Was Jesus Married? The Distortion of Sexuality in the Christian Tradition by William E. Phipps (review)

BOOK REVIEWS 349 forces of evil. However, the most serious objection is directed against Sontag's thesis itself. Questioning the existence of a creature immediately involves its being as opposed to not being. One would expect that questioning God's existence would also leave God's being in jeopardy. But, for Sontag, God in himself remains untouched. Rather, questioning his being indicates God's decision to choose this or that possibility in the face of being. In other words, Sontag has shifted the issue from the existence of God to a declaration that God is a free creator rather than creating out of necessity. The fact that God creates freely and that limited being shares in non-being has already been clearly drawn by Scholasticism. In conclusion, Sontag's work will not be successful in convincing atheists of the viability of God but can only show that there is nothing contradictory to his existence. Rather, The God of Evil can serve to quiet the spirits of the believer. However, the problem of evil remains and Sontag's God chooses to tolerate it when he could have done otherwise. The Catholic University of America Washington, D. C. SEELY BEGGIANI Was Jesus Married? The Distortion of Sexuality in the Christian Tradition. By WILLIAM E. PHIPPS. New York: Harper and Row, 1970. Pp. 243. $5.95. A critic's first inclination in response to this study might be to deal with the innumerable objections and observations put forth by the author. Such an approach would, in fact, demand another monograph. This book does not deserve such a response. That is not to say, however, that this book should be allowed to pass without comment. The extent of the author's survey and research are rather impressive (sexual attitudes in ancient Judaism, an exegesis of the Gospel texts that are related to Jesus' teaching on celibacy, the apostolic and Pauline witness to and teaching concerning marriage, virginity and sexuality, and the sexual attitudes of second-century Christianity, early Orthodoxy, and Roman Catholicism) . At first sight, while such an undertaking might frighten any serious writer, such a study could certainly have added something of value to Christology and the place of sexuality in Christian morality and piety. At first sight too, it would appear that the author had done his research thoroughly. But unfortunately all this work was for nought, or at best a superfluous exercise. The issue of the investigation 350 BOOK REVIEWS was never m doubt-the subtitle should be moved to the title position in future printings. The study of Jesus' teaching about sexual morality and of his own sexuality are certainly legitimate and even important topics. In addition. an investigation of the teaching on sexuality in Christian tradition could be instructive and might help to explain the almost neurotic preoccupation of Christianity with sexual morality and ultimately help to put this subject in the perspective that it needs. The areas and goals, then, of this study are not in question. The objections to the book arise from the prejudice, pettiness, and lack of scholarship that mar almost every page. The prejudices and pettiness (almost unhealthy in their petulance) need not be documented nor do they deserve to be. But it is the vincible (?) lack of serious and stringent methodology for which the author must be held accountable. The exegetical study of relevant Gospel texts gives no indication that the author is even remotely aware of Redaktionsgeschichte or the aspect of the Sitz im Leben der Kirche of the Gospels. The credentials of the author would lead one to hope that he might escape what is almost a crass fundamentalism (despite the reference to serious exegetical studies). The exposition of Paul's teaching in 1 Corinthians 7 ignores the nuances of the Apostle's language of command, suggestion, and recommendation (and the work of S. Lyonnet). The study of the Patristic evidence is vitiated from the beginning because, for the author, Hellenistic culture and thought have little or no redeeming features. The Hebraic mentality and tradition would have preserved balance and purity of vision on the topic of sexuality-Jesus' and the rest of men's. Justin is the bete noire of...