“undesirable Characters" (Press, 15 July 1959)
This is a Generative AI summary of this newspaper article. It may contain errors or omissions. Please note that the language in the summary is reflective of the original article and the societal attitudes of the time in which it was written.
Summary: “undesirable Characters" (Press, 15 July 1959)
On 13 July 1959, a discussion on the BBC television programme "Brains Trust" led to criticism of the Apostle St. Paul, with claims that he held undesirable views, particularly regarding sexuality. This commentary was made by Sir Ifor Evans, the Provost of University College, London, who asserted that St. Paul viewed sex as inherently evil and sexual desires as dreadful—a perspective he contrasted with that of Christ. The topic arose in the context of a recent ruling by Cardinal Deniel, the 83-year-old Primate of Spain, who deemed it inappropriate for engaged couples to display affection by walking arm-in-arm or to participate in mixed bathing. During the programme, Sir Ifor’s views were echoed by Dr. Leslie Weatherhead, another panel member, who suggested that St. Paul’s attitudes towards women warranted psychiatric treatment. In conclusion, the question master, Sir John Wolfenden, speculated that St. Paul could be seen as the archetypical puritan, implying that Cardinal Deniel’s stances might align with such puritanical views. This discussion reflects a broader critique of historical religious figures and their influence on contemporary attitudes toward sexuality and gender relations.
Important Information
The text on this page is created, in the most part, using Generative AI and so may contain errors or omissions. It is supplied to you without guarantee or warranty of correctness. If you find an error or would like to make a content suggestion please get in contact
The text on this page is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 New Zealand