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Celibacy in the Ancient World : Its Ideal and Practice in Pre-Hellenistic Israel, Mesopotamia, and Greece /
""This wide-ranging book situates virginity, chastity, and celibacy within the larger social structure of the patriarchal household in Mesopotamia, Israel, and Greece. Drawing out the understandings of human sexuality in these three pre-Hellenistic cultures, this probing study examines sex...
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| Formato: | Electrónico eBook |
| Idioma: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
Collegeville, Minn. :
Liturgical Press,
2010.
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| Colección: | Book collections on Project MUSE.
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| Temas: | |
| Acceso en línea: | Texto completo |
| Sumario: | ""This wide-ranging book situates virginity, chastity, and celibacy within the larger social structure of the patriarchal household in Mesopotamia, Israel, and Greece. Drawing out the understandings of human sexuality in these three pre-Hellenistic cultures, this probing study examines sexual òutliers, ' such as the celibate prophet, Jeremiah. In this study, celibacy emerges as an effort to separate from customary social-sexual relations with a human partner in order to connect with the divine in a manner that would transcend death; it is, in other words, à proleptic death and a quest for transcendence.' The result is an understanding--and a concrete rationale for--the symbolic value of celibacy in the modern world: F̀or one committed to a celibate life such sexual discipline is a fundamental means of shaping the ascetic body into a symbol of enduring life in the cosmic community.' The result of this challenging book is a rethinking of sexual òutliers, ' based on a learned examination of the very societies of antiquity that influenced Christian traditions of celibacy.""--Jacket. "Celibacy is a commitment to remain unmarried and to renounce sexual relations, for a limited period or for a lifetime. Such a commitment places an individual outside human society in its usual form, and thus questions arise: What significance does such an individual, and such a choice, have for the human family and community as a whole? Is celibacy possible? Is there a socially constructive role for celibacy?" "These questions guide Dale Launderville, OSB, in his study of celibacy in the ancient cultures of Israel, Mesopotamia, and Greece prior to Hellenism and the rise of Christianity. Launderville focuses especially on literary witnesses, because those enduring texts have helped to shape modern attitudes and can aid us in understanding the factors that may call forth the practice of celibacy in our own time. Readers will discover how celibacy fits within a context of relationships, and what kinds of relationships thus support a healthy and varied society, one aware of and oriented to its cosmic destiny." |
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| Notas: | "A Michael Glazier book." |
| Descripción Física: | 1 online resource (616 pages): illustrations ; |
| ISBN: | 9780814657348 |