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THE QUESTION
Religion and Sex
"Why do you think some religions have regarded sex as sacred while others have regarded it as a sin?"
Posted by Sally Quinn and Jon Meacham on February 14, 2007 7:30 AM
FROM THE PANEL
Religious Teachings on Sex Can Throw Young Into Crisis
Scary and Sacred Are Not Far Apart
Sex is a Gift That Comes with Rules
More Sex Means More Grace
Goddess Tradition Sees Sexuality as Sacred
Sex within Moral Boundaries Is a Beautiful Act
God Made Me Do It
Committed Intimacy, Not Serial Sexual Dating
Christianity Fosters Negative View of Sexuality
For Many Religions, Sex Both Blessing and Curse
Sex Can Be Sacramental
What God Has Invented, Man Has Polluted
Sex Both Powerful and Potentially Dangerous
Sex and the Single God
The World, the Flesh, and the Devil
Sex Is Neither Sin nor Sacrament
Love: Falling and Flying Into Freedom
Religious Teachings on Sex Can Throw Young Into CrisisI encountered far too many young whose faith lives were thrown into crisis or shattered with a single “sexual misstep,” sometimes even just a kiss.
Posted by Donna Freitas, on February 20, 2007 10:04 AM
Scary and Sacred Are Not Far ApartCatholicism and most Protestant denominations used to be rather crabby about sex but today even Vatican experts say married couples should enjoy conjugal relations.
Posted by Martin Marty, on February 20, 2007 9:29 AM
Sex is a Gift That Comes with RulesChristianity teaches that sex is a gift to be celebrated and received as God intended.
Posted by R. Albert Mohler Jr., on February 19, 2007 8:29 AM
More Sex Means More GraceIf you spend your life “doin’ what comes naturally” you never do anything supernatural.
Posted by Anthony M. Stevens-Arroyo, on February 18, 2007 1:54 PM
Goddess Tradition Sees Sexuality as Sacred Sexuality allows us to share and connect with one another, and therein lies its holiness.
Posted by Starhawk, on February 18, 2007 12:47 PM
Sex within Moral Boundaries Is a Beautiful Act The Scriptures teach that a union of man and woman is comparable to the union of Christ and His Church.
Posted by Charles "Chuck" Colson, on February 18, 2007 11:02 AM
God Made Me Do ItProphet Muhammad's insistence that woman's pleasure is as important as man's echoes the Qur'anic view that men and women are equal partners.
Posted by Pamela K. Taylor, on February 18, 2007 10:23 AM
Committed Intimacy, Not Serial Sexual DatingThe quality of the relationship is the critical factor that distinguishes whether sexuality is sacred or profane.
Posted by Jim Wallis, on February 16, 2007 8:12 AM
Christianity Fosters Negative View of Sexuality Christianity has turned sex into something evil that must be repressed.
Posted by John Shelby Spong, on February 16, 2007 7:05 AM
For Many Religions, Sex Both Blessing and CurseMany religions drive with one foot heavy on the sexual accelerator and the other riding the sexual brakes.
Posted by Wendy Doniger, on February 15, 2007 9:45 AM
Sex Can Be SacramentalIntense sexual union puts one in touch with a reality that transcends traditional convention.
Posted by Marcus Borg, on February 15, 2007 9:30 AM
What God Has Invented, Man Has PollutedLike a playground fence designed to protect children from outside threats, God established boundaries for sexual expression to enhance our pleasure and protection.
Posted by Cal Thomas, on February 15, 2007 8:46 AM
Sex Both Powerful and Potentially Dangerous The Judaeo-Christian tradition places sex within marriage so that it is like the fire in a home's hearth.
Posted by Nicholas T. Wright, on February 15, 2007 7:04 AM
Sex and the Single GodOur challenge in Christianity is to lift up the sex-affirming and women-affirming parts of our tradition that have been ignored.
Posted by Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite, on February 14, 2007 10:21 AM
The World, the Flesh, and the DevilThe flesh is sacred when it is held in dialectic with the spirit—when, that is, each can be distinguished but not separated (like two sides of a coin.
Posted by John Dominic Crossan, on February 14, 2007 9:46 AM
Sex Is Neither Sin nor SacramentPunitive monotheistic religious attitudes toward sex have changed only to the extent that they have been modified by women who refuse to accept the notion that their enticing bodies are hopelessly impure vessels designed to tempt men.
Posted by Susan Jacoby, on February 14, 2007 8:32 AM
Love: Falling and Flying Into FreedomThe way of love is not a subtle argument.
Posted by Christopher Dickey, on February 14, 2007 7:35 AM
FEATURED COMMENTS
Rich: I don't know for sure how many people realize this, or have even contemplated it. But, here is the bad news. Organized religion in general, ...
Lorie:
Thousands of years of human behavior are not in favor of doing whatever pleases you. This opens the door for poor judgment and tyranny of ...
Russell D.: To all who have an open mind,
I relay this message hoping that it may enlighten, or maybe I am just doing it to cause a stir, but I do fee...
