Human sexuality appears in the earliest part of the Old Testament where men and women are shown to be created in the image of God. Its purpose is also considered in Genesis and shown to be twofold: relational and procreative. Indeed, in the Old Testament as well as in the New Testament, sexuality is considered to be a secular reality taken up into a divine mystery. In the course of the history of Christianity this positive image was not maintained. The link between love and sex was lost, and for most of Christianity the biology of procreation was seen as the best justification for sexual intercourse. Indeed until the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) biology and law were the predominant means of describing sex. Since the Council, biology has given way to love and law to person, but the process is still incomplete, and there are aspects of the Church’s teaching which still reflect to a disproportionate degree its reliance on biology. Only a full and comprehensive interpretation of sexuality as an expression of love can do full justice to its mystery.
Dr. Jack Dominian
Dr. Jack Dominian is the Director of Marriage Research Centre in London, England. He is a regular contributor to "The Tablet" of London and is the author of numerous books, some of which are: "Proposals for a New Sexual Ethic", "Make or Break", "Christian Marriage", "The Growth of Love and Sex", and "The Capacity to Love". He is a practising psychiatrist attached to London’s Central Middlesex Hospital.