The pleasure is simply there to make reproduction functional. People wouldn’t engage in the act if it didn’t cause pleasure. The pleasure is there to facilitate reproduction, not for its own sake. That doesn’t mean you’re not supposed to enjoy it, but to use technology to suppress the reproductive process is a dangerous modern perversion of the biology that has sustained our species since the beginning.
Quite the opposite.
There’s a reason why assistive reproductive technologies are also a bad thing.
Two aspects of sex - unitive and procreative. Both have to be there. You can argue that sex is fun because it was made for us, or the other way around, that we were made to enjoy sex.
Good to see Santorum standing up for Church teachings.
EXACTLY. It's the reproductive system, not the pleasure system.
When you take pleasure in eating and suppress the digestive process we call that bulimia. When you take pleasure in breathing but suppress respiration we call that suffocation. When you take pleasure in going to the bathroom but suppress excreting, well, I don't know what the heck we call that but it ain't pretty. The pleasure accompanies the function--to cut it out of its proper sphere and isolate it is demented.
If you don't want any more kids, then exercise a tiny bit of self-control and make use of the woman's naturally occurring infertile periods, rather than mutilating yourself chemically or surgically.
“The pleasure is simply there to make reproduction functional.”
I disagree. I think that sexual contact is pleasurable (in part) because it helps a husband and wife form a bond with one another that has no other place in all of society. The two fleshes become one. I think that child rearing portion has nothing to do with the pleasurable portion. Otherwise, one could argue that the pregnant, infertile, or aged should not have sex (you didn’t say that, I’m simply saying that it could be taken to mean that). As long as sex isn’t deviant or harmful in nature (there are some things that, even within marriage, are inappropriate) then it’s fine for a married couple to engage in sex simply to feel close to one another, comfort one another etc., without having children.
Apart from that, I agree with everything you said. And I am not a Catholic, so cannot speak authoritatively on Catholic doctrine, but it is my understanding that according to their theology, there is NO acceptable form of birth control. Someone can correct me if that’s incorrect.
I still support Santorum’s personal conviction. I am not going to tell other married couples when they can and cannot have sex. Having said that, I, too, don’t believe in contraceptives (especially the chemical kind). I think they are an abomination and scourge to society.
That’s incorrect. Sexual pleasure provides spiritual communion between spouses.
Pleasure is designed by God as positive reinforcement of the good act.
Just as guilt or disease or illness is designed as negative feedback for abusing a pleasure.
Its pretty damn simple.