From Shame To Sin The Christian Transformation Of Sexual Morality In Late Antiquity
By Kyle Harper
In the ancient Roman world, sexual behavior operated under a system of social shame, where public condemnation served as the primary moral compass. Yet within just a few centuries, this entire framework underwent a revolutionary transformation that would reshape Western civilization's understanding of sexuality and morality.
Kyle Harper traces this profound shift from the height of Roman power, when emperors could deify their male lovers while society simultaneously enabled the exploitation of vulnerable women, to a Christian empire that introduced entirely new concepts of sexual ethics. Through careful examination of literature, philosophy, and artistic sources, Harper reveals how the rise of Christianity fundamentally altered humanity's relationship with sexual morality.
The transformation moved beyond mere changes in acceptable behavior. Where Roman culture relied on shame as a social mechanism of control, Christianity introduced the theological concept of sin, placing moral judgment in divine rather than human hands. This shift brought explicit prohibitions against homosexuality, extramarital relationships, and prostitution, but perhaps most significantly, it established the doctrine of free will.
This emergence of free will as a central Christian principle meant that all human actions, including sexual choices, became accountable to spiritual rather than physical realms. Harper demonstrates how this ancient religious revolution laid the groundwork for modern Western attitudes toward sexuality, showing how contemporary moral frameworks trace their origins to this pivotal moment in history when shame gave way to sin.
What You'll Discover
- ✓ Understand spiritual ethics
- ✓ Explore Religion and Sex
- ✓ Explore Religious aspects
- ✓ Explore Civilization, classical
- ✓ Explore Moral conditions
- ✓ Explore Christianity
- ✓ Explore Sexual ethics
- ✓ Explore Sexuality
Topics
Details
- Published
- 2013
- Publisher
- Harvard University Press
- ISBN-13
- 9780674072770
- ISBN-10
- 0674072774
- Pages
- 304
- Language
- EN
