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E-book
Author Cadenhead, Raphael A., 1988- author.

Title The body and desire : Gregory of Nyssa's ascetical theology / Raphael A. Cadenhead
Published Oakland, California : University of California Press, [2018]

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Description 1 online resource (xii, 267 pages)
Series Christianity in late antiquity ; 4
Christianity in late antiquity (North American Patristics Society) ; 4.
Contents Acknowledgments; Introduction; Setting the Scene; The Structure of the Study; Resisting the Charge of Anachronism: Semantic and Terminological Clarifications; The Renaissance of Scholarly Interest in Gregory of Nyssa: From Obscurity to Approbation to Eisegesis; Prelude; Christianity after Constantine's Conversion; The Burgeoning Monastic Movement; The Asceticism of Gregory's Family; Conclusion; Part One. The Early Phase, 371-September 378: The Integrative Significance of the Body in the Life of Virtue; 1. Marriage, Celibacy, and Pederasty; Marriage and Celibacy; Pederasty and Celibacy; Conclusion; 2. The Integration of the Virtues; Sexual Lust in the De virginitate; The Reciprocity of the Virtues; The Proliferation of Vice and the Example of Gluttony; 3. Gregory's Emerging Theory of Desire; Erotic Desire; The Criterion of Need; The Passions; Moderation; Satiety versus Fulfillment; The Moral Evocations of Male and Female Characteristics; Conclusion; Part Two. The Middle Phase, September 378-387: The Ascetical and Eschatological Mixture of Male and Female; 4. A Worldly Life of Desire: Marriage, Children, Money, and Sex; The Problems of Marriage; Physical Fecundity; The Particular Challenges of Sexual Vice; The Moral Evocations of Male and Female Characteristics; 5. The Death of Siblings; "No Longer Male and Female ... in Christ Jesus"; Sexual Morphology: Anthropological and Eschatological Perspectives; Refinements in Gregory's Theory of Desire; 6. Doctrinal Controversies: Christological and Trinitarian; The Diachronic Unfolding of the Spiritual Life: Christological Reflections; Gregory's Doctrine of God: Intra-Trinitarian Relationships and the Ascetic Life; Conclusion; Part Three. The Late Phase, 387-394: Erotic Intimacy with Christ and the Maturation of Desire; 7. Spiritual Maturation: Virginity and the Narrative of Progress; Recasting Virginity; The Diachronic Train of Moral and Spiritual Progress; 8. Male and Female: Diachronic Exchanges; Male and Female in the Late Period; Intimacy with Christ; Conclusion; Conclusion; Overview; The Challenges Posed to Contemporary Ethical Discourse; Appendix; Abbreviations; Notes; Bibliography; Index
Summary "Although the reception of the Eastern Father, Gregory of Nyssa, has varied over the centuries, the past few decades have witnessed a profound awakening of interest in his thought. The Body and Desire sets out to retrieve the full range of Gregory's thinking on the challenges of the ascetic life by examining his evolving attitudes on what we now call gender, sex, and sexuality within the context of his theological commitments. Exploring Gregory's understanding of the importance of bodily and spiritual maturation for the practices of contemplation and virtue, Raphael Cadenhead recovers the vital relevance of this vision of transformation for contemporary ethical discourse"--Provided by publisher
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index
Notes Online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on June 03, 2019)
Subject Gregory, of Nyssa, Saint, approximately 335-approximately 394.
SUBJECT Gregory, of Nyssa, Saint, approximately 335-approximately 394 fast
Subject Marriage -- Religious aspects -- Christianity.
Asceticism -- Christianity.
Gender identity -- Religious aspects -- Chrisitanity
RELIGION -- Christian Theology -- Systematic.
RELIGION -- Christianity -- General.
HISTORY -- Africa -- General.
Asceticism -- Christianity
Marriage -- Religious aspects -- Christianity
Form Electronic book
LC no. 2018032521
ISBN 9780520970106
0520970101