Christianity: New Teachings for a New Way of Life Essay -- essays rese

Christianity: New Teachings for a New Way of Life   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  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 â€Å"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. â€Å"How would you characterize the Christian vision of human sexuality, as relatively positive and affirming or more cautious and restrictive?† (LoPresti 137)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One issue of Human Sexuality in Christianity is the idea of contraception. â€Å"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 â€Å"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. The Aids epidemic in the world today is the source of a huge problem. Millions are infected and will continue to infect others without the proper means of contraception. Since there is no cure for Aids, the condom is the catalyst in attempting to control the Aids virus. Since the issue of contraception is in direct contradiction with the Roman Catholic Church, many Catholics find themselves torn between religion and health. So the question for Catholics becomes: Do we follow our catholic teaching or do we try and eradicate this disease? Although most devout Catholics would be opposed to disregarding the teachings of the church, the issue of sav... ...ersons† (LoPresti 136). Christian teaching of homosexuality has created a hatred towards homosexuals, which in turn, causes homosexuals to be oppressed. This oppression is in direct contradiction with the teachings of Jesus’ ministry which stressed â€Å"a call to compassion and solidarity with those who are oppressed† (LoPresti 135). Therefore, the Christians view of homosexuality seems to be restricting, in that homosexuals are restricted from living a life without oppression.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Overall, the Christian view of human sexuality appears to be quite restrictive on the issues of contraception, nonmarital sex, and homosexuality. Furthermore, these unresolved issues within the church need to be updated to fit new circumstances which we know to be ok today, like homosexuality and contraception. No religion is a perfect religion, but it is though the continual evaluations of church teaching that we begin to find more logical, and accepting religion.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Works Cited LoPresti, Anthony. â€Å"Christianity.† Sex & Religion. Ed. Christel Manning & Phil   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Zuckerman. Belmont, CA: Thompson, 2005. 117-141.