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Christianity undermined Roman sexuality by giving it a spiritual dimension, finds Candida Moss.
From Shame to Sin: The Christian Transformation of Sexual Morality in Late Antiquity By Kyle Harper Harvard University Press 316pp, Pounds 29.95 ISBN 9780674072770 and 74569 Published 27 June 2013
When I opened this book on a recent flight, the flight attendant exclaimed "Good book!" before taking a second look and correcting herself with a disappointed "Oh - I thought it was Fifty Shades of Grey". She was close. Kyle Harper's examination of the traditional narrative of the Christian prudish revolution of late antiquity is a compellingly written book about sex and shame, but the developed prose and the studiously elevated vocabulary never allow us to either wallow or delight in the sticky details.
The central focus of Harper's book is in the transition from Roman poly- sexuality to Christian monogamy. His interest lies both in undermining various popular and academic stereotypes; that Christianity restrained and confined human sexuality with ponderous...