[Vision2020] A religious war on Oral Sex?

[Art Deco]

 [image: Freethought Arizona - Reason, Science, and Freedom of
Expression]<http://tucsoncitizen.com/freethought-arizona>
A religious war on Oral Sex? by Don
Lacey<http://tucsoncitizen.com/freethought-arizona/author/donlacey/>on
Jun. 17, 2012, under AZ
Politics<http://tucsoncitizen.com/freethought-arizona/category/az-politics/>,
Biblical Inerrancy<http://tucsoncitizen.com/freethought-arizona/category/biblical-inerrancy/>,
Christian Self-Righteous
Arrogance<http://tucsoncitizen.com/freethought-arizona/category/christian-self-righteous-arrogance/>,
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Separation
of Church & State<http://tucsoncitizen.com/freethought-arizona/category/separation-of-church-state/>

Editor’s note: In November, FreeThought Arizona will be hosting a speaker
locally in Tucson, Dr. Darrel Ray <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darrel_Ray>,
author of *The God Virus* and *Sex and God:* *How Religion Distorts
Sexuality*. Dr. Ray is also known for his *Sex and Secularism Survey; *you
can read his interview on that survey
HERE<http://livinglifewithoutanet.wordpress.com/2011/05/31/darrel-ray-responds-to-critics-of-sex-and-secularism-survey/>
.

 Jim sent me this in May while Rick Santorum was still seeking to be the
Republican presidential candidate. I’ve been reluctant to publish it due to
the subject matter. If the discussion of oral sex is uncomfortable, please
stop reading now. One of the byproducts of so much religious influence in
our society is that frank discussions about sexual topics are distressing
to many. This is not as it should be. Here’s what Jim Wilson has to say on
the subject of religion and oral sex:

 “Let the heathen spill theirs on the dusty ground. God shall make them pay
for each sperm that can’t be found.” -Monty Python “Every Sperm is
Sacred<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0kJHQpvgB8>
”

 This seems to be an on again off again issue but Christianity in its
various forms has a long history of being at odds with sexual pleasure.
Oral sex is an enjoyable experience for men and women of all orientations
and a favorite pastime of so many Americans. Religious objections to it
tend to get swept under the rug but they occasionally come out. Not long
ago, Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum inspired by his
“conservative” Catholicism, likely hurt his bid for the White House by
coming out against oral sex and the right to privacy. Also, he probably
didn’t help himself when he came out in favor of state level bans on birth
control. Surveys show that even Catholics do not have a moral objection
against birth control<http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2012/02/catholics-do-not-have-moral-objection-contraception>.
Mitt Romney is also from a religious tradition that has a history of
antagonism to towards oral sex as well.

In a 1982 letter <http://www.lds-mormon.com/worthy_letter1.shtml>,  the
Mormon First Presidency declared oral sex to be among the “unnatural,
impure, or unholy practices” that would keep one from entering the Mormon
temple. Apparently this letter caused Bishops and Stake Presidents to ask
about the practice in temple recommendation interviews and the Presidency
felt the need to command them not to ask questions about specific sexual
practices any longer, subtly backing away from the staunch anti oral sex
position without actually reversing it. The Church remains anti-gay
opposing same sex marriage rights while opposing sexual feelings outside of
marriage. Homosexual Mormons are left option-less. It also has an ugly
history of endorsing cruel and ineffective attempts to convert homosexuals
into heterosexuals. Some cases resulted in suicide and lifelong mental
health issues. Masturbation and impure thoughts are also taboo. The Mormon
Church has imposed thought crime legislation on hormone fill teenagers.
What could be crueler?

Anti-oral sex and anti-gay attitudes are frequently accompanied by claims
of being unnatural and yet both oral sex and homosexual sex have been
documented
throughout human history <http://www.sexualecstasy.org/> as well as in
many species
of animals <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexual_behavior_in_animals>.
Homophobia and anti-oral sex prejudices have only been found in one species
making them seem far more unnatural.

Genesis chapter
38<http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+38&version=KJV>and
the story of Onan is the source most often cited to justify the
religious anti-oral sex, anti-masturbation, and anti-contraception
positions.

 “Then Judah said to Onan “Sleep with your brother’s wife and fulfill your
duty to her as a brother-in-law to raise up offspring for your brother.”
But Onan knew that the child would not be his; so whenever he slept with
his brother’s wife he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from
providing offspring for his brother. What he did was wicked in the Lord’s
sight; so the Lord put him to death also.”

 It is unclear what the Lord actually finds wicked here. Is it the mere
spilling of semen or the fact that Onan did not fulfill an obligation to
his brother? This piece along with instructions to be “fruitful and
multiply<http://bible.cc/genesis/1-28.htm>”
weakly support prohibitions against non-reproductive sexual behavior. The
Catholic Church takes these two Old Testament Biblical references to
justify opposition to condom use and demonizing loving homosexual couples.
Ironically, millions of sperm must die for a single conception to take
place. Since masturbation is more “unnatural” than rape, some Catholic
theologians who studied St. Thomas Aquinas concluded masturbation is worse
than rape. This not a generally held position as discussed in this
ARTICLE<http://www.pathsoflove.com/blog/2009/06/aquinas-on-sexual-sins-dangers-of-speaking-formally/>
.

Oral sex is a perfectly natural and normal expression of human sexuality
and affection. The fact that religion would demonize such practices is
further evidence that religion is destructive to human nature. It also is
evidence that many people who claim to be Christian reject the teachings of
their religion that they find unappealing in much the same way many
self-identified Catholics reject their church’s teachings about birth
control. In human society our sexuality is used for much more than
reproduction. Religious dogma is wrong when it vilifies this fundamental
aspect of our nature.


-- 
Art Deco (Wayne A. Fox)
art.deco.studios at gmail.com
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