From: Judy Seigel (jseigel@panix.com)
Date: 08/28/02-10:51:53 PM Z
On Wed, 6 Jan 1904, Darryl Baird wrote:
>
> I'd recommend staying with the tenuous, but still "on topic" alt-photo
> thread of sexuality in a lens-based medium. Dueling over matters of
> faith are doomed to go down in flame (wars.)
Darryl I think you are missing a great opportunity to have some religious
wars on this list -- about the only war we've omitted. Therefore I take
the liberty of making some observations:
Contrary to various assumptions, the desert religions probably didn't
invent sexual taboos, the underlayment was there in the human psyche --
once civilisation set in. The religions simply addressed problems around
town.
But this is explained much more coherently (and beautifully) in an
exquisite little book: Civilisation and its Discontents, by Sigmund Freud.
I know he's supposed to be "debunked," I'll take that up in another
e-mail. But I defy anyone to read that book & not find keys to much of
modern "civilization." Basically it points out that living in "society,"
as opposed to the random hunting & gathering of early humans, was deeply
unsettling to the human psyche. Religion was NEEDED to replace what had
been lost.
I also think, however, that the "puritanical" control of sex is not
intrinsic to religion, just to some of it some of the time. Wasn't it
Paul said it's better to marry than to burn? My understanding of Catholic
history (or such of it as arrives in "Conscience," the Catholics for
Choice quarterly, for my money the best magazine in America) is that the
early church was, not exactly "libertine," but relatively realistic about
sex. The prohibitions entered at various later times for political &
social reasons, (for instance when the King of France needed troops,
the rule against abortion arrived, no I'm not making this up, that's
apparently the chronology), then took on a life of their own, ditto.
However, from what I have been given to understand, in some respects
Judaism is pro sex. That is, it's considered a mitzvah (a blessing) after
Friday night services for husband & wife to go home and make love.
There is of course serious segregation of the sexes before, during & after
marriage among the Orthodox (who also I gather oppose birth control), but
some might claim that makes the sex more exciting.
As for religions causing wars -- a lot of blood has been shed in the NAME
of religion, but I doubt that's cause and effect-- more likely pretext and
effect. The causes of wars are I daresay many, but surely include
testosterone poisoning.
cheers,
Judy
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