A Freethinker's Primer of Male Love

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely essential reading for any gay or bi male
Review: This little book packs a very powerful punch. If you don't know the elementary facts outlined in Lauritsen's book, you are going to be at a "knowledge disadvantage" in dealing with puritans and homophobes, as well as in dealing with other gay and bisexual males -- and yourself!

To summarize one very important item: pre-Christian Europe (including ancient Greece and Rome) did not stigmatize love among males. In Greece, it was normative. This situation was brutally ended by the Christian church in the fourth century AD, when the Christians seized control of the Roman Empire and immediately (a) ended religious freedom in Europe (b) enacted the death penalty for love among males. The first executions (by burning alive) followed immediately. The same church also began persecuting science, art, and philosophy: as the declared enemy of knowledge, it destroyed European culture.

Highest recommendation!

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely essential reading for any gay or bi male
Review: This little book packs a very powerful punch. If you don't know the elementary facts outlined in Lauritsen's book, you are going to be at a "knowledge disadvantage" in dealing with puritans and homophobes, as well as in dealing with other gay and bisexual males -- and yourself!

To summarize one very important item: pre-Christian Europe (including ancient Greece and Rome) did not stigmatize love among males. In Greece, it was normative. This situation was brutally ended by the Christian church in the fourth century AD, when the Christians seized control of the Roman Empire and immediately (a) ended religious freedom in Europe (b) enacted the death penalty for love among males. The first executions (by burning alive) followed immediately. The same church also began persecuting science, art, and philosophy: as the declared enemy of knowledge, it destroyed European culture.

Highest recommendation!