Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!bcm!dimacs.rutgers.edu!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: !fetherbay@ddtisvr.uucp (Kathy Fetherbay) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: Biblical Sexual Morality Message-ID: Date: 25 Mar 91 09:02:03 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: DuPont Design Technologies Group Lines: 27 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu In article mls@sfsup.att.com (Mike Siemon) writes: >In article , >ALLEN@mscf.med.upenn.edu writes: > >> Much of Biblical sexual morality is based on the mistaken belief >> that each sperm contained an infant. > >I don't believe that is the case. The doctrine you allude to *was* the >developed Stoic position, and as such it had an immense influence on the >formation of Christian ethical doctrines. But I can't think of a single >OT passage that would support such a notion (nor, indeed, any that would >contradict it.) Jewish sexual ethics was NOT based on this notion. And I recommend you both slog your way thru _Birth_Control_in_ _Jewish_Law_ by David M. Feldman. It's a dense book, but only because he is thorough about demonstrating Talmudic reasoning. Ethics and morality are rarely based on a single perceived "fact" of nature, and Jewish tradition is a beautiful dance of opposing mitzvahs and developing understandings thru history using both the intellectual reason of man and God's law of love written on the heart. -- -- Kathy E.F.Daly -- - -- "A bad .sig file is better than no .sig file at all." Camex,Inc. pays me, but I work for DuPont Design Technologies (go figure...) Land Line by day: (408)970-4263