At 09:44 AM 8/6/01 -0500 Dan Minette wrote:
> IMHO,
>the real foundation of the desire to restrict sex is Augustine's theology.
I don't think that I buy this.
I have always seen the Church's teaching on this area as being of the
general vein that it is good for humans to regularly deny themselves all
sorts of pleasures. For example, the Church used to call for Catholics to
abstain from meat on Fridays (and continues to call for it on Fridays in
Lent,) the Church proscribes two days of fasting each year (Ash Wednesday
and Good Friday), and the Church promotes the Lenten season as a time for
fasting and abstinence of all sorts.
I must admit that I am a bit lacking in my understanding of the *why* of
this teaching, other than a few general themes such that through fasting
and abstinence:
1) Catholics can show solidarity with the poor
2) The body and soul can be "practiced" for the ability to resist the
temptation of sin
3) It tempers the spirit and forces the soul to concentrate on heavenly
matters
Now, I have not read St. Augustine (I know, I know, I really should) - but
based on your description it doesn't seem to match the above.
>Also, I don't have the post in front of me, but let me comment on the 90%
>success rate for "natural" family planning. When my wife and I received
>training to be part of the local parish marriage preparation team, we met
>some trainers for natural family planning. Since I was a scientist, I
>started asking questions about their statistics. It turns out that they
>kept statistics in a different manner than the statistics for other methods
>of birth control.
I have seen studies that used the same standards for all methods of
contraception studied - i.e. only those using the method correctly were
counted. In those studies, NFP, condoms, and the Pill all came out
between 90 and 98%, depending on the study.
JDG
__________________________________________________________
John D. Giorgis - [EMAIL PROTECTED] - ICQ #3527685
We are products of the same history, reaching from Jerusalem and
Athens to Warsaw and Washington. We share more than an alliance.
We share a civilization. - George W. Bush, Warsaw, 06/15/01
