Of all the major religions, Christianity is the only one that has utterly rejected sexuality as one of the many paths that can lead to enlightenment and salvation. But if Jesus was indeed the “Word made flesh” and we give serious consideration to the mystery of the Incarnation, is it reasonable that physical love would have been prohibited to him?
Drawing from the canonical and apocryphal gospels, the Hebrew esoteric tradition, and gnosis, Jean-Yves Leloup shows that Jesus came not to save humanity from the life of the flesh, but to save the life of the flesh so that it could truly transfigure all people. It is explained that Saint Paul’s assertion that it is good to be without women is not based on any teachings of Jesus. In fact, Paul’s words completely contradict those of God in Genesis: “It is not good that man should be alone.” Leloup argues that the elimination of the divine feminine and sacred sexuality from Christian belief, set in motion by Paul’s words, does not reflect the true teachings of Christ, and that the transformation of Jesus into a celibate is the real heresy. Leloup restores Christ’s true human sexuality and shows it to be a vital part of humanity’s spirituality. He contends that by understanding that the sacred nature of the embrace shared by man and woman is a true reflection of humanity made in God’s image, Christianity can again become the powerful path of transfiguration Christ intended it to be.

(The sacred embrace of Jesus and Mary – introduction)