Conversations in the Garden of Shizen: Jesus of the Gospels, Women, Sex and the Family

by David Phillips (Author)

• Used

  Hardcover
  2002

  $3.40

  If Jesus of Nazareth were to return to Earth today, he would be baffled by Christian doctrine and shocked by religious practice. But how can we be sure of what he actually thought and said? When it comes to the sexual issues that divide the Church today how much of Jesus' teachings can be recovered? Should priest be celibate? Should there be women priests? Should active homosexuals be allowed to be clergymen? Should homosexual marriages be allowed? Should a divorced person be allowed a church wedding? These questions are explored in these conversations, between William Whitland, a layman and amateur student of the gospels, and two Japanese anthropologists. The group start from the assumption that, however unreliable the gospels may be as historical accounts of Jesus' teaching, and however far the various Christian Churches have advanced since Jesus' day, the Jesus of the gospels still presents the main mystery and the main challenge to believers and non-believers in Christianity alike.