Sexuality and the Catholic Church

Rev. Dr. Richard E. Kuykendall

Description

Sexuality and the Catholic Church is a book that deals with the unique approach the Catholic Church takes towards human sexuality. From celibate priests and nuns, to consecrated virgins, to the ultimate Virgin--Mary, who is said to be a perpetually virgin, even though she gave birth to Jesus--to not allowing contraceptives for its members, and its refusal to ordain women as priests, or allow priests to marry. And much more.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Catholic Church
• Sexuality
• Religion
• Sexualité
• sexualité
• Sexualité

Informations

• Publié par: Trafford Publishing
• Date de parution: 08 septembre 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781698712826
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

SEXUALITY AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
REV. DR. RICHARD E. KUYKENDALL
 
© Copyright 2022 Rev. Dr. Richard E. Kuykendall. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author.
ISBN: 978-1-6987-1283-3 (sc) ISBN: 978-1-6987-1282-6 (e)
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only. Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, King James Version. Cambridge Edition: 1769; King James Bible Online, 2018. www.kingjamesbibleonline.org .
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
NEW TESTAMENT: FROM THE REVISED GENEVA TRANSLATION Published by Five Talents Audio Copyright 2019 by Five Talents Audio. ISBN#: 9781727501933 Printed in the USA ALL RIGHTS RESERVED No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means - electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise - without prior written permission. For more information:Five Talents Audio 770-518-8336
Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®). ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from Jubilee Bible 2000 (JUB) Copyright © 2013, 202
Scripture quotations are taken from the New Life Version, copyright © 1969 and 2003. Used by permission of Barbour Publishing, Inc., Uhrichsville, Ohio 44683. All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the New Life Version, copyright © 1969 and 2003. Used by permission of Barbour Publishing, Inc., Uhrichsville, Ohio 44683. All rights reserved.
Trafford rev.  09/01/2022
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In deep gratitude for my teacher, Mother Nature,
who operates according to natural laws,
and who was God’s first revelation
C ontents
Foreword
Introduction
 
Natural Law?
History
Scripture vs Scripture + Tradition
Sexuality and Church Law
A Short Alphabet of Sexual Acts and Issues
Mary, Goddess in Training?
Summaries
The Beginning of The End? Journals
Concluding Scientific Postscript
 
Bibliography
Endnotes
F oreword
O ther than our own unspoken thoughts, our sexual lives are probably the most personal and intimate part of our lives. The reason why a book like this is so important, is because, it is when the Church tries to make our choices for us concerning our sexuality—when its priests and bishops only see sex as negative behavior, because of lust and lasciviousness which ends in all sorts of acts of “animal passions,” the reigning patriarchy mandates what its members must do at the price of acceptance or rejection, and even in some cases, excommunication. In this context, virgins are held in high regards, like unto the vestal virgins of Roman times. And chaste nuns live lives of exalted purity because of their lack of lust and sexual stains, and being cloistered away from the polluting influences of the world. Priests couldn’t possibly marry because it could entail performing sexual acts with their spouses, which for them would be mortal sin. And women in general, whether chaste or not, even when having theological education which is superior to a man (e.g. Rosemary Radford Reuther) and liturgical training as well, are rejected as priests. So suffice it to be said, the author sees a problem in how priests and women are dealt with in the Church.
Secondly, there is the paradoxical problem of being anti-abortion or pro-life, while not allowing contraceptives. How has the Church been able to live with itself after dictating in totalitarian fashion that married coupes cannot use contraceptives to avoid becoming pregnant, when they do not want to. And what happens if they do??? Of these, some, or even many, will have an abortion for an unwanted child.
Thirdly, is the Church’s unrealistic stand on divorce. In a country where nearly one in every two marriages end in divorce, it seems unrealistic to think that prospective new members have never been divorced. And then, there is the tedious process of having one’s marriage annulled so that one can say, “I’ve never been married.” One can then move into the Church “like a virgin, kissed for the very first time.”
Fourthly, If the Samaritan woman at the well, could have been married five times and currently was living with someone, and Jesus could simply forgive her with out an annulment, why can’t a priest just absolve one of their marriage or divorce—if not, it makes divorce the only real unpardonable sin. One can be condemned to never take the sacrament.
One last point, in the Introduction, Kuykendall says something about the size of Catholicism in relationship to all of Protestantism and the other World Religions. I must add that the Vatican State is the smallest country in the world, yet is number eighteen of the wealthiest countries per capita—no one knows the exact amount of what they have in gross assets. But this country grants its citizens religious freedom when its own members do not have the same freedom. Note what Pope Francis said about religious freedom:
“May no one use religion as a pretext for actions against human dignity and against the fundamental rights of every man and woman, above all to the right to life and the right of everyone to religious freedom,”
(September 21, 2014) 1
But what the members have is spiritual totalitarianism and coercion—either you believe ALL the teachings (as Kuykendall found out) or you are in danger of excommunication—as a number of those who Kuykendall had studied with found out the hard way.
Copenhagen, Denmark
June 2022
INTRODUCTION
Catholic: of or relating to the Roman Catholic Church.
The word “catholic” comes from the Greek word
katholikos meaning “Universal”
I ntroduction
T he Catholic Church makes up one half of the largest religion in the world. It claims some 1.2 billion members, it makes up 50% of all Christians, and makes up 16% of the total population of the world.
More than this, the Catholic Church has some 415,000 + priests and over 10,000 saints—and they keep on coming!
In this book we will be looking at many of the Catholic beliefs. But Catholics don’t see these things as mere beliefs; the Church enjoins every believer to abide by their pronouncements on these topics. For example: the Church’s positions on masturbation and oral sex—(Yes, they do have pronouncements on these things, plus much more!). Not to go into it now (but we will later), these are not just said to be immoral acts according to some kind of sexual moral code, they are based on theological and philosophical ideas that Catholic theologians and philosophers claim to be according to, “Natural Law.” The problem, as we shall see, is that what Catholic theologians and philosophers hold to be “Natural Law” is sometimes very different from what social and physical scientists 2 hold to be “Natural Law.”
In this book we will be looking at such doctrines and practices as Original Sin and the Adoration of Mary. We will also look at celibacy, marriage, and chastity. And we shall also consider a number of “sexual sins,” and evaluate them by what the Catholic Church holds to be true; versus what contemporary social and physical scientists hold to be true.
This book is not about me, but the Catholic Church and its views towards sexuality, and some other things. However, I think it is fair to say that the reader should know where I’m coming from in all of this.
In my undergraduate studies, I studied the history of the Church, including the Early Church Fathers, and all the way up to the split at the time of the Protestant Reformation, and beyond. Then I studied these things again, in more depth, and adding History of Liturgical Movements in seminary while working on my Master of Divinity degree. I also took “Roman Catholic Theology” in seminary, and during that time I read almost every book I could find by Hans Kung, and I also read other Catholic thinker’s works such as:
Origen, On the First Princi ples
Augustine, Confess ions
Dante, The Divine Co medy
Chesterton , Ortho doxy
Pierre Teihard de Chardin on “The Omega Point”
Karl Rahner on “anonymous Christians”
Thomas Berry and Brian Swimme’s The Universe S tory
Thomas Merton, The Seven Storey Mountain , and The Journals of Thomas Merton (all 7 volumes!)
Avery Dulles, Models of the Ch urch
Raimon Pannikkar, The Unknown Christ of Hind uism
Andrew Greely, Confessions of a Parish Pr iest
John Henry Nouwen, The Wounded He aler
John Dominic Crossan, “The Jesus Seminar”
John O’ Donohue, Anam Cara and Four Elem ents
and I studied under, or heard lectures by: Joan Chittister, Rosemary Radford Ruether, Alexandra Kovaks, Caroline My