Douglas Farrow Nation of Bastards: Essays on the End of Marriage
“Erudite and impassioned – an act of faith and of resistance to the insidious claims of the post-Christian and post-liberal state.” F. C. Decoste, Professor of Law, University of Alberta
A brilliant exposé of the implications of same-sex marriage – and a compelling analysis of what it will take for society to reclaim the birthright of freedom it has lost in a reckless social experiment.
To some, same-sex marriage is evidence that society has finally come of age. To others, it is yesterday’s issue, posing no danger to traditional marriage. To still others – McGill University’s Douglas Farrow among them – it has turned civil society on its ear, creating a new political situation in which several things are no longer clear:
Is the state the property of the citizenry? Or are citizens, with their cherished personal associations, including marriage, now the property of the state?
Who “owns” the children, now that natural parenthood had been replaced by legal parenthood?
Is the family still “the natural and fundamental group unit of society,” as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights claims? Or is the concept of the “natural” moribund?
See McGill’s Pluralism, Religion and Public Policy. Farrow’s first and colossal book was Ascension and Ecclesia. Ten years on I am still living out of it.
And an equally wonderful work that takes a long look at the theological history of marriage is
Christopher C Roberts Creation and Covenant:The Significance of Sexual Difference in the Moral Theology of Marriage
R. R. Reno, Creighton University
“Sexual ethics and gay marriage — Creation and Covenant is essential reading for anyone who wants to think about these issues in light of the Western Christian tradition. Roberts helps us see and resist the Gnostic temptation that so dominates the moral imagination of modern culture….A very fine book – just the sort of patient survey of the classical tradition we need, and absolutely on target as far as the core theological issue is concerned. It’s the sort of book that will be very helpful for teaching a seminar on sexual ethics.”-Timothy Radcliffe, OP
“The question of the significance of sexual difference is at the heart of many divisions within contemporary society. …Roberts’ contribution to the debate is forceful and scholarly, while always charitable. This powerfully argued case for the abiding importance of our sexual identity shows how rich can be the contribution of the Christian tradition to our society’s present search to understand the meaning of our lives. …It will help us all in our journey towards understanding who we are in Christ.”
