The Christian Vegetarian Association (CVA)
Weekly Newsletter from Christian Vegetarian Association CVA - August 2, 2017
From Christian Vegetarian Association (CVA)
- Farmer Gives Cows to a Sanctuary
- Original Sin part 3
- This Week’s Sermon from Rev. Frank and Mary Hoffman
1. Farmer Gives Cows to a Sanctuary
Watch video: The beef farmer rescuing his cows from the slaughterhouse.
2. Original Sin, part 3
Many people have thought that Adam and Eve’s “original sin” relates to sex. Psychologically, this might reflect widely felt ambivalence regarding sex. Humans tend to embrace their strong, natural sexual desires, and they tend to find sexual activity very pleasurable. However, humans also frequently loathe their intense sexual desires, which can make them feel weak and vulnerable. Further, social norms and expectations often make people feel guilty for having “sinful” sexual desires, such as sexual attraction to people other than their life partners or unusual sexual desires (also known as fetishes).
Augustine regarded Adam and Eve’s disobedience to God’s command as the Original Sin, and he held that “concupiscence” has perpetuated the sin to all their descendants. Concupiscence is hurtful desire, which humans inherent through the reproductive act of sexual intercourse. This view might have been more plausible in Augustinian’s time, but it seems at odds with what we now know about reproductive biology and inheritance. People conceived by in vitro fertilization and not by sexual intercourse still have sexual desires, which would not be expected if Augustine’s theory were correct.
Some people assert that God’s clothing Adam and Eve after they ate the forbidden fruit demonstrates the link between sexuality and Original Sin. I think there are many different ways to interpret this passage, which does not explain why God clothed Adam and Eve. A popular interpretation has been that Adam and Eve became ashamed of their bodies and of their sexual passions. Perhaps this shame, and not the bodies or the sexual passions themselves, reflected their “fallen” natures.
We will continue this exploration next week.
Stephen R. Kaufman, MD
3. This Week’s Sermon from Rev. Frank and Mary Hoffman
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