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Sexual Liberation: The Scandal of Christendom (Psychology, Religion, and Spirituality)

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In Sexual Liberation, The Scandal of Christendom, Raymond J. Lawrence, Jr., catches Christianity with its pants down regarding its failure to deliver a positive sex ethic. He traces the roots of sex-negativity in the Greco-Roman culture and how it it was adopted by the early church fathers, then perpetuated over the centuries in both the Catholic and Protestant churches. He also traces the sex positivity of the Jewish culture and how it has been drowned out by the powers that have been, and why. Sexual Liberation is a well-written, well-researched, well-documented re-working of Lawrence's earlier book, The Poisoning of Eros. His new book is loaded with insightful stories that make for thought-provoking and enjoyable reading. I couldn't put it down. The dust-jacket illustration deserves mention as it not only undergirds the central message of the book, but it is also a delightful expression of the beauty of sex. Sexual Liberation offers much-needed balance against the sexual addiction bandwagon that Christendom is currently riding. Every clergyman, indeed, every thinking believer, should read this book and then "declare the year of the Lord's favor" regarding sex.

Raymond J. Lawrence, Jr. had the guts to tell the true story of Christianity. It is a very strong book full of not so many nice things but enlightening. I take my hat off and congratulate this gentleman. He simply had the guts to set the record straight. When someone has the stature and valor to state things such as, The central conclusion of this book is that Christianity made a catastrophic turn early in its development, a turn largely fixed in the fourth century C.E. and cemented in the eleventh, and adopted a sex-phobic Platonist posture toward sexual pleasure. In the process it jettisoned its Judeo-biblical origins. Christianity has been profoundly damaged by this radical reversal, a reversal from which the West has never recovered. Consequently, we Westerners are now part of a Christianity that is the most sex-negative of all the major world religions. You know that you are for a tough ride.

This book is not for the faint hearted person. This is a revolutionary and a liberating book with the mission of setting the record straight!

You may not agree with the conclusions but you can't argue with the church history. It is very plain that the the doctorine on sex that we are taught today is not from the bible but rather from Roman Greco Platonic philosophy that infiltrated the church in the 2nd century. It pained me that the Poisoning of eros was out of print. (Though you can get one easily here or other used book sites) The Poisoning of Eros: Sexual Values in Conflict It enlightens us on what is biblical and what is cultural and anti scripturual dualist philosophy. This new book is just a readers digest version of the Poioning of Eros. I would Hightly recommend that you get that book instead of this one. This one the author starts giving too much liberal opinion rather than letting the history speak for itself. However If you cant get the out of print version it is a good read. Unfortunatly he goes off the liberal deep end when he speaks about the divinity of Jesus. I would recomend Dirt Greed and Sex by Wilianm CountrymanDirt, Greed, and Sex: Sexual Ethics in the New Testament and Their Implications for Today and Divine Sex: Liberating sex from religious tradition by Philo Thelos. Divine Sex: Liberating Sex from Religious TraditionThese are must haves for all serious students of the Bible that want to study the topic of sex and the bible.