Christianity has done a great deal for love by making a sin of it.
You might not have guessed it from the Old Testament, but for the Jews, fucking has always been a matter of doing the agree- able (19thC)—no guilt, no pain, no anxiety. Good sex was considered a mitzvah, an exemplary deed. The most pious reserved Friday night for doing it with their wives, choosing the most holy day, the Sabbath, to perform this most sacred and blessed act.
We’re Cross with You
The Christian attitude toward sex, on the other hand, left everything to be desired. It originated with the Church leaders and authorities, who did much to shape and influence future attitudes on the topic.
Before you could say “hellsfire, brimstone, and damnation,” people began feeling guilt. Soon they found themselves doing the naughty (19thC), feeling naughtiness in the pleasure prior to, during, and subsequent to the act.
The medieval Church worked hard to eliminate guilt by simply cutting down on the number of occasions on which one might feel pleasure. It recommended abstinence on Thursdays in memory of the capture of Jesus; on Fridays in memory of his death; on Saturdays in honor of the Virgin Mary; on Sundays in memory of the Resurrection; and on Mondays in commemoration of the departed souls. The act was also forbidden forty days before Pentecost and Christmas, and was never to be performed on special feast days or during Lent. Thus was born the appointment book.
Read more – “Bawdy Language,” the Book
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