Intelligence Squared Sex, Gender and Christianity: A 3,000 Year History, with Diarmaid MacCulloch and Mary Beard (Part One)
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Mar 16, 2026 
Diarmaid MacCulloch, Emeritus Professor of the History of the Church at Oxford, unpacks 3,000 years of Christian interaction with sex, gender and family. He traces shifting attitudes from Judaic and Greco-Roman roots to diverse Christian traditions. Topics include marriage rituals, Jesus on marriage and divorce, celibacy and monastic origins, and how history shapes modern debates on gender and sexuality.
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Two Cultural Roots Shaped Christian Sexual Ethics
- Christianity's teachings about sex develop from both Hebrew scripture and Hellenistic Greek culture, creating conflicting views of God that shaped sexual ethics.
- Diarmaid MacCulloch explains Christians negotiated an interventionist Hebrew God and an impassive Greek philosophical God across centuries.
There Is No Single Christian View On Sex
- There is no single Christian view on sex; positions vary by century, continent, and community.
- Diarmaid stresses the historical diversity to counter claims that the Bible alone defines a fixed Christian sexual ethic.
Read History Before Arguing About Marriage
- Don’t assume contemporary church leaders represent a timeless Christian stance; study historical complexity before judging.
- Diarmaid argues understanding varied historical positions is necessary to have sensible conversations about marriage today.
