make some points worthy of attention in the debate, such as, 'The extent of early Christian hostility to same-sex eroticism has been exaggerated by modern Christians, who tend to overlook comparable Christian strictures against divorce or other common aspects of modern life also condemned by the early church, while focusing their energy and moral outrage on this particular issue.'
Boswell is interesting but far from satisfying on either side of the debate. So, after providing us with some historical framework, we must move on to more explicitly theological discussions. Boswell's contribution is an important one, in that it shows that this has been an issue with varying degrees of acceptance and controversy throughout the life of the church, and the history of society in general. It does not, however, settle anything, or satisfy either side -- it is rather more grist for the mill for both sides. An important book, but not definitive by any means.
Unfortunately, Boswell died not long after the publication of this volume, and so further clarifications, or any unpublished research of sensitive nature, will not be forthcoming.
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Title: Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality: Gay People in Western Europe from the Beginning of the Christian Era to the Fourteenth Century by John Boswell ISBN: 0226067114 Publisher: University of Chicago Press (Trd) Pub. Date: July, 1981 List Price(USD): $21.00 |
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Title: What the Bible Really Says About Homosexuality by Daniel A. Helminiak ISBN: 188636009X Publisher: Alamo Square Press Pub. Date: May, 2000 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: New Testament and Homosexuality by Robin Scroggs ISBN: 0800618548 Publisher: Fortress Press Pub. Date: August, 1984 List Price(USD): $17.00 |
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Title: The Church and the Homosexual by John J. McNeill ISBN: 0807079316 Publisher: Beacon Press Pub. Date: 01 September, 1993 List Price(USD): $17.00 |
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Title: The Children Are Free: Reexamining the Biblical Evidence on Same-sex Relationships by Jeff Miner, John Tyler Connoley, David Squire, Rev. Jeff Miner ISBN: 0971929602 Publisher: Jesus Metropolitan Community Church Pub. Date: 02 April, 2002 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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