Abandoned to Lust ― Sexual Slander And Ancient Christianity

Through careful, innovative readings, Jennifer Knust explores the writings of Paul, Justin Martyr, Irenacus of Lyons, and other early Christian authors who argued that Christ alone made self-mastery possible. Rejection of Christ led to both immoral sexual behavior and, ultimately, alienation and punishment from God. Knust considers how Christian writers participated in a long tradition of rhetorical invective, a rhetoric that was often employed to defend status and difference. Christians borrowed, deployed, and reconfigured classical rhetorical techniques, turning them against their rulers to undercut their moral and political authority. Knust also examines the use of accusations of licentiousness in conflicts between rival groups of Christians. Portraying rival sects as depraved allowed accusers to claim their own group as representative of "true Christianity."

Jennifer Wright Knust is assistant professor of New Testament and Christian origins at Boston University School of Theology.