(June 19, 2015 at 3:02 am)Rhythm Wrote:Quote:I appreciate your assessment and questions.
By "pure and authentic self" I just mean that the act itself remains in it's original form without being changed in order to render it infertile. I understand your comparison about the function of your fists. But since sex is sacred (because it creates something sacred), it must be handled with much more honor and care than a fist. Also, in your examples you speak about things that are immoral... beating creatures and acting violently. Those awful things are not good comparisons to the creation of new human life.
They may not be..Catholic...but they are -consequences- of the same process you used, the same argument, if followed through consistently...without special pleading..and that's precisely the problem.
Well you have to compare apples to apples. The reason why we believe sex should remain in its natural element is because it is such a sacred act. That's what sets it apart from your other examples.
Quote:Quote:If you believe the story about Onan in the OT was written word for word, literally as it happened, then yes, you are correct about the last sentence there. As I said, I believe the OT was written allegorically. I believe the point of this story was to teach that contraception is immoral, and that's an important point. But I do not believe God literally "killed" Onan, or that a man named Onan even existed. I cannot speak for those who think otherwise, though.It doesn't -matter- whether or not I believe the story to be literal...it is a portion of the catholic position on why we shouldn't use contraception. Even as allegory..it is evil...it doesn;t become less immoral because it's "just a story" about god killing someone. They're all stories............but this one is pretty disgusting. Agreed? And no, Catholic, it's not an important point just because you or your church claims it to be..but if it were..perhaps they should have taken just a little more time and done it right...don't you think? After all...they could have told it any way they chose...just being a story and all.....is this the effort your faith is willing to put in...should it be surprised to see it's returns on that effort diminishing?
Comments on that piece regarding vicarious redemption, btw?
-Yes, the story sounds horrible to us now... as 21st century Americans. But you have to remember that it was written thousands of years ago. Different time, different culture, different style of writing, different way of explaining things, and different language. Perhaps to the people of the time it made the most sense to understand it that way. Either way, nothing about Church teaching condones murdering someone for contracepting. So rest assured, there's no need for concern.
-I meant that it is an important point in the realm of Catholic morality. I meant no disrespect to you. I know you disagree, and that's fine.
- I read what you wrote but it was long, so haven't gotten around to responding yet.
"Of course, everyone will claim they respect someone who tries to speak the truth, but in reality, this is a rare quality. Most respect those who speak truths they agree with, and their respect for the speaking only extends as far as their realm of personal agreement. It is less common, almost to the point of becoming a saintly virtue, that someone truly respects and loves the truth seeker, even when their conclusions differ wildly."
-walsh
-walsh
