Pre-Owned Sexual ethics (Paperback) 066425750X 9780664257507

Publishers Weekly,This conservative treatment of sexuality is yet another attack on homosexuality delivered under cover of "traditional family values." Grenz maintains that this is a "transitional era" that affords an opportunity to read the classics anew; but, for the most part, the "classics" he has in mind are scriptural texts, and he doesn't so much read them anew as read them again. His argument follows a familiar outline: to be human is to be embodied; sexuality is an essential dimension of embodiment; "normal" sexuality is most fully realized in monogamous heterosexual marriage, but "singleness" is also a biblically sanctioned expression of human sexuality. There's a hint of some potential fresh air in Grenz's assertion that "community" is God's "ultimate intention" for humanity, an assertion that could conceivably open the way for a thorough examination of the myriad ways in which community finds expression. But it doesn't. It becomes an occasion for establishing a choice between monogamous heterosexual marriage and "singleness" as normative���and for dismissing all homosexual relationships as deficient. One can only hope that readers will be more serious than Grenz about a "new" reading of "classic" texts, for human community as a spiritual metaphor for God's embodiment is a "classic" theme full of contemporary possibilities. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved,Publishers Weekly,Publishers Weekly,This conservative treatment of sexuality is yet another attack on homosexuality delivered under cover of "traditional family values." Grenz maintains that this is a "transitional era" that affords an opportunity to read the classics anew; but, for the most part, the "classics" he has in mind are scriptural texts, and he doesn't so much read them anew as read them again. His argument follows a familiar outline: to be human is to be embodied; sexuality is an essential dimension of embodiment; "normal" sexuality is most fully realized in monogamous heterosexual marriage, but "singleness" is also a biblically sanctioned expression of human sexuality. There's a hint of some potential fresh air in Grenz's assertion that "community" is God's "ultimate intention" for humanity, an assertion that could conceivably open the way for a thorough examination of the myriad ways in which community finds expression. But it doesn't. It becomes an occasion for establishing a choice between monogamous heterosexual marriage and "singleness" as normative���and for dismissing all homosexual relationships as deficient. One can only hope that readers will be more serious than Grenz about a "new" reading of "classic" texts, for human community as a spiritual metaphor for God's embodiment is a "classic" theme full of contemporary possibilities. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved