Water Is Thicker than Blood

Abstract

AbstractMarriage and singleness appear in the contemporary era as problems for scholars and laypeople alike. Several problems related to marriage and singleness include questions of gender roles, the nature of public and private, and sexual ethics. Many contemporary theologians focus almost exclusively on “theology of marriage” and offer solutions using sociopolitical means, but they fail to see the damage that this limited focus on marriage alone has for ecclesiology.Augustine of Hippo becomes a reference point for addressing this split between married and single people, as well as questions about gender and public/private distinctions. This book argues that Augustine's theological method shows a better way of thinking through some contemporary problems by demonstrating how Augustine views marriage and single states of life in light of the church's life and history.Via retelling salvation history (creation, fall, redemption, and eschatology) and taking a look at the political life of the church in its worship practices, this book shows that marriage and singleness cannot be intelligibly separated from each other, that gender and gendered relationships must be seen in light of friendship with God, and that the marriage between Christ and the church is the first mediator in any state of life. The water of baptism, Christians' first birth and initiation into the life of Christ, becomes the primary standard for relationships, rather than familial ties.