When Christianity burst onto the scene, the early Romans were amazed and astounded in two particulars: that Christians were radically generous, giving away large portions of income, and that Christians were radically pure, believing in no sex outside of marriage. This unique understanding transformed the Roman world. At that time, there were two major philosophies about sex. The first was the platonic view: that the soul is good, the body is bad, and sex is kind of dirty. The second was the mystery religions’ view: that sex is an appetite that is unhealthy to repress. The prudes and the
