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Or, more likely: Archbishop Theodore was asexual (before we had labels for such things) so it was effortless for him to label the bulk of the heterosexual exper

Or, more likely: Archbishop Theodore was asexual (before we had labels for such things) so it was effortless for him to label the bulk of the heterosexual experience as sinful. He thought it was all super gross; just like how he felt about beastiality and homosexual acts. How does not cultivating a healthy sexual relationship with your spouse lead to a nuclear family?

paulddraper 7y ago
As I mentioned, Archbishop Theodore himself takes a historically extreme version of sexual taboos. And a celibate clergy may have something to do with that. My points were around the more standard taboos in the list. > How does not cultivating a healthy sexual relationship with your spouse lead to a nuclear family? Without defining what is or isn't "healthy," Judais/Christianity explicitly does at least broadly support intramarital children/sex. "Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge." (Hebrews 13:4) "God blessed them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it.'" (Genesis 1:28) "He which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh" (Matthew 19:4)
- yjftsjthsd-h 7y ago
  And, of course, the entire book Song of Solomon:)
cjfd 7y ago
If what we currently see related to people who enjoy this kind of moralizing is any indication, it seems more likely that he had some sexual skeleton in the closet than that he was asexual. Like all these anti-gay preachers some time ago that kept getting caught with escort boys and the like.
SilasX 7y ago
I thought it's more common to see the opposite effect: the people who are most drawn to the "sins" they see as harmful (either to the soul or society) are the ones most hardcore about stamping those things out. They are the most aware of the siren's call. At least, that's my understanding about why you see vocal anti-gay politicians/pastors being revealed as closeted. In particular, there was some "Focus on the Family" type that went on and on about how "well obviously gay sex is much more pleasurable and that's why we have to be vigilant", but I can't find the reference at the moment.
jandrese 7y ago
It seems more like he's absolutely terrified of God. Properly God fearing. And of the mindset that pleasure is sin, but torn because sex is necessary for procreation but also potentially quite pleasurable (sinful). These are people who are living in an era where good people died young all the time. God seems capricious and cruel. You do NOT want to get on his bad side. So they get wrapped around the axle trying to figure out how to best please God and make up tons of silly rules based on entirely circumstantial evidence and the relatively vague and sometimes contradictory rules passed down for generations in the Bible and other texts. They are undoubtedly suffering from large amounts of confirmation bias as well.
Timpy 7y ago
There are a lot of clergy people/politicians today who are not asexual that label the bulk of heterosexual experience as sinful. Plenty of anecdotes of scandals from people holding high positions in government or religious organizations that are found doing the exact 'sinful' thing they seemed to be on a mission to destroy.

paulddraper 7y ago

As I mentioned, Archbishop Theodore himself takes a historically extreme version of sexual taboos. And a celibate clergy may have something to do with that. My points were around the more standard taboos in the list. > How does not cultivating a healthy sexual relationship with your spouse lead to a nuclear family? Without defining what is or isn't "healthy," Judais/Christianity explicitly does at least broadly support intramarital children/sex. "Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge." (Hebrews 13:4) "God blessed them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it.'" (Genesis 1:28) "He which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh" (Matthew 19:4)

yjftsjthsd-h 7y ago
And, of course, the entire book Song of Solomon:)

cjfd 7y ago

If what we currently see related to people who enjoy this kind of moralizing is any indication, it seems more likely that he had some sexual skeleton in the closet than that he was asexual. Like all these anti-gay preachers some time ago that kept getting caught with escort boys and the like.

SilasX 7y ago

I thought it's more common to see the opposite effect: the people who are most drawn to the "sins" they see as harmful (either to the soul or society) are the ones most hardcore about stamping those things out. They are the most aware of the siren's call. At least, that's my understanding about why you see vocal anti-gay politicians/pastors being revealed as closeted. In particular, there was some "Focus on the Family" type that went on and on about how "well obviously gay sex is much more pleasurable and that's why we have to be vigilant", but I can't find the reference at the moment.

jandrese 7y ago

It seems more like he's absolutely terrified of God. Properly God fearing. And of the mindset that pleasure is sin, but torn because sex is necessary for procreation but also potentially quite pleasurable (sinful). These are people who are living in an era where good people died young all the time. God seems capricious and cruel. You do NOT want to get on his bad side. So they get wrapped around the axle trying to figure out how to best please God and make up tons of silly rules based on entirely circumstantial evidence and the relatively vague and sometimes contradictory rules passed down for generations in the Bible and other texts. They are undoubtedly suffering from large amounts of confirmation bias as well.

Timpy 7y ago

There are a lot of clergy people/politicians today who are not asexual that label the bulk of heterosexual experience as sinful. Plenty of anecdotes of scandals from people holding high positions in government or religious organizations that are found doing the exact 'sinful' thing they seemed to be on a mission to destroy.