December 09, 2022

#20 - How Should We Then Live with Eros? Part 3 with Kathryn Mogk Wagner

52 minutes

True love means… what??

There are many answers to that question, and in this episode, we’re just talking about some of them. In part 3 of our conversation with medieval literature scholar Kathryn Mogk Wagner, we reflect on some of the implications of the “pure relationship”—and how combining or removing certain elements of the historic marriage relationship can have big impacts. How should we think about desire, romantic attraction, and the marriage relationship today? And how does this impact how we think about love and kinship in other forms?

If you have more answers to those questions, get in touch!

This episode is part 3 of 3.

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Timestamps

4:15 - Marriage as an image of God’s love: is it more agape or eros?

17:10 - What elements makes it marriage? economic factors, children, romantic attraction, sex?

22:25 - Jesus on divorce, adultery: What’s the underlying logic?

25:35 - Where do we go from here? Directing desire and romantic attraction

43:20 - What is the constructive Christian response to the current “pure relationship” model?

49:36 - Kathryn’s book recommendation: Kristin Lavransdatter

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Links and References

Kathryn Mogk Wagner: kathryn.mogkwagner.net

Anthony Giddens on the “pure relationship”

Sermons on eros by Robert Cunningham at the Good of the Bluegrass Conference 2022 (listen at the conference website; listen to a shorter summary in another podcast from Cunningham at Every Square Inch)

The Symposium by Plato (wiki)

The Divine Comedy and La Vita Nuova by Dante Alighieri; about Beatrice (wiki)

The story of King Arthur, Guinevere, and Lancelot is told many places; one is Le Morte d’Arthur (wiki)

Eros and Agape by Anders Nygren

Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset