Customer Reviews
VERY scolarly - By: M. Notman, 04 Oct 2006 
If youve got a degree (and a LOT of patience) you may be able to follow this book, otherwise its a TAD "hi fallutin". I found it interesting- but i wouldnt say enjoyed. Its not exactly beach reading (which is where i took it). The author certainly knows his stuff- if youre into either Gay History or philosophy/religion its informative- but dont buy if youre not passionate about either.
A scholarly plea - By: Kurt Messick, 28 Dec 2005 
I have been the teaching assistant for a course entitled 'Theology of the Welcoming Church'; we have had wonderful diverse groups of students, from traditional/conservative to liberalin background, multi-denominationalin affiliation. It always promises to be a good course & provide dialogue for better understanding even if it does not resolve the issue for allin one way or the other. Just for the record -- I am trying to stay as objectively neutral as I can be; I have my biases too, but given that I don't have the answers either (how do I reconcile scripture & tradition with the experience of people I know?) I guess mostly what you'll read here are my fumblingsin the dark.
Boswell's book 'Christianity, Social Tolerance, & Homosexuality' is an early scholastic contribution to the history of how homosexuality has been treated by the Christian church establishment from the beginning of the Christian era to about the fourteenth century. It won the American Book Award for Historyin 1981. Boswell (now deceased) was a professor at Yale; I have a friend on faculty at the IU Music School who went to high school with him.
Perhaps Boswell's argument can be summed up fairly easilyin that, through examplesin contemporary literature & records (legal, theological, literary, etc.), homosexuality was not recognisedin the same way that it is today, & therefore that it also was not condemnedin the way that it is today by much of the church. Friendships & close relationships often developed into sexual ones; these were not considered unusual. There was a variation from culture to culture, but the widespread condemnation of homosexuality didn't begin until thirteenth & fourteenth centuries, when tolerance (not only of this, but of religious opinionsin general) ceased to be the rule, as the church (a dominant military, political, & social force as well) attempted to consolidate power.
Boswell's research is extensive & impressive, but his interpretations have remained hotly debated for the 20 years since this book was first published. One scholar-friend of mine who knew Boswell said that his psychological motivation for writing the book (this is a theme that was not designed to win favourin academia at that pointin time) was to confront the Catholic church,in which he as a gay man did not feel welcome. And, there is probably some truth to that. Knowing that framework, it is interesting to re-read passages to see where objective scholarship slips into subtle reframing.
Nonetheless, this book provides an excellent historical framework, & cannot be ignoredin the current debate. I encountered this book first many years ago when my church was undergoing a discernment process, & it was usefulin many ways. Boswell claimed to know of isolated communities & continuing strands where such tolerance continued to the present. He promised on a few occasions (at least semi-publicly) that he would reveal thesein the next volume, Same Sex Unions, produced many years later, & an even more controversial text.
A must read but with a few cautions - By: , 28 Apr 2003 Boswell's books are like a breath of fresh air. To get the most out of them you need to read it as a history book (which is what it is). Whatin my view he does prove vey convincingly is that the Church has not consistently been anti-gay; there have been wildly varying degrees of tolerance & persecution which have usually correlated with persecution of other groups as well, & at its height tolerance of homosexuality included gay people being open about their gayness & accepted evenin ecclesiastic positions.
This much, I think, is proven.
On the negative side he appears to state that scripture had nothing to do with anti-gay sentiment. I think it is important to open up the interpretation of the key verses as he does but I tend to think that there is a constellation of values (celibacy, chastity & virginity for example) as well as a number of homonegative verses (even if a more thorough analysis does not lead logically to the exclusion of gays) didin fact contribute to the severe curtailment of homosexuality & bisexualiy which had been more broadly toleratedin the Greco-Roman world (ie as pederasty).
The one proviso here is that these early reference seem to havein their view age structured homosexuality (references include giving up boys for sodomy, do not corrupt young boys etc & Paul's division of homosexuality into malakos & arsenekoites also implies a dividion of labour not seenin egalitarian - ie modern - homosexuality.
The extensive analysis of scripture does show that it has not consistently been understood as being homonegativein church history, thoughin my view it probably did play this rolein the early christian communities, especially as hey were living under an apocalyptic expectation of the end of the world. Its just that thereafter Church history displays a wide variety of differing attitudes.
It shows that acceptance of gay people within the church is not a new phenomenon & that this has been a constant & often positive theme throughout the history of the church.
Nothing Less Than Complete Commendation - By: Heap, J D dietrichfuchs@hotmail.com, 30 May 2002 
I must give my complete commendation to this book of the late Dr. Boswell. The personal reports of folk around Yale, which testified to a young man being noticed walking through the campus & corridors with a myriad of books in-tow accounts for the mass of scholarship & creative thought that is includedin this book. Boswell's footnotes are impeccable, & his style, though a bit rough ('torture . . .though well worth the trouble,' as one reviewer has accurately described) makes for an informative & interesting read. I commend this volume to people who want to learn more of the style of work birthed by the amazing Michel Foucault, those who are historical enthusiasts, & for the religious community (especially of the Judaeo-Christian tradition) who wish to know if the Church has 'always condemned homosexuality.'
A Seminal Work - By: , 23 Jul 1999 This is perhaps the most famous work on Christianity & homosexuality, & that reputation is well-deserved. Boswell's study challenged some of the most basic assumptions about the topic, & lit a firestorm of controversy that still burns nearly two decades later. Conservatives respond with venom, liberals with open arms, & I (a moderate?) shake my head & wonder. Ranked by the NYT Book Review as one of the top ten books of the year, 'CSTH' cannot be recommended too highly for its brave exegesis, fascinating examination of personal correspondence, & brilliant scholarship.
