Episode 5: The Myth of the Beloved Disciple

If the idea that Jesus and one of the Apostles were lovers sounds like some appalling thing an off-Broadway playwright or a punk rock singer would come up with, well, the idea is actually older than that, and may have even been invoked by King James I, the very man who sponsored the King James Bible! Watch to hear the very odd but woefully incomplete story of the myth of the Beloved Disciple.

Podcast version:

https://soundcloud.com/chad-denton-3/episode-5-the-myth-of-the-beloved-disciple

Video version:

Readings:

There really isn't "one book" that covers the topic (yet!), but a good general reference is Louis Crompton, Homosexuality & Civilization (Belknap Press, 2003).

Comments

Episode 2: The Chevalier d'Eon

Here is the story of a successful diplomat and spy in eighteenth century Europe who suddenly declared that she was a woman, setting her up against the king and queen of France. Podcast version: https://soundcloud.com/chad-denton-3/episode-2-the-chavelier-deon Video version: Readings: Clark, Anna. " The Chevalier d’Eon, Rousseau, and New Ideas of Gender, Sex and the Self in the late Eighteenth Century" in Simon Burrows, J. Conlin, R. Goulbourne, & V. Mainz (Eds.), The Chevalier d'Eon and his Worlds Gender, Espionage and Politics in the Eighteenth Century (London: Continuum, 2010). Kates, Gary. Monsieur d'Eon Is a Woman: A Tale of Political Intrigue and Sexual Masquerade (Baltimore: John Hopkins University, 2001).

Episode 4: The Story of Ruth and Naomi

It's one of the shortest stories of the Hebrew Bible, but it contains compelling themes of poverty, female solidarity, and, yes, even love between the same sex. Podcast version: https://soundcloud.com/chad-denton-3/episode-4-ruth-and-naomi Video version: Readings: Greenberg, Steven. Wrestling with God and Man: Homosexuality in the Jewish Tradition (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2005).

Before Stonewall

Search This Blog