Christianity and sex: when and why did it become a sin

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Христианство и секс: когда и почему это стало грехом

Christianity and sex: when and why did it become a sin

Christianity throughout the centuries consistently denounced homosexuality and adultery and promiscuity in sexual relations. But intimate relationships between men were a taboo subject? To this question tried to answer the journalists of the BBC division BBC iWonder, having considered the treatment of this theme in Western Christianity.

“In the beginning was the Word”

In the extant words of Jesus about sex says very little. And yet the sexuality and morality continue to disturb the Church hierarchy for nearly two thousand years.

In recent years, debates about homosexuality, abortion, divorce, contraception and attitudes to sexual abuse of children is concerned with the hearts and minds of Christians around the world, causing heated arguments and create a lot of inconvenience to the Church authorities.

But if Jesus himself about sex doesn’t talk a lot, where did the rules of sexual behavior that persistently holds the Church?

For all Christians the Bible is the main source of faith, whether old Testament (ancient Hebrew Scriptures) or the New Testament (which includes the four Gospels and the so-called Epistle attributed to St. Paul and other Christian authors of the first century of our era).

It is the old Testament and the Epistles of St. Paul formed the basis of Christian sexual morality and ethics.

However, in the later period various Christian denominations have interpreted Scripture very differently.

Homosexuality

“Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination”
. The book of Leviticus, Chapter 18, verse 22.

“And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the female sex, inciting lust on each other, men on men doing shame and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error”
— the book of Romans, Chapter 1, verse 27.

“Or do you not know that unrighteous will not inherit God’s Kingdom? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor defile themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor predators — the Kingdom of God not shall inherit”
— the First Epistle to the Corinthians, Chapter 6, verses 9-10.

Jesus himself directly about homosexuality, as it is understood today, did not say anything. But the Church to condemn same-sex love has always enjoyed the excerpts from the old Testament and Epistles of St. Paul.

The Catholic and Orthodox Church to this day considered homosexuality a mortal sin. In the Protestant denominations opinions are divided. Some churches consider same-sex relationships are not a sin, rather than other well-known types of sexual behavior, and a number of theologians believe that the main point here is Jesus’s call to universal love, loyalty and compassion.

Abstinence

“…good for a man not to touch a woman…” — the First Epistle to the Corinthians, Chapter 7, verse 1

The Judaism in which Jesus grew up, to complete sexual abstinence is without any reverence. The shift toward the glorification of abstinence occurred in Christianity later, partly because of the remarks of St. Paul in his Epistle to the Corinthians.

In the II century ad, the call to chastity has got additional distribution with the emergence of the monasteries and monasticism.

Marriage

“And said, for this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they TWAIN shall be one flesh, so they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let man not separate”. — The gospel of Matthew, Chapter 19, verses 5-6

St. Matthew cited Jesus ‘ words in praise of monogamous marriage and against divorce. Despite this, very few Christians believed it necessary to enter into ecclesiastical marriage in the first Millennium of Christianity. The situation changed in the eleventh century, when Pope Gregory VII decreed that marriage is the exclusive prerogative of the Church.

In 1184, marriage was declared a sacrament (indissoluble effect, through which descends the divine grace) like baptism and Holy communion.

And although Jesus clearly advocated monogamy, but he also preached forgiveness and above many other virtues.

When asked whether it is necessary to score his unfaithful wife with stones, he said, “Let he of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her” (John, Chapter 8, verse 7).

Contraception

“…and cried with a loud voice, and said, blessed art Thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of Thy womb!” — The gospel of Luke, Chapter 1, verse 42.

“He knew that the seed would not be his and when he went in unto his brother’s wife poured out [the seed] on the ground, so as not to give seed to his brother. Evil in the eyes of the Lord that he did; and He slew him also”
— the Book of Genesis, Chapter 38, verse 9.

In the twentieth century new methods of contraception created for Christian churches the next problem.

First they condemned the Catholics and the Protestants, resulting in the right exposure, both the old and New Testaments. But in the 30-ies of XX century the Anglican Church worldwide had softened and was no longer considered contraception a sin.

If the rule set is not Jesus, then who?

After 300 years of persecution of Christians by the Roman Empire under the Emperor Constantine abruptly changed course and made Christianity the state religion.

However, the new, the Latin Church (Ecclesia Latina) decided not to limit the Bible to establish new rules and laws, but also apply to theologians and philosophers, many of whom were followers of the Greek Stoics who placed the spirit above the flesh.

Saint Augustine

The most important figure in Western Catholic Christianity remains of St. Augustine a theologian who lived in the IV century on the territory of modern Algeria.

It radically changed the Church’s views on sexual relations. Augustine believed that sexual desire, which he called lust, caused Adam to agree with Eva and sample the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge.

Augustine was the first in the history of Christianity has established a direct link between sexual desires and original sin committed by the progenitors of mankind.

His views led to the fact that for many centuries Christians in the Western world was in a constant state of embarrassment and shame, succumbing to the call of his “sinful flesh”.

Augustine’s views on sex have dominated the minds and bodies of Christians for over a thousand years. But in the sixteenth century in Germany occurred an event that challenged the generally accepted context of sex and original sin.

Martin Luther, the initiator of the reformation, rejected the doctrine of Augustine that sex itself is a sin.

Instead, he proclaimed that the intimate relationship between a man and a woman are a gift from God, but until then, while held in the framework of married life.

He condemned the Catholic tradition, according to which all priests had to give a vow of celibacy, and celibacy by saying that unfulfilled sexual desires can lead to undesirable and even dangerous consequences.

Luther called upon the priests to marry and to inspire the congregation by example. He took another radical step, saying that the marriage is not a Church sacrament.

But if it is not a sacrament, and is not indissoluble, and therefore divorce is possible in principle, although undesirable.

The Legacy Of Luther

Luther argued that faith in God will forgive sins and bring salvation, not good deeds and repentance for committed sins.

This led to the fact that in the modern Christian denominations there is a growing emphasis on divine mercy and forgiveness, which, of course, have helped offset a tougher Church rules.

What they say about sex today’s Christian leaders

In 2015, Pope Francis told reporters that Catholic families are not necessarily “breed like rabbits”, and that they should limit the number of children.

However, he still spoke out strongly against “artificial contraception”, noting that there are many “natural” methods to prevent an unwanted pregnancy.

In June, Francis became the first Pope, who said that he has no right to condemn homosexuals. The Pope preaches a more tolerant attitude to gay people, but continues to claim that the homosexual act is a sin, while homosexual orientation alone is not.

In 2011 in Britain conducted a survey of public opinion among Catholics, which showed that 9 out of 10 respondents support the wide dissemination of contraceptives. From this it was concluded that the Catholic Church lags far behind the majority of believers.

In 2010, Pope Benedict XVI unequivocally supported the teaching of the Catholic Church about celibacy. Speaking in front of 10 thousand priests, he said that celibacy is a sign of faith.

What about the Protestants?

In Protestant churches there is no center. Therefore, to develop a common position on any issue, particularly in relation to the ethics of sexual behavior, is extremely complex.

The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby convened a conference of leaders of Protestant churches, to be collected next year to decide how to respond to the challenges posed by twenty-first century Christianity.

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