One of my earliest big finds in this research, 10 years ago, was Jesus courted by the Christian Soul, a late 15th century German broadsheet that depicts the relationship in erotic and sadomasochistic terms. This was part of a genre of popular publications. I finally found another example of this.
Surviving Fragments of a German Broadsheet The Courtship of Jesus and the Christian Soul
(c. 1470) shows a similar sequence of actions, also with a combination of images and text.
Jesus tries to wake the Soul who wishes to stay asleep.
Jesus gives the Soul a love-potion. The Soul seeks for Jesus, who hides behind a curtain.
Jesus gives the Soul a bribe to leave him alone. The Soul hears secrets from Jesus.
The Soul and Jesus are reunited. Jesus entices the Soul with violin music.
And here’s the big one.
Jesus disillusions the Soul with earthly things. Jesus strips the Soul naked.
I wish I could find more of these, but putting those search terms into Google just sends me to religious web sites.
Bonus: short article in Raw Story on the overlap of BDSM and Christianity.
