PDOT -- Problems with the Baby Jesus? Say wha?

[Dave Monroe]

... being male and Catholic myself, I've never suffered from Baby Jesus Anxiety myself, either, but it does seem an opportune moment to plug Leo Steinberg's fascinating The Sexuality of Christ in Renaissance Art and Modern Oblivion (2nd ed., rev.  Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1996).  For all of you who have ever wondered about those etchings of St. Anne (Grandma Jesus) tickling the genitals of the Infant Christ ...

Michael Baum wrote:

> Pretty-Damn-Off-Topic:
>
> On Thu, 15 Jun 2000 12:55:46 +0000 (GMT), Paul Mackin wrote:
> ...
> >well. Always nice to have corroboraton. Yes, the little tyke is a problem
> >for Catholics. That damned  St. Luke. Yet I do love that Chritmas scene in
> >GR.
>
> Responding to:
> >On Wed, 14 Jun 2000, Vaska Tumir wrote:
> ...
> >>days, at least.  And, given the cult of the Baby Jesus in Catholicism, many a Catholic boy grows up to (shall we say) resent the miraculous tyke -- easy to see why.
>
> Out of idle curiosity, are these statements made purely out of personal experiences of some sort, or is there something along the lines of research documentation? Been both a male and a Catholic for quite some time now and I can't recall ever hearing that the infant Christ was a particular source of angst for Catholics of any gender. Nor is it particularly clear to me why it should be so. But then Naivete is my middle name.
>
> Well, actually it's "Arthur", but...
>
> maab