Sex & God: How Religion Distorts Sexuality by Darrel Ray Page A
Authors: Darrel Ray
Tags: Religión, General, Psychology, Christianity, Atheism, Sexuality & Gender Studies, Human Sexuality
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In the West many people marvel at the power of Islam to control people and oppress women so completely that they will wear head-to-toe clothing in 100º F (38º C) heat. Islam has a very different approach to sexual control than Christianity and the two approaches are rooted in their beginnings. Islam began as a tribal religion, whereas Christianity began more as an individual or family religion. Christianity struck out from Palestine, converting one person or one family at a time. After the initial successes and conquests by Mohammed and his tribe, conversions were as much military as spiritual. Mohammed was both a political and military genius and used his success and charisma to convince the superstitious tribes around him that he had Allah on his side. As such, the sword was the instrument of persuasion.
Often an entire tribe converted to Islam. In the Arabian Peninsula there were Jewish, Christian and pagan tribes. The division and conflicts among the many tribes helped Mohammed gain ascendancy and ultimately control. Mohammed took his tribal customs and traditions and injected them into his new religion. Many of the ideas and traditions he implemented werealready contained in the tribes he conquered, so in many cases, no major changes were required of his new followers. For example, most, if not all, of the tribes were polygamous. Women were seen primarily as chattel and under the complete control of their fathers or husbands. The communities of the new Islamic religion in the 600s CE often converted en masse. With minor modifications, they kept practicing their traditions. Mecca was already a major pagan religious shrine; Mohammed conveniently changed it to a place of worship and pilgrimage for Allah.
Practically speaking, Mohammed unified a fractured region under a single religion and did it with a superior military. Conquest, war and male dominance were the hallmarks of Islam. Despite political splits over the centuries, the tribal nature of Islam remains intact.
In contrast, Christianity started out as an underground movement. Christianity did not have the strong and solid tribal roots of Islam. While it may have originated in Judaism, it rapidly left those tribal roots behind. For more than three centuries it had to hide or run from Roman authorities and did not come into its own until the 400s.
In many ways, Islam looks much more like the tribes of ancient Israel than does Christianity. Reading the Old Testament and the Koran side by side, the rules and commandments are remarkably similar. Both allow, even command, the killing of those who do not bow to their god. Both allow sex slaves:
Exodus 21:7-11, NLT, When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she will not be freed at the end of six years as the men are. If she does not please the man who bought her, he may allow her to be bought back again. But he is not allowed to sell her to foreigners, since he is the one who broke the contract with her. And if the slave girl’s owner arranges for her to marry his son, he may no longer treat her as a slave girl, but he must treat her as his daughter. If he himself marries her and then takes another wife, he may not reduce her food or clothing or fail to sleep with her as his wife. If he fails in any of these three ways, she may leave as a free woman without making any payment.
Koran [viii] Sura 24 [The Light], Verse 31, And say to the believing women that they cast down their looks and guard their private parts and do not display their ornaments except what appears thereof, and let them wear their head-coverings over their bosoms, and not display their ornaments except totheir husbands or their fathers, or the fathers of their husbands, or their sons, or the sons of their husbands, or their brothers, or their brothers’ sons, or their sisters’ sons, or their women, or those whom their right hands possess (female sex slaves), or the male servants not having need (of women) ….
Both give the male
In the West many people marvel at the power of Islam to control people and oppress women so completely that they will wear head-to-toe clothing in 100º F (38º C) heat. Islam has a very different approach to sexual control than Christianity and the two approaches are rooted in their beginnings. Islam began as a tribal religion, whereas Christianity began more as an individual or family religion. Christianity struck out from Palestine, converting one person or one family at a time. After the initial successes and conquests by Mohammed and his tribe, conversions were as much military as spiritual. Mohammed was both a political and military genius and used his success and charisma to convince the superstitious tribes around him that he had Allah on his side. As such, the sword was the instrument of persuasion.
Often an entire tribe converted to Islam. In the Arabian Peninsula there were Jewish, Christian and pagan tribes. The division and conflicts among the many tribes helped Mohammed gain ascendancy and ultimately control. Mohammed took his tribal customs and traditions and injected them into his new religion. Many of the ideas and traditions he implemented werealready contained in the tribes he conquered, so in many cases, no major changes were required of his new followers. For example, most, if not all, of the tribes were polygamous. Women were seen primarily as chattel and under the complete control of their fathers or husbands. The communities of the new Islamic religion in the 600s CE often converted en masse. With minor modifications, they kept practicing their traditions. Mecca was already a major pagan religious shrine; Mohammed conveniently changed it to a place of worship and pilgrimage for Allah.
Practically speaking, Mohammed unified a fractured region under a single religion and did it with a superior military. Conquest, war and male dominance were the hallmarks of Islam. Despite political splits over the centuries, the tribal nature of Islam remains intact.
In contrast, Christianity started out as an underground movement. Christianity did not have the strong and solid tribal roots of Islam. While it may have originated in Judaism, it rapidly left those tribal roots behind. For more than three centuries it had to hide or run from Roman authorities and did not come into its own until the 400s.
In many ways, Islam looks much more like the tribes of ancient Israel than does Christianity. Reading the Old Testament and the Koran side by side, the rules and commandments are remarkably similar. Both allow, even command, the killing of those who do not bow to their god. Both allow sex slaves:
Exodus 21:7-11, NLT, When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she will not be freed at the end of six years as the men are. If she does not please the man who bought her, he may allow her to be bought back again. But he is not allowed to sell her to foreigners, since he is the one who broke the contract with her. And if the slave girl’s owner arranges for her to marry his son, he may no longer treat her as a slave girl, but he must treat her as his daughter. If he himself marries her and then takes another wife, he may not reduce her food or clothing or fail to sleep with her as his wife. If he fails in any of these three ways, she may leave as a free woman without making any payment.
Koran [viii] Sura 24 [The Light], Verse 31, And say to the believing women that they cast down their looks and guard their private parts and do not display their ornaments except what appears thereof, and let them wear their head-coverings over their bosoms, and not display their ornaments except totheir husbands or their fathers, or the fathers of their husbands, or their sons, or the sons of their husbands, or their brothers, or their brothers’ sons, or their sisters’ sons, or their women, or those whom their right hands possess (female sex slaves), or the male servants not having need (of women) ….
Both give the male
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