First, it is important to note that Prof. Hauerwas is doing sexual ethics outside of the mainstream Christian theologians such as Augustine and Aquinas. Therefore, his position and discussion must be understood as a reaction against the Western moral tradition. Bearing in mind these clarifications could help us to avoid misunderstanding him. Hauerwas is very critical of the Christian large tradition on this topic. He believes the tradition has failed when discussing human sexuality/sexual ethics in a very broad sense by clinging exclusively to natural law. This is something that the church must correct if she wants to avoid confusion …

Although Aquinas has certain similarities with Augustine regarding sexuality, he departs from him in some other particular respects. Aquinas’s discussions in Summa Theologia about sexuality are brief; one clearly sees, however, how Aquinas interpreted human sexuality through the lens of natural law and rational abstraction. Through his holistic view of the human being as a composite of soul and body, Aquinas does not leave room for a separation between gender and sex. The soul informs the human body of this essential information. For instance, the gender or sex is randomly assigned by the soul. In addition, without a doubt, Aquinas …

By exploring the implications of Augustine’s doctrine of sin, Christian theologian Jesse Couenhoven analyzes the link between the doctrine of original sin and sexism. He argues that sexism can be understood as a form or outworking of original sin. His point of departure is the existence of common elements between Augustine’s view of sin and the perspectives of many feminist scholars. One of those elements is the nature of sin/responsibility.  Original Sin and the Criticism Made by Feminist Scholars A general criticism made by feminist scholars (for instance, Valerie Saiving) is that the Christian tradition has paid nothing or little …