Sexuality and Christianity

SOCIETY HAS BECOME INCREASINGLY SECULAR

Society once looked to religious leaders to set community standards of morality. Christians today decry the replacement of traditional moral values with a new morality based on relativism. With relativism, meaning nothing is absolutely right or wrong; choices are made depending on the situation. Unfortunately, relativism has deprived society, especially young people, of the moral foundation necessary to make mature decisions about sex-uality: "For all squabbling, leaders of both left and the right today readily acknowledge the moral crisis" (Reeves 8). This crisis has prompted a growing movement to restore virtue and chastity among Christian youth. Both Protestant and Catholic churches have launched national campaigns to urge young people to remain chaste until marriage.

The Catholic church probably has the strictest teachings on sexuality of any Christian sect. Vatican II had a major impact on moral theology, a universal call to Christians to live holy l

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people know this book only through its shortened title, but its full title is "Genesis, the First Book of Moses." Moses was the lawgiver in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, Eve (representative of woman) was relegated to a secondary role, that of helpmate for Adam. Throughout much of the Old Testament, the disunity of male and female is evident. With rare exceptions, women are subordinate to men, and this status quo was not challenged then, as in some Christian circles, it is not challenged now: "The woman, as a source of new life, a part of nature, can find it easy to will-ingly submit herself to the procreative role in marriage, as a natural fulfillment of the Agape motive" (Becker 170). Women in the Old Testament were content with a relatively passive role, finding their fulfillment through home and family. The Law of Moses supported this role, with various rules and regulations whereby men exerted control over women through family rela-tionships, marriage, and inheritance laws. Modern feminists are faced with the dilemma of how to respond to the inherently male-oriented God-language in the Bible. Should they claim it for themselves, reject it, or reconstruct it? MORALITY AND CHURCH LEADERS The moral crisis that is a
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Approximate Word count = 2790
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page)

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