Monday, August 22, 2005
A LITTLE LIGHT CATHOLIC READING
A reader sent in this website called "Catholic Books Review." Their definition of "Catholic" might just be a little different than a Roman Catholic definition of "Catholic," however. As the website states: "The term Catholic should be understood inclusively. Most churches accepting the Nicene creed consider themselves as catholic." I guess by that definition Monika Hellwig is Catholic. She makes the list in any case.
But it was this book by Robert E. Long that caught the attention of a reader:
Men, Homosexuality, and the Gods: An Exploration into the Religious Significance of Male Homosexuality in World Perspective
The first paragraph of the review is interesting:
Dr. Ronald Long ambitiously and effectively explores the various ways world religious traditions have understood and evaluated male homosexuality. His insightful narrative advances the thesis that traditional religions have been concerned to promote traditional gender roles and images of male superiority. Within this context full masculinity has been defined as involving the penetration of others, i.e., their territories, their possessions, their women, and even their very own bodies. The sexually penetrated male is seen as weak, impotent, effeminate yet becomes a source of curiosity, interest, and longing for some other males. The careful examination of the complex though common recurring ways in which religions have managed this ambivalence provides several provocative insights and a reanalysis of a wide range of religious and philosophical sources, including Plato, Socrates, St. Paul, St. Augustine, as well as Eastern, Muslim, and Native American sources. Long humbles the reader with his impressive range of knowledge, his consistently clear thinking, and most importantly, by his revelation that conflicts surrounding human sexuality in modern times are rooted in metaphors of war and domination, making the appreciation of male homosexual love impossible. Long optimistically envisions the emancipation of men and women, both heterosexual and homosexual, in a re-imagination of these sexual metaphors. Thus, what begins as an examination of social and religious constructions of homosexuality ends with a cry for liberation of all.
Hmmmm. Not everything that bears the name "Catholic" actually is.
