"I still consider that the ban was motivated by population/political
concerns rather than by metaphysical ones."
It's a somewhat uncertain point regarding the 'etymology' of the ban, though I suspect you're probably right. That said, I'm not sure that the origin is entirely relevant (a parallel might be the interpretation of the bequeathing of the earth to mainkind; I'm sure you're correct that the dominant interpretation was an exploitative one, but I'm not sure why that should invalidate the stewardship interpretation now. I'm not aware of anything in the Bible that would contradict that, though obviously said text is not exactly my favourite bedside reading). The present problem remains that acknowledging pleasure (sexual in this context) as a source of 'good' is not especially compatible with what christians are pleased to term 'christian morality.'
"I also note that, as has come out recently, there has been another omerta operating, in the matter of the willing acceptance of homosexual clergy (of both genders, I'll wager) who for the last thousand years were officially exempted from the directive to 'be fruitful and multiply', so that their loyalties would not be divided between church and family."
Since you raise that issue, I would point out that the ordination of an Archbishop of Canterbury who has already observed that he has knowingly ordained non-celibate homosexual clergy has raised the prospect of a schism within the Anglican communion, something I do not expect to happen as a consequence of any pro-environmental views the Archbishop may or may not happen to hold.
---- This message was posted by kharin to the Virus 2002 board on Church of Virus BBS. <http://virus.lucifer.com/bbs/index.php?board=51;action=display;threadid=25764>
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Sun Sep 22 2002 - 05:06:16 MDT