Title: Theme not very carefully defined
Product review: The title of Mr. Brown's book is deceiving. He asserts to write about sexual renunciation in early Christianity. Instead he basicly writes about sexual renunciation in among the Gnostics. There is a good reason why devoted Christians of all denominations view Gnosticism as a heresy. Gnosticism is very much rooted in pagan, i.e. Indian and Persian religious esoteric beliefs. As scholars like A. Vööbus ("History of Asceticism in the Syrian Orient") have shown, sexual asceticism is not anything originally Jewish or Christian, but has been taken over by certain groups of Christians from Eastern religions. Of course, these groups have heavily influenced church Christianity and made Christians and non-Christians alike believe that celibacy is a truly christian virtue. However, church christianity has never been exactly the same kind of Christianity as the one depicted in the New Testament.
Would you say this review depicts the product in a flattering or unflattering light?
