GV-NA-GI-TLV-GE-I
New Member
I thought I'd move this particular discussion to a new thread as not to hijack the "Saved and Sexy" discussion.
I found this article on Belief.net and it's brief about the major points of several religions concerning the types of sex permissible in marriage:
Sodomy laws in the original American colonies were based on common English sodomy laws. Sodomy was considered a crime and defined as non-procreative sexual practices that included masturbation, oral sex, and anal sex.
Both English and U.S. laws derived from religious rules about sodomy. In 1683, Pennsylvania called sodomy an "unnatural sin," and New Jersey declared it among "offenses against God." By 1960, all U.S. states had laws in place against sodomy.
Since then, most states have repealed sodomy laws, though 14 states maintain laws banning it either between homosexuals or between both homosexuals and heterosexuals. For many religions, the question of whether sexual acts that do not result in procreation are allowed is still a hot issue. Here's a look at what the major faiths say about non-procreative sexual acts.
Judaism
Jewish laws about non-procreative sex usually stem from the biblical story of Onan, in Genesis, when Onan sleeps with his dead brother's wife but doesn't ejaculate. Instead he "spilt the seed on the ground," so as not to give his brother offspring, and God slew Onan for spilling his seed. Some strict Jewish interpretations use this as reference for banning all sexual acts that don't lead to procreation, such as masturbation, oral sex, and anal sex.
But more liberal Jewish interpretations see Onan's crime not as spilling his seed but as refusing to father offspring for his deceased brother, and deliberately withdrawing from his sister-in-law for that purpose, thereby using another person sexually in the process. Judaism strongly encourages sex for pleasure (within the context of marriage). Therefore Onan's crime does not necessarily prohibit all non-procreative sex acts. As Rabbi Shmuley Boteach writes in "Kosher Sex," ".in oral sex the purpose is not to destroy seed. Rather it is to try something new and pleasurable, something that will cause husband and wife to increase their dependency on each other, and lessen their dependency on strangers. To repeat: Judaism opposes the willfull destruction of seed, but not sexual practices that may sometimes involve the spilling of seed, but which are pursued for purposes of pleasuring husband and wife."
Though strict Jewish law prohibits sodomy, many interpret Jewish laws about non-procreative sex to be less prohibitive, because the sexual pleasure of both man and woman are so important.
Catholicism
Catholicism teaches that sexual intimacy is a gift to married heterosexual couples; God intended for them to "experience pleasure and enjoyment of body and spirit." The Church teaches that sex has two ends: "The good of the spouses themselves and the transmission of life." These two meanings--which Catholic doctrine calls the "unitive" and "procreative" functions of sex--"cannot be separated." The Catechism says homosexual acts "are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved"
I found this article on Belief.net and it's brief about the major points of several religions concerning the types of sex permissible in marriage:
Sodomy laws in the original American colonies were based on common English sodomy laws. Sodomy was considered a crime and defined as non-procreative sexual practices that included masturbation, oral sex, and anal sex.
Both English and U.S. laws derived from religious rules about sodomy. In 1683, Pennsylvania called sodomy an "unnatural sin," and New Jersey declared it among "offenses against God." By 1960, all U.S. states had laws in place against sodomy.
Since then, most states have repealed sodomy laws, though 14 states maintain laws banning it either between homosexuals or between both homosexuals and heterosexuals. For many religions, the question of whether sexual acts that do not result in procreation are allowed is still a hot issue. Here's a look at what the major faiths say about non-procreative sexual acts.
Judaism
Jewish laws about non-procreative sex usually stem from the biblical story of Onan, in Genesis, when Onan sleeps with his dead brother's wife but doesn't ejaculate. Instead he "spilt the seed on the ground," so as not to give his brother offspring, and God slew Onan for spilling his seed. Some strict Jewish interpretations use this as reference for banning all sexual acts that don't lead to procreation, such as masturbation, oral sex, and anal sex.
But more liberal Jewish interpretations see Onan's crime not as spilling his seed but as refusing to father offspring for his deceased brother, and deliberately withdrawing from his sister-in-law for that purpose, thereby using another person sexually in the process. Judaism strongly encourages sex for pleasure (within the context of marriage). Therefore Onan's crime does not necessarily prohibit all non-procreative sex acts. As Rabbi Shmuley Boteach writes in "Kosher Sex," ".in oral sex the purpose is not to destroy seed. Rather it is to try something new and pleasurable, something that will cause husband and wife to increase their dependency on each other, and lessen their dependency on strangers. To repeat: Judaism opposes the willfull destruction of seed, but not sexual practices that may sometimes involve the spilling of seed, but which are pursued for purposes of pleasuring husband and wife."
Though strict Jewish law prohibits sodomy, many interpret Jewish laws about non-procreative sex to be less prohibitive, because the sexual pleasure of both man and woman are so important.
Catholicism
Catholicism teaches that sexual intimacy is a gift to married heterosexual couples; God intended for them to "experience pleasure and enjoyment of body and spirit." The Church teaches that sex has two ends: "The good of the spouses themselves and the transmission of life." These two meanings--which Catholic doctrine calls the "unitive" and "procreative" functions of sex--"cannot be separated." The Catechism says homosexual acts "are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved"