Product Description

Does sexual difference matter for marriage? Are there good theological reasons why the two main characters in a marriage should be a male and a female, or is marriage a more flexible covenant, which any two people can keep? Creation and Covenant analyzes latent but under-examined beliefs about sexual difference in the theology about marriage which has been dominant for centuries in the Christian west.

The book opens by studying patristic theologies of marriage, which rested on mostly implicit and often incompatible beliefs about sexual difference. However, Roberts argues that Augustine developed a coherent theology of sexual difference, according it a shifting significance from creation to eschaton. Roberts traces how Augustine's theology influenced and was developed by subsequent theologians, such as Bernard of Clairvaux, Luther, Barth, and John Paul II. Finally, Roberts engages today's debates about gay marriage. Before becoming an academic, Dr. Roberts was a journalist. On behalf of PBS television, he covered both the Lambeth Conference in England and the World Council of Churches in Zimbabwe. During those years, he was disappointed by both the liberal and conservative arguments on homosexuality. Left-wingers seemed more interested in privacy, autonomy, and experience than in theology, and right-wingers seemed to have lots of prohibitions but little good news. In the final chapters, this book tries to do better, inviting liberals to improve the standard of their arguments, and explaining what is beautiful and persuasive about the traditional case.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1090796 in Books
• Published on: 2007-06-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 266 pages

Review
"In Creation and Covenant, Christopher Roberts has done both church and society a great service." -- Don Browning

"Sexual ethics and gay marriage -- Creation and Covenant is essential reading for anyone who wants to think about these issues in light of the Western Christian tradition. Roberts helps us see and resist the Gnostic temptation that so dominates the moral imagination of modern culture....A very fine book - just the sort of patient survey of the classical tradition we need, and absolutely on target as far as the core theological issue is concerned. It's the sort of book that will be very helpful for teaching a seminar on sexual ethics." -- R. R. Reno, Creighton University

"The question of the significance of sexual difference is at the heart of many divisions within contemporary society. ...Roberts' contribution to the debate is forceful and scholarly, while always charitable. This powerfully argued case for the abiding importance of our sexual identity shows how rich can be the contribution of the Christian tradition to our society's present search to understand the meaning of our lives. ...It will help us all in our journey towards understanding who we are in Christ." -- -Timothy Radcliffe, OP

"Christopher Roberts explores with clarity and precision of argument... an important contribution to present debates... done with care but critical sharpness...I am very grateful for this book, for its positive argument which will make any reader think again. It is a first class work of strong theology" -- Brian Haymes, The Baptist Times, October 2007

"With this book, Roberts has tried to raise the standard of theological argument about same-sex unions, and in this he succeeds admirably." -- Commonweal