A history of sexual emotion, sexual activity, gender relations, marriage and the family--and how Christianity has interacted with this panorama of human concerns
Magisterial ... Lower Than the Angels sometimes veers into passages only a specialist could love, but this arcana is well balanced by MacCulloch’s dry wit and flair for narrative sweep ... MacCulloch['s] talent for breadth is matched by his impressive command of the details.
Thrilling and comprehensive ... MacCulloch is particularly engaging in his discussion of how baffling the early Christian mortification of the flesh would have seemed to contemporaries.
MacCulloch writes with fellow-feeling for those who found new and innovative ways to heed the call of the spirit outside of, and at times against, dominant authorities ... I’m grateful to MacCulloch for highlighting the pioneering historical and religious scholarship done by women, like Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, Kathy Gaca, and, especially courageous, Jane Schaberg.
