SEXUAL ETHICS HISTORY BY MARGARET A. FARLEY (FROM “SEXUALITY AND THE SACRED”, JAMES NELSON AND SANDRA LONGFELLOW, EDS., 1994)

1) Jewish Tradition: they prescribed marriage laws and prohibited “sexual deviances” (adultery, etc.) human sexuality was sacred only if marriage and fertility were part of the plan

a) Marriage and Procreation - marriage was a religious duty - the need to procreate and the patriarchy of the time led to various other sexual laws (allowing for concubines and men to divorce, for eg.) (see Leviticus 18, 20:10-21, Gen. 1:26, 28; 2:18)

b) Sex and the Marital Relationship - “monogamous, lifelong marriage always stood as the ideal context for sexuality “(55) - marriage was seen as conducive to the holiness of the partners - (see articles on polygamy and monogamy)

Why was marriage seen as an ideal context for sexual behavior?

c) Unnatural Sex Acts - masturbation and homosexual acts were seen as “improper emissions of seed” (see story of Onan, Genesis 38)

2) Ancient Greece and Rome a) General Attitudes - both viewed marriage as monogamous, except that Greeks did not confine sexuality to marriage (Romans, on the other hand, saw it as central to civilization) - double sexual standard for men – patriarchy was evident - homosexuality was accepted in both cultures (highly developed forms of friendship, part of Greek “education”)

b) Philosophy of Sex - generally, philosophy contributed to distrust of sexual desire and negative evaluation of pleasure (mind over body ideas) - Aristotle never considered the possibility of mutuality or equality in marriage relationships - of all the Greek philosophies, *Stoicism had the greatest impact on formation of early Christian thought. They believed the human will was able to (and should) control emotions and physical desires. Therefore, intercourse was seen as good if controlled for purposes of procreation within marriage.

*Stoicism is a school of philosophy founded in Athens. It teaches self-control and detachment from distracting emotions, sometimes interpreted as an indifference to pleasure or pain.

3) Christian Tradition - NT offers grounds for a sexual ethic that: 1) values marriage and procreation on the one hand and celibacy on the other; 2) gives importance to internal attitudes as well as external actions; 3) affirms a sacred meaning for intercourse, yet finds in it a possibility of evil.

Examples: Eph 5:21-28; 1 Cor 6:15-20; Heb 13:4; 1 Cor 7:7-11; Matt 19:3-12; 1 Cor 7:25-35

a) Stoic and Gnostic influences - Stoicism* blended well with Christian thought and opposed Gnostic devaluation of marriage and procreation - Gnosticism believed that marriage is evil (useless) because procreation of children is evil (59). Therefore, they promoted celibacy or every possible sexual experience that was not procreative. - in response, Christians sought a doctrine to affirm goodness of sex, yet set limits (Stoic doctrine met these needs, and set the direction of Christian Ethics for centuries)

b) Augustine ( ) - argued in favor of the goodness of marriage and procreation (though he had a low view of sexual desire) - believed that intercourse w/o procreative purpose was evil - this thinking held sway till the sixteenth century – that’s a long time!! - courtly love tradition of 12 th century challenged the procreative ethic, but not for long - fleshly desire and original sin were still connected and therefore procreation was seen as justification

c) Post Reformation - generally, Christians have tried to move from the negative approaches carried from tradition toward a more positive view of sex within marriage expressing love

i) Roman Catholicism - issue of contraception forced RC to reaffirm the procreative ethic – Pope Pius XI responded to Anglican approval of contraception by reaffirming procreation, yet approved the rhythm method for restricting procreation. - big change from 1950s to 1970s. Vatican II expressed the idea that love is expressed and perfected in marriage through intercourse. Despite stating that contraception is immoral, the church has accepted non-procreative intercourse.

ii) Protestantism same as Catholics until the 20 th Century, when biblical research gave new insights into early roots of Christian sexual norms and even modern science 1930 – Anglicans accepted contraception, based on a biblical ethic also favoured civil rights of homosexuals. In 1963, Quakers wrote of a sexual ethic that did not rule out homosexual relationships United Church in Canada has affirmed GLBT members and leaders since 1988