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Slides used during presentation to Turnbull Ethics Group
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SCIENCE OF THE THEOLOGY OF THE BODY
Ian MaxfieldThe Catholic Laboratory
www.catholiclab.net
SCIENCE OF THEOLOGY OF THE BODY
Why Science?
Let there be order
Attraction, fertility, sexual intercourse, pregnancy and child development
Chaos theory and practice
Pre-marital sex, same sex relationships & parenting, contraception, IVF, abortion, pornography, and more
Distill, Crystalize, Gel ... Conclude
WHY SCIENCE?
‘The Heavens declare the glory of God / The vault of heaven proclaim His handiwork’ (Ps 19:1-2)
‘The body in fact, and only the body, is capable of making visble what is invisible: the spiritual and the divine. It has been created to transfer into the visible reality of the world the mystery hidden from eternity in God, and thus to be a sign of it’ (TOB19:4)
Adequate anthropology
LET THERE BE ORDER
Rules of attraction and fertility
Sexual intercourse
Pregnancy
Birth and child development
LET THERE BE ORDER
RULES OF ATTRACTION AND FERTILITY
Hormones and the Fertility Cycle
Brain size changes in women
Dress and style changes in women
Sexual motivation is higher
Major HistoCompatible (MHC) complex
Even Lap Dancers earn more!
SEXUAL INTERCOURSE
Body Chemistry ...
Oxytocin - woman is drawn to man
Vasopressin - woman has sexual preference and protection
Bonding increases
LET THERE BE ORDER
SEXUAL INTERCOURSE
“Sexologists state that the curve in arousal in women is different from that in man - it rises more slowly and falls more
slowly. The man must take this difference between male and female reactions into account, not for hedonistic, but for
alturistic reasons. There exists a rhythm dictated by nature itself which both spouses must discover so that climax may be
reached both by the man and by the woman, and as far as possible occur in both simultaneously.”
Climax in both spouses maximises the chances of procreation.
LET THERE BE ORDER
PREGNANCY
Mothers
Obvious and not-so obvious changes
Cell exchange - fetal and maternal microchimerism
Reduced risk of breast cancer if pregnant before age of 20
Fathers
‘Couvade Syndrome’
Experience hormonal changes too
LET THERE BE ORDER
BIRTH & CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Mothers
Oxytocin again - three fold role: labour, milk let-down, assist uterine contractions following birth
Motherly affection benefits child development
MHC and microchimerism again - medical benefits to mother and child
Fathers
More hormonal changes leading to increased bonding and protection, and sometimes post-natal depression
Presence of Father in daughter’s development delays onset of menstruation
LET THERE BE ORDER
Hook ups, casual sex and co-habitation
Contraception
In Vitro Fertility treatments
Same sex relationships and parenting
Abortion
Pornography
CHAOS THEORY AND PRACTICE
HOOK UPS, CASUAL SEX, PRE-MARITAL SEX
Oxytocin & Vasopressin again
Impact on relationships
Performance anxiety amongst young men
Friends with benefits
Increased risk of STDs
Human Papillomavirus (HPV), Cervical cancer and vaccines
CHAOS THEORY AND PRACTICE
CONTRACEPTION
History of Contraception - The Bible, Fathers of the Church, Lambeth Council and Margaret Sanger
Interferes with attraction - impact on MHC
Lowers immune system
Impact on demographics
Does contraception add up?
Environmental impacts - strain on ecosystems
CHAOS THEORY AND PRACTICE
IN VITRO FERTILITY TREATMENTS - IVF
Increased risk of diseases passed on to child
Imprinting disorders - modifying DNA
Low birth weight, cerebral palsey, birth defects, certain types of cancer
Increased risk of infertility passed on to child
‘Vanishing Twin’ Syndrome
‘Survivor’ Syndrome
CHAOS THEORY AND PRACTICE
FERTILITY TREATMENTS - IVF
At any cost, as long as child has positive NPV (Net profit value)
ALTERNATIVES
Egg and Sperm donation - unknown siblings
Surrogate mothers - microchimerism again
CHAOS THEORY AND PRACTICE
SAME SEX RELATIONSHIPS
Hard to generalise affects of same sex relationships
Male to male, female to female, and bi-sexual
Health implications
Men - anal cancer, hemorrhoids, lesions, hepatitus, variety of STDs
Women - risks practically same as casual heterosexual intercourse
No ‘Gay gene’
‘Respect, compassion and sensitvity’ (CCC 2358)
CHAOS THEORY AND PRACTICE
SAME SEX PARENTING
Studies conclude children of same sex parent fair just as well as children of opposity sex parents, but ...
There are problems - small sample size, few random samples, control groups from different populations, few objective questions, etc
Controlling for factors suggest children of same sex parents fair worse, but more research is needed.
Many routes to become a child of a same sex couple that need to be controlled for.
CHAOS THEORY AND PRACTICE
ABORTION
Human life begins at conception - scientific fact!
Medical and psychological consequences
Microchimerism again and again
No guarantee of future children
Fathers suffer too
CHAOS THEORY AND PRACTICE
PORNOGRAPHY
2.8% of time average UK internet user views a news website. 2.7% of time average UK internet user views adult websites (source: UKOM)
Addictive qualities - a triple hook
Dopamine pleasure and reward system
Feedback effect on frontal lobe development
Oxytocin and Vasopressin (bonding chemical) misuse
Turning women into objects
Impact on demographics
CHAOS THEORY AND PRACTICE
CONCLUSION
An adequate anthropology
Anthropoligist JD Unwin’s secular study of 86 cultures spanning 5,000 years
Cultures that practiced strict monogamy in marital bonds exhibited social energy, and reached the zenith of production
SCIENCE OF THEOLOGY OF THE BODY
CONCLUSION
Adopt a Sacramental, Catholic, Human and Liturgical world-view
‘Grace does not cancel out nature’
We need scientists
Science supports The Theology of the Body but test it for yourselves (cf 1 Thess 5:21)
SCIENCE OF THEOLOGY OF THE BODY
Thank You
Web site - www.catholiclab.net
EMail - ian@catholiclab.net
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SCIENCE OF THEOLOGY OF THE BODY
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