Lower than the Angels

A History of Sex and Christianity

De: Diarmaid MacCulloch

Narrado por: Diarmaid MacCulloch

A groundbreaking history of sexual emotion, sexual activity, gender relations, marriage and the family—and how Christianity has interacted with this panorama of human concerns

Few matters produce more public interest and public anxiety than sex and religion. Much of the political contention and division in societies across the world centres on sexual topics, and one-third of the global population is Christian in background or outlook. The issue goes to the heart of present-day religion.

This book seeks to calm fears and encourage understanding through telling a three-thousand-year-long tale of Christians encountering sex, gender, and the family. The message of Lower than the Angels is simple, necessary and timely: to pay attention to the complexity and contradictions in the history of Christianity. The listener can decide from the story told here whether there is a single Christian theology of sex, or many contending voices in a symphony that is not at all complete. Oxford’s Emeritus Professor of the History of the Church introduces an epic of ordinary and extraordinary Christians trying to make sense of themselves and of humanity’s deepest desires, fears and hopes.

©2025 Diarmaid MacCulloch (P)2025 Penguin Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

“Both scholarly rigorous and amiably open to the variations of human experience, this enthralls.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Well written and thoroughly researched, this comprehensive volume unveils a fascinating history.”—Kirkus Reviews

“A comprehensive and richly entertaining history of the ways in which, for 3,000 years, the church has tied itself in knots over sex… MacCulloch is the best kind of scholar.”—The Observer (UK)