Male confessions : intimate revelations and the religious imagination Male confessions : intimate revelations and the religious imagination

__Male Confessions__ examines how men open their intimate lives and thoughts to the public through confessional writing. This book examines writings—by St. Augustine, a Jewish ghetto policeman, an imprisoned Nazi perpetrator, and a gay American theologian—that reflect sincere attempts at introspective and retrospective self-investigation, often triggered by some wounding or rupture and followed by a transformative experience. Krondorfer takes seriously the vulnerability exposed in male self-disclosure while offering a critique of the religious and gendered rhetoric employed in such discourse. The religious imagination, he argues, allows men to talk about their intimate, flawed, and sinful selves without having to condemn themselves or to fear self-erasure. Herein lies the greatest promise of these confessions: by baring their souls to judgment, these writers may also transcend their self-imprisonment. Krondorfer Examines How Men Open Their Intimate Lives And Thoughts To The Public Through Confessional Writing. He Examines Writings That Reflect Sincere Attempts At Introspective And Retrospective Self-investigation, Often Triggered By Some Wounding Or Rupture And Followed By A Transformative Experience. The Book Takes Seriously The Vulnerability Exposed In Male Self-disclosure While Offering A Critique Of The Religious And Gendered Rhetoric Employed In Such Discourse. Introduction : Male Confessions -- Interlude : On Mirrors -- The Confines Of Male Confessions : On Ancient Vainglory And The Postmodern Gaze -- Interlude : On Testimony -- Non-absent Bodies And Moral Agency : Confessions Of An African Bishop And A Jewish Ghetto Policeman -- A Perpetrator And His Hagiographer : Oswald Pohl's Confession -- Interlude : On Tears -- Sons Of Tears : Displacing The Intimate (female) Other -- Not From My Lips : From Annihilation To Nation Building -- On Spirit And Sperm : Eroticizing God, Sanctifying The Body -- Outlook : The Power To Name Oneself Into Being. Björn Krondorfer. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. "Male Confessions examines how men open their intimate lives and thoughts to the public through confessional writing. This book examines writings--by St. Augustine, a Jewish ghetto policeman, an imprisoned Nazi perpetrator, and a gay American theologian--that reflect sincere attempts at introspective and retrospective self-investigation, often triggered by some wounding or rupture and followed by a transformative experience. Krondorfer takes seriously the vulnerability exposed in male self-disclosure while offering a critique of the religious and gendered rhetoric employed in such discourse. The religious imagination, he argues, allows men to talk about their intimate, flawed, and sinful selves without having to condemn themselves or to fear self-erasure. Herein lies the greatest promise of these confessions: by baring their souls to judgment, these writers may also transcend their self-imprisonment."--Publisher description Male Confessions demonstrates that men are able to talk about themselves intimately and shows how the religious imagination helps them to do so while critically examining the limits of such intimate male talk.