Human Semen and Papal Infallibility
Speaking of sex, three articles lead me to a shocking religious revelation of Dan Brownian proportions. First, from Scientific American, comes word that semen acts chemically on women to make them happier. (And if any of you guys out there are slimy enough to think of using this as a pick-up line, take it from me, it just ticks them off.) Second, it finally occurred to someone that the steroids women ingest in birth control pills may be doing damage to their brains. And thirdly, Mollie Hemingway points out below and Heather Mac Donald makes the point here that out-of-wedlock births are a disaster for everyone concerned.
Put it all together you get this: the surest path to female happiness is unprotected sex during marriage. This means, if you happen to be a woman, the Catholic church's much reviled teachings on sex are exactly right for you. Just when we thought we had that Pope in our grasp, he vanishes once again beneath the Cloak of Infallibility! Dang.
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May '10
Re: Human Semen and Papal Infallibility
Strike that. Reverse it.
Jul '10
Re: Human Semen and Papal Infallibility
Are you baiting me?
Uh-uh, no, no....
May '10
Re: Human Semen and Papal Infallibility
Kenneth: Are you baiting me?
Uh-uh, no, no.... · Oct 1 at 7:32am
As Admiral Akbar might say "it's a trap!"
In an interesting plot twist, the Cloak of Infallibility turns out to be one of the Tridently Hallows.
Re: Human Semen and Papal Infallibility
Heather's article on the disaster of lower income single parenting is well reasoned and well substantiated and I'm sure she'll be called racist/classist for writing it. So let me join her with a little confession:
I was a writer on "Murphy Brown" when said character got pregnant. While future parenthood for such a self-absorbed careerist was a funny plot twist, I was silently aligned with Dan Quayle. Emphasis on SILENTLY. I liked my job. Still, I thought it was a terrible example, fictitious or not. Now I know that famous, rich women having babies without the benefit of a father is an awful role model. Just as bad as famous rich men spawning children right and left without the benefit of creating a proper family for them.
Of course we are talking about celebrities, the most self-absorbed people in the world so how could we expect them to think about the well-being of the child first. So I propose the following: That a legally binding promise to marry upon pregnancy is a prerequisite for a SAG card or entrance into any major league sport.
May '10
Re: Human Semen and Papal Infallibility
I would deny the Catholic Church's expertise when it comes to matters of sexuality. Does it not discourage condom use? This can't be good advice to those prone to contracting AIDS, particularly in sub-Sahara Africa.
Sep '10
Re: Human Semen and Papal Infallibility
I'll add fuel to the fire. Its been reported in the lamestream media a few times now that birth control pills go directly into the water supply and that the hormones do not disappear but cause not just feminization in fish, but also in males.
And the environmentalist alarm bells are where?
Sep '10
Re: Human Semen and Papal Infallibility
http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/sexuality/se0106.html
I'll let Uganda's First Lady speak to that.
(Kudos to that 2 legged fellow below me)
Edited on Oct 1, 2010 at 8:11amMay '10
Re: Human Semen and Papal Infallibility
Pseudodionysius: http://catholiceducation.org/articles/sexuality/se0106.html
I'll let Uganda's First Lady speak to that. · Oct 1 at 8:02am
Here's the link you meant. It just needed the "www." after "//".
Michael, studies have repeatedly shown that giving kids condoms increases their sexual activity, whereas abstinence programs reduce it. And condoms do not consistently protect against HIV and other STDs.
Jul '10
Re: Human Semen and Papal Infallibility
Pseudodionysius: I'll add fuel to the fire. Its been reported in the lamestream media a few times now that birth control pills go directly into the water supply and that the hormones do not disappear but cause not just feminization in fish, but also in males.
And the environmentalist alarm bells are where? · Oct 1 at 7:58am
Oh...that explains why I caught a rainbow trout that looked exactly like Kim Kardashian.
I broke a nail trying to get it off the hook.
Sep '10
Re: Human Semen and Papal Infallibility
Just as government entitlements cause moral hazard in their recipients (see Greece), sexual entitlements cause moral hazard (see out of wedlock births and epidemic STDs) in their recipients.
Even Sigmund Freud and Mahatma Ghandi knew what would happen if the procreative and unitive functions were allowed to be separated during the sexual act and what the diastrous effect would be on society.
In our radically paganized world, this may be an unwelcome message, but just because you don't like something doesn't mean that it isn't true.
Sep '10
Re: Human Semen and Papal Infallibility
Kenneth
Oh...that explains why I caught a rainbow trout that looked exactly like Kim Kardashian.
I broke a nail trying to get it off the hook. · Oct 1 at 8:14am
They get there two ways -- directly through the household plumbing system (unfortunately it doesn't degrade enough when passing through a woman's body) and when birth control pills are flushed down the toilet.
May '10
Re: Human Semen and Papal Infallibility
Aaron, I certainly did not attribute an invincibility to condoms. However, it hardly follows that an instrument should be shunned because it is not foolproof. Furthermore, given the dangerous combination of impetuousness and sexual promiscuity found in many young adults, I think they will tend to have sex regardless of the availability of condoms, particularly in Africa where the ignorance is greatest.
Re: Human Semen and Papal Infallibility
But you missed an important fourthly, Andrew. This must somehow be entered into the evidence, though what it's evidence of, I'm not sure.
Re: Human Semen and Papal Infallibility
hahahaha... it's evidence that semen makes men stupid... but then, I guess we all knew that.
May '10
Re: Human Semen and Papal Infallibility
Pseudodionysius
They get there two ways -- directly through the household plumbing system (unfortunately it doesn't degrade enough when passing through a woman's body) and when birth control pills are flushed down the toilet. · Oct 1 at 8:18am
There was a Red Eye segment on shrimp getting high on flushed prescription drugs. Which, for various reasons, I will not post. Lookin out for people's souls here.
May '10
Re: Human Semen and Papal Infallibility
With regard to studies - look, I've had this kind of debate before. There are probability a litany of studies regarding this issue with an equal litany of discrepant findings and conclusions. For the moment we'll have to resort to our own common sense and ability to reason in order to tentatively settle intellectual disputes like this. Moreover, some give the Pope credit for his advice with respect to sexuality. Even if the Pope's claims were true, his methodology also matters as well. It is, after all, possible to come to true conclusions accidentally, i.e., from false premises or fallacious reasoning. Questioning religious epistemology is inevitable in this context. How does the Pope possess such certainty? From what I understand, the Pope does not claim that scientific investigations inform his convictions with regard to sexuality.
Sep '10
Re: Human Semen and Papal Infallibility
From what I understand, the Pope does not claim that scientific investigations inform his convictions with regard to sexuality.
True, but he is relying on a well defined structure to human nature and hence human sexuality. Incidentally, two thirds of the Catholic Church's writing on marriage and sexuality was written by one man - Pope John Paul II, you may wish to start with his Love and Responsibility. It approaches the subject in a personalist way that many find appealing.
May '10
Re: Human Semen and Papal Infallibility
Okay, religious epistemology it is.
The Church does not teach the Pope's opinion; the Pope proclaims what the Church teaches (and always has taught). The Church teaches what it received through Revelation and what it perceives to be consistent with natural law, i.e. the dignity of persons.
Among the "marks" of its divine origin, or the evidence for its truth, is that science bears it out.
Human beings thrive when they live in accordance with it; they suffer when they don't.
I defy anyone to name anyone who has explored and explained the mystery of human sexuality with more depth, power, beauty, coherence and truth than John Paul II.
May '10
Re: Human Semen and Papal Infallibility
katievs, You assert the trustworthiness (or at least existence) of revelation. Our dispute begins here. I haven't been convinced thusfar that a god has communicated with human beings. No doubt, Catholic doctrine is wholly contingent upon the occurrence of revelation. Is Scripture the truth reveal by the God of Abraham? It seems like a tremendously difficult proposition to prove. I have questions with regard to the relationship between science and religion. You essentially say that science corroborates religious propositions. What if scientific induction yields propositions that contradict religious propositions (as is often the case)? Which proposition shall we accept: the scientific or the religious?
May '10
Re: Human Semen and Papal Infallibility
Uh, the Church also promotes sex in the context of a monogamous marital relationship, which is far better then condom use to limit the spread of AIDS, in sub-Saharan Africa, or the Antarctic for that matter.