"How far is the Christian view of Sex and relationships an unfortunate product of it's time?"

         Unfortunately this obscure view of women as inferiors has led Christian theologians to build a protective barrier around issues involving the fairer sex. Historically women were assigned to submissive roles of child-care and meeting their husband’s needs. Women were seen to be temptresses stimulating male sexual desires. In order to channel these desires the church encouraged monogamous marriage as the correct environment for sexual activity.

         St Augustine, possibly the most influential figure in the development of Christian ideas about sexuality, recognised that sex could undermine a man’s rationality. Women were seen to inspire desires in men, where even the most powerful of men may find himself subject to sexual desires that he could not control. St Augustine reckoned that

“All sexuality was sinful and wicked and should be avoided- unless it was strictly necessary for procreation. A man should never make love to his wife for pleasure, as to do so meant treating her as a whore and an adulteress.When it was necessary to make love to produce children, the man should descend with a certain sadness to his regrettable task.”

         It is indisputable that St Augustine was a superb theologian, but it should be acknowledged that he had a troubled upbringing, doubting religion in a search for truth. After fathering a lovechild with a prostitute he joined the Manichees who would have influenced him immensely. They believed that sex, even within marriage was evil and sinful. At this stage Augustine was impressionable but his ideas at that time were exactly what the Church was looking for in an attempt to control people in their sexual activity. Therefore he has remained a foundation for Christian teaching.  

        Another significant influence on Christian tradition (especially Catholic) is St Thomas Aquinas and his development of Natural Law. The Roman Catholic Church accepted Natural Law to give guidance to its members on sex, contraception and homosexuality. Natural Law is the concept that there is a moral code within the purpose of nature and therefore human nature also. Natural Law from Aquinas’s perception interprets the telos of sex as procreation. Anything that hinders the procreation of children is condemned as unnatural, for example, contraception, oral and anal sex, masturbation and homosexuality.

         The Catholic view of sex (using the Natural Law ethic) raises some interesting issues. For instance, is the telos of sex always procreation? There seems to be confusion here between what is the case and what ought to be the case. What about sexual intercourse as an expression of love between a couple or as something enjoyable? An example of this can be seen in an analogy of a screwdriver; we use the screwdriver for its purpose, which is to screw and unscrew screws yet we also use it for opening paint cans, both are acceptable ways of using the screwdriver. Furthermore, if every sexual action should result in procreation what about couples who cannot have babies? Is their relationship unnatural? Should they be having sex? (What about women who get pregnant after being raped? In this context does Natural Law actually condone rape?)

         These concepts may seem unfair and even humorous to us with our modern beliefs and practices. Women are now very much an accepted part of society with almost equal opportunities to men. Augustine’s belief that sex should be a “regrettable task” may seem obscure to today’s generation as sex is portrayed as enjoyable and fun. Yet this is possibly due to the accelerating change in the acceptance of sexual activity, which may stem from Fletcher’s radical situation ethics where sex was liberated from its previous taboos.

         It also seems odd that Natural Law has not recognised humans as naturally sexual creatures. Freud’s psychological theories are rooted in unconscious sexual desires and the libido as controlling aspects of human’s behaviour. This means that man’s emotional nature is made up of contrasting drives, which need not be looked upon as either good or bad but simply as problems that can be compromised or adjusted without reference to good and evil. This means that man is no longer repressed by tradition to look at himself as an innately sinful person but is free to accept himself for what he really is; a creature with ambivalent, opposing desires and motives.

         The Christian view of sex seems very much a product of its time with unfair demands and repression of human nature. But are they necessarily unfair demands? Do we need repressing for our own good?

         Repression is the psychological mechanism for protecting us from potentially harmful experiences and information. If we did not repress our desires and motives then the world would be uncontrollable with people excusing their behaviour as a feature of the nature. The media portrays a distorted view of sexuality, in which sex and erotic emotions are woven into ideals of mutual affection and social acceptance. If we were in anyway going to alter Church teachings about sex and relationships, it would need to be done with extreme cautiousness and consideration. If we succeed in this it must be acknowledged that we are preparing for a world considerably different from the one in which we live. We are already living in a time of unhappy marriages with one in three ending in divorce. This concern would need to be addressed in modifying the traditions and for a while, with sex being more liberated, it may get worse instead of better. Yet if we can find a way in which men and women can realistically value each other, and learn to associate physical sexuality with tenderness and affection, marriage will become quite generally a relationship of rich reward and fulfilment, where people will want to remain abstinent as not to ruin the quality of the relationship.

         Therefore I conclude that Christian views on sex and relationships are a product of their time but an important product, which guides us, and with modification and modernisation will enable us to develop the perceptions of sex and marriage into a realization of perfection.

Word count- 1332