Homosexuality is not a sin!

[Pablo Rafael]

Originally Posted by antiochian

Neither do I believe that sex is strictly for procreation, as conservative Catholics and many other Christians do.

It is amazing how widespread that belief is. Fundamentalists hold onto the doctrine of "procreation only" as if it were Biblical.

Saint Augustine had a great, and mostly positive, influence on the western church, but his idea of sex only for procreation has plagued civilization ever since. The Puritans brought it to the New World in full force.

It is interesting to note that the western church spent the first 1000 years of its existence discouraging or at least not supporting the whole idea of marriage. It wasn't until 1215 that marriage became a sacrament in the western church. (The eastern church was much more "marriage friendly".)

In Biblical days marriage and sex and love didn't have much connection at all. Marriage was a property issue.