Is it a sin?

[Guest John]

I was trying to study anatomy came across an encyclopedia article on sexual positions. I won't go into detail.

tHe only question I have is whether reading such an article could ever by moral? It had drawings as well, to serve as diagrams of what they were describing. people ask Christopher West if certain positions are moral, so could it be moral to study these things with the sense of judging their morality? what if a person was judging their morality and also trying to judge whether they felt personally comfortable with what was being described, that is, tried to judge whether they would feel comfortable or enjoy those things (without trying to engage in invisioning the act itself or fantasizing, but only understanding what the words and pictures portrayed and judging if they were comfortable or not) in marriage?

Also, to what extent should a guy talk to a girl he's planning to marry about sex?

[phatcatholic]

[quote name='John' date='Oct 19 2005, 09:01 PM']I was trying to study anatomy came across an encyclopedia article on sexual positions.  I won't go into detail.

tHe only question I have is whether reading such an article could ever by moral?  It had drawings as well, to serve as diagrams of what they were describing.  people ask Christopher West if certain positions are moral, so could it be moral to study these things with the sense of judging their morality?  what if a person was judging their morality and also trying to judge whether they felt personally comfortable with what was being described, that is, tried to judge whether they would feel comfortable or enjoy those things (without trying to engage in invisioning the act itself or fantasizing, but only understanding what the words and pictures portrayed and judging if they were comfortable or not) in marriage?[/quote]
as you describe it, it sounds permissable. afterall, you seem to be approaching it w/ a purely academic intent. "test all things, hold fast to what is good." that's what you seem to be doing here. you are testing the suggested forms of communicating intimacy (without actually [i]doing[/i] them) to discern which ones would be appropriate for a marriage. it is important to know where you stand on sexual intimacy before you enter a marriage, so this i think is wise--as long as discerning where you stand in this particular way is not an occasion of sin for you.


[quote]Also, to what extent should a guy talk to a girl he's planning to marry about sex?[right][snapback]764304[/snapback][/right][/quote]
i think it is important to have this discussion. you and your wife need to have a mutual understanding about your beleifs and expectations regarding marital intimacy. if you wait until you are married and then find that your beliefs and expectations are drastically different or irreconcilable, then this could place an undo burden on the marriage. for example, if u feel that sex should always fulfill the unitive and procreative dimensions, but your wife feels that using contraception is permissible, then that is definitely something u would want to know before you get married to her.

so, talking about sex is reccommended to the extent that it helps the couple to see if they are compatible in this regard. of course, if you are having the conversation w/ the intent to fantasize about what you two may potentially engage in, then that would not be permissible.

i hope that helps

pax christi,
phatcatholic