F
FINKEL
Guest
How can a lay Catholic answer this mis-guided Catholic theologian about St. Augustine’s teachings, besides the fact that St. Augustine DID NOT invent original sin?
“the church’s present teaching on sexuality finds its roots almost entirely in the teachings of St. Augustine, who taught that marriage / sex was for one purpose only: to have children. Any enjoyment in the act itself was considered sinful since Augustine traced sex to the original sin. He, by the way, was the first one to do that. He also claimed “original sin” [another Augustinian invention by the way] was passed from generation to generation via sex. Previously, theologians had considered pride the original cause of the fall….and sin was the collective state of affairs regardless of how it was passed on. Following the Stoics, the early Christians also considered any “passionate” act sinful. Of course sex falls in this category, as does war, violence, anger, addictions, etc. In short, anything that makes us ‘lose control’.”
“the church’s present teaching on sexuality finds its roots almost entirely in the teachings of St. Augustine, who taught that marriage / sex was for one purpose only: to have children. Any enjoyment in the act itself was considered sinful since Augustine traced sex to the original sin. He, by the way, was the first one to do that. He also claimed “original sin” [another Augustinian invention by the way] was passed from generation to generation via sex. Previously, theologians had considered pride the original cause of the fall….and sin was the collective state of affairs regardless of how it was passed on. Following the Stoics, the early Christians also considered any “passionate” act sinful. Of course sex falls in this category, as does war, violence, anger, addictions, etc. In short, anything that makes us ‘lose control’.”
