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Just Love: A Framework for Christian Sexual Ethics PDF

338 Pages·2008·35.612 MB·English
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ß L O O M S ß U R Y JUST LOVE This page intentionally left blank J U S T LOVE A Framework for Christian Sexual Ethics Margaret A. Farley \ λ continuum Continuum International Publishing Group 80 Maiden Lane, Suite 704, New York NY 10038 The Tower Building, 11 York Road, London SEI 7NX www.continuumbooks.com © 2006 by Margaret A. Farley First published 2006 Papcrback edition first published 2008 Reprinted 2011, 2012 The Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission. All rights reserved. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publishers. Printed and bound in the United States of America Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available from the Library' of Congress. ISBN: 978-0-8264-2924-7 (PB} For Patricia and Robert Hammell, lohn and Elizabeth Farley, Mary Farley Valenti, and their cherished children and grandchildren This page intentionally left blank CONTENTS PREFACE...........................................................................................................xi 1. OPENING THE QUESTIONS.............................................................1 Finding the Way 2 Why Wc Arc Here, 3 · New Maps, 8 · Problems with the Terrain, 12 The Task 15 2. THE QUESTIONS AND THEIR PAST........................................17 Sex, Morality, and History: Theories of Interpretation 18 Michel Foucault: The Historical Constitution of Desire, 18 · Catherine MacKinnon: Historical Silences/Gendered Violence, 22 · Evolutionary Histories: Sexuality and Change, 23 Sexual Ethics in the West: Historical Perspective 26 Sexuality in Antiquity: The Legacy of Grcecc and Rome, 27 • Judaism: Sexuality, Morality, and Religion, 34 · Christian Traditions, 37 · Secular Paths: Philosophical Developments, Medical Influences, 50 From the Past to the Present 56 3. DIFFICULT CROSSINGS: Diverse Traditions......................57 Cross-Cultural Perspectives: Importance for Sexual Ethics 58 Possibilities of Cross-Cultural and Interrcligious Awareness, 58 • Obstacles to the Search for Alternative Perspectives, 59 Colonialist Research and Its Postcolonial Critics 63 The Lessons of “Orientalism," 64 · Lessons for Sexual Ethics, 65 Vll vin TUST LOVE Pre-modern Islands of the South Seas 70 African Cultures 77 Sexuality and Community, 79 · Gender, Marriage, and Family, 80 · New Interpreters and Critics: Sustainable African Sexualities, 82 Kamasutra: Hindu Textbook on Erotic Love 90 The World of Islam, 95 Diversity UnlimitedI 103 4. SEXUALITY AND ITS MEANINGS..............................................109 How the Body Matters 110 Theories of the Body, 111· Transcendent Embodiment, 116 Whether Gender Matters 133 Gender Theory and Practice, 137 · Christian Theologies, 138 • Biology, Culture, and Experience, 144 · Biology, Culture, and More Experience, 149 · Whether Gender Matters, 156 Sexuality and Its Meanings 159 Elements in Sexual Experience, 161 · Love, Desire, and Sexuality, 164 5. JUST LOVE AND JUST SEX: Preliminary Considerations................................................................174 Sexuality and Justice 175 Alternative Frameworks 178 Sources for Christian Sexual Ethics 182 Scripturc, 183 · Tradition, 186 · Secular Disciplines of Knowledge, 188 · Contemporary Expcricncc, 190 Love and fust Love 196 Moral Norms for a Just Love, 200 · Love and Freedom, 204 · Desire, 205 Contents ix 6. FRAMEWORK FOR A SEXUAL ETHIC: Just Sex...............207 Justice 208 The Concrete Reality of Persons, 209 · Obligating Features of Pcrsonhood, 211 Norms for fust Sex 215 1. Do No Unjust Harm, 216 · 2. Free Consent, 218 · 3. Mutuality, 220 · 4. Equality, 223 · 5. Commitment, 223 · 6. Fruitfulness, 226 · 7. Social Justice, 228 Special Questions 232 An Ethic Only for Adults? 232 · Sexual Relations with Oneself, 235 · The Negative Potential of Sex, 237 Character, Faith, and Sexual Justice 240 7. PATTERNS OF RELATIONSHIP: Contexts for Just Love.........................................................................245 Marriage and Family 245 Historical and Cultural Contexts, 247 · Christianity and Its Influences, 252 · Descriptive and Normative Questions, 259 Same-Sex Relationships 271 Theological and Ethical Sources, 272 · Samc-Scx Relationships and Justice, 288 · Sexual Orientation: Given or Chosen, 294 Divorce and Remarriage 296 The Marriage Commitment: Making, Keeping, Changing, 301 • Divorce, 304 · Remarriage, 307 INDEX 313

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Most books are stored in the elastic cloud where traffic is expensive. For this reason, we have a limit on daily download.