LINK Why the Catholic Church Is So Conflicted about Sex - TheHumanist.com
FTA: Like Jesus, he saw little point to it since they would all be going to heaven any day. They would have new spiritual bodies there, not their old physical ones, and these would be sexless, just like the angels.
And this is the critical point to keep in mind if we are to understand anything about the early Christians: they were expecting the return of Jesus and the establishment of the kingdom of God at any moment, to include a judgment day when the righteous, dead or alive, would ascend to heaven. Why bother continuing to populate the world when there would shortly be no need for new human beings? And why bother to get married when there would be no sex in heaven?
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First off, no one knows what Jesus said or did. Most people in that time were illiterate. One noted historian mentioned the early gospels were based on oral history not written, People have had a tendency to attribute all kinds of words and action to Jesus and his followers. There has been absolutely no proof of any of this. The original gospels/acts were not written by the disciples. Things were not written until many decades later when the followers were long since dead. When I went to church I always hears "the gospel according to" rather than by.
One major problem with the Catholic church (which I actually witnessed) was that people don't like change. When the church started to use the vernacular of a country people got really upset and one archbishop broke off from the church over protest with vatican II [catholiceducation.org] I volunteered for a local parish before I left and we moved pews from the back to the side of the alter to get more people closer to the altar. People left the parish in protest. Many people can't except change because they feel if there is change that means the old teachings were invalid. This plus the fact that fewer and fewer men are being ordained. Celibacy, hard work, being transferred from parish to parish is too much and people are simply not joining. All the instances of gay priests, pedophilia, Vatican Bank and cover-ups is leaving the church severely strained for workers. If it were not for more activity in developing countries the Catholic Church would be in serious dire staits.
JackPedigo
Level 9
Dec 28, 2018
2
Thanks for your comment Jack.
How can anyone know precisely what a completely mythological 'being' ever said or did, which is precisely what this Jesus was anyway.
@Triphid I have a degree in European History (in Europe) and my prof . was a Catholic/Atheist from Belfast and lived and studied in Rome. Church history was a major part of European History. I am convinced someone like Jesus did exist and there are plenty of things to back this up. What he said and did is another matter.
@JackPedigo Well, I have a ThD in Theology and comparative Modern Religions, a Bachelors Degree in both Ancient and Modern History, plus a few more Degrees, and one of my main areas of great interest are the roman Empire in the Middle East post Gaius Julius Caesar and Ancient Egypt.
And, as we all know, the Romans were, undoubtedly, FANATICAL record keepers about literally everything they did, where, when, how, why and to whom it happened YET there is absolutely NO mention of Hebrew( Jewish) Messiah known as Yeshua(Jesus) of Nazareth nor his 'exploits'/execution by crucifixion by a Roman Governor called Pontius Pilate ( who, btw, was recalled to Rome from Pontus, not Judaea/Galilee in 21 C.E., then it is correct in saying that the biblical Yeshua bin/ibn/bar Yusef ( Jesus son of Joseph) did NOT exist, BUT a Yeyoshua bin Yusef was captured, tried and executed along with 2 of his ' lieutenants' for the crimes of Arson, Sedition, Theft, Murder, Rape and Pillage, Slave Trading, etc, etc, and the remainder of the band of 13 were sent to spend their days as Galley Slaves.
Please read the history of the Flavians written by Flavius Josephus ( previously a Jew taken as a slave to the Flavian family AFTER he turned TRAITOR to his OWN people and was later given his freedom by the Flavians).
You MAY plainly see that the entire myth was a creation by Flavius Josephus to ' curry' favour with his adoptive family and a necessary 'step-up' the ladder to deification as per the Roman way.
@Triphid Thanks for the clarification. We get a lot of denial here from people who are just being silly. That said, yes there are few mentions of a lot of things people think are real that are not. I have read a lot on this subject from valid historians and they all have some evidence of a leader that others followed. This includes carvings and frescoes of said person. I recently wrote the National Geographic on an article they wrote about Jesus' footsteps. The org tried to walk the middle road and play both sides which I said was unprofessional. A article last month about searching for sacred texts was more honest.
In all my years of study and everything I have learned it has only been here that I have heard people denying the existence of a Jesus. Most people are only repeating what they have heard or are the conspiracy type. I am not convinced especially from one person no matter how valid. And even if I were what's the point of trying to prove billions of people have been and are just plain wrong.
@JackPedigo To my mind the point is to ensure that the Truth is told despite the protestations of the 'faithfools.'
None of the Catholic church's attitudes and preachings about sex came from the original words of Jesus. The teachings about birth control come simply from a desire to increase the number of people who are Catholic. The idea of forcing priests to remain celibate is simply nonsensical dogma created by the church's aristocracy. And, the church knows this. That is why they try to sweep sexual abuse by priests under the rug.
wordywalt
Level 9
Dec 28, 2018
1
The article asks why, since the beginning of Christianity, has the church been so fixated on controlling people’s sexual behavior, often to traumatic ends?
"It’s the strangest thing about this church - it is obsessed with sex, absolutely obsessed. Now, they will say we, with our permissive society and rude jokes, are obsessed. No. We have a healthy attitude. We like it, it’s fun, it’s jolly; because it’s a primary impulse it can be dangerous and dark and difficult.
It’s a bit like food in that respect, only even more exciting. The only people who are obsessed with food are anorexics and the morbidly obese, and that in erotic terms is the Catholic Church in a nutshell."
Stephen Fry
Darius77
Level 6
Dec 28, 2018
5
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