Christianity: New Teachings for a New Way of Life
The Christian vision of Human Sexuality compared to many religions is seen as quite restrictive. Religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism do not put near as much effort in restricting human sexuality as Christians do. Particularly in Hinduism, sex is seen as a good thing and is even celebrated. Even more, some Hindu's practice the teachings of the Kama Sutra "which provides the details of erotic method?presenting the particulars of various types of positions, caresses, and embraces" (LoPresti 25). These views of sexuality in Hinduism are significantly different to the views of Christianity. "How would you characterize the Christian vision of human sexuality, as relatively positive and affirming or more cautious and restrictive?" (LoPresti 137)
One issue of Human Sexuality in Christianity is the idea of contraception. "Until 1930, when the Anglican Communion modified its teaching, Christians around the world had been unanimous in their condemnation of artificial means of birth control" (LoPresti 132). For centuries, procreation has been the primary purpose of marriage. Now with the advancements of a reliable birth control, sex has taken on a whole new consciousness. Sex now can be seen as fun and pleasurable and independent of procreation. The idea of sex separate from procreation is highly debatable especially in the Roman Catholic Church. The Roman Catholic Church "continues to hold that each and every act of intercourse must remain open to the transmission of new life" (LoPresti 133). This argument is the source of much heated debate due to the steady rise of the Aids Epidemic. ...