ABSTRACT
The German theologian, Uta Ranke-Heinemann, begins the chapter on Augustine in her well-known study Eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven with the following statement: ‘The man who fused Christianity together with hatred of sex and pleasure into a systematic unity was the greatest of the Church Fathers, St Augustine (+430)’.1 This statement gives radical expression to a frequently recurring criticism of Augustine’s view of sexuality, a criticism that has taken a variety of forms over the last several years and that places the blame for the ‘scowl’ on the face of Western humanity firmly on the shoulders of the bishop of Hippo.2 In her opinion, the doctor gratiae is at the origins of the fact that, until very recently, sexuality in se-detached from procreation-was mistrusted within Christendom because it was considered sinful. Sexuality and sin, as it were, called forth mutual associations.
