Venialis culpa? Augustinus oor huwelik en seksualiteit

Abstract

Venialis culpa? Augustine on marriage and sexuality

Augustine’s views on marriage and sexual ethics are sometimes typified as androcentric, ascetic, legalistic and pessimistic, and he has been blamed for the fact that it was this kind of ethics that influenced – and harmed – the whole of Western society. In this article it is argued that, in order to understand Augustine correctly, it must be considered that he developed his ethics during a life of great turbulence and change, in the midst of many theological controversies and against the background of a pagan society. Although Augustine improved in many ways on the sexual ethics of his predecessors, the conclusion cannot be avoided that in the end he failed to formulate a balanced view of sexuality in married life.