Kevin W. Saunders
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814741443
- eISBN:
- 9780814708750
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814741443.003.0003
- Subject:
- Law, Legal History
This chapter examines how pornography became obscene during the Christian era. It begins with a discussion of the Christian Church's teachings on sex, and especially the general teachings from St. ...
More
This chapter examines how pornography became obscene during the Christian era. It begins with a discussion of the Christian Church's teachings on sex, and especially the general teachings from St. Paul to St. Augustine. It then considers the practice of celibacy among the Christian clergy and the Christian Church's regulation of clerical image by placing limits on sexual literature in which the clergy were actors. It also describes the place of humans in the divine/animal split, whereby sexual depictions are seen as degrading images of humanity. It shows that the arrival of Christianity changed the nature of God, created a distinction between humans and God, and eventually linked pornography with shamefulness—the hallmark of obscenity.Less
This chapter examines how pornography became obscene during the Christian era. It begins with a discussion of the Christian Church's teachings on sex, and especially the general teachings from St. Paul to St. Augustine. It then considers the practice of celibacy among the Christian clergy and the Christian Church's regulation of clerical image by placing limits on sexual literature in which the clergy were actors. It also describes the place of humans in the divine/animal split, whereby sexual depictions are seen as degrading images of humanity. It shows that the arrival of Christianity changed the nature of God, created a distinction between humans and God, and eventually linked pornography with shamefulness—the hallmark of obscenity.
Kevin W. Saunders
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814741443
- eISBN:
- 9780814708750
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814741443.003.0003
- Subject:
- Law, Legal History
This chapter examines how pornography became obscene during the Christian era. It begins with a discussion of the Christian Church's teachings on sex, and especially the general teachings from St. ...
More
This chapter examines how pornography became obscene during the Christian era. It begins with a discussion of the Christian Church's teachings on sex, and especially the general teachings from St. Paul to St. Augustine. It then considers the practice of celibacy among the Christian clergy and the Christian Church's regulation of clerical image by placing limits on sexual literature in which the clergy were actors. It also describes the place of humans in the divine/animal split, whereby sexual depictions are seen as degrading images of humanity. It shows that the arrival of Christianity changed the nature of God, created a distinction between humans and God, and eventually linked pornography with shamefulness—the hallmark of obscenity.
Less
This chapter examines how pornography became obscene during the Christian era. It begins with a discussion of the Christian Church's teachings on sex, and especially the general teachings from St. Paul to St. Augustine. It then considers the practice of celibacy among the Christian clergy and the Christian Church's regulation of clerical image by placing limits on sexual literature in which the clergy were actors. It also describes the place of humans in the divine/animal split, whereby sexual depictions are seen as degrading images of humanity. It shows that the arrival of Christianity changed the nature of God, created a distinction between humans and God, and eventually linked pornography with shamefulness—the hallmark of obscenity.
