[HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Question about New Testament (with OT)

[Kathryn Cawte]

  Pip!Squeak
If you'd told St Paul that someone who 
is remaining firmly celibate is a sinner because their inclination 
was to the same sex, not to the opposite sex, he'd probably have 
thought you nuts. Inclinations are a problem because they lead to 
acts. If you have fought your inclinations and remained chaste, 
you're doing pretty well in Paul's view. [See 1 Corinthians, Ch.7].

 
 Me -

Of course according to St Paul sex wasn't really something he approved of
anyway. He said that if single people and widows (oddly afaik not widowers)
absoutely *had* to have sex they should get married, but it was better not
to have sex at all (I'm seeing some major problems with that attitude, like
the extinction of the human race) - this btw is what was said in a
documentary on the history of sexuality that I saw yesterday.

Anyway thae church attitude towards sex has always been odd - and has
certain 'scales' of sin. In the medieval period the belief was that there
were two classes of women - good and not so good (I admit I forget the
actual terms) and that if men felt the urge to have 'unnatural' sex ie
anything not designed purely for reproductive purposes they should go to
prostitutes rather than inflicting these desires on their wives. Of course
at that time the majority of the brothels in London were on Church owned
land so maybe that was just self-interest speaking :)

K