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While sexuality is not an overt topic in Christian art, it is widely claimed that certain works have certain sexually-suggestive themes, either as the main focus of the art or as a subtle undercurrent. Image File history File links Stop_hand. ... Christian Art is a broad classification of art that spans across many different Christian religions. ... Look up Sex on Wiktionary, the free dictionary A sex is one of two specimen categories of species that recombine their genetic material in order to reproduce, a process called genetic recombination. ...

Overview

Christianity is a broad group of religious sects and denominations which have varying rules for sexual behavior. Christianity is a monotheistic religion centered on the life, teachings, and actions of Jesus, the Christ, as recounted in the New Testament. ...

The Biblical teachings generally refer to sexuality as an extremely important and positive aspect of humanity. The restrictions are meant to be cautions, for sake of protecting the virtue and love associated with intimacy, whereas the less restricted and extremely liberal doctrines of "pagan" religions, were viewed as destructive to sexual intimacy, Because Abrahamic faith was originally connected to a concept of a moral (and sexual) purity as a type of "covenant" with God, extra-marital sexual relations were, and still are, considered by most Christians to be offensive to God. The Bible (Hebrew תנ״ך tanakh, Greek η Βίβλος [hē biblos] ) (sometimes The Holy Bible, The Book, Good Book, Word of God, The Word Scripture), from Greek (τα) βίβλια, (ta) biblia, (the) books, is the classical name for the Hebrew Bible of Judaism or the combination of the Old Testament and New Testament of Christianity (The... (Greek αρετη; Latin virtus) Virtue is moral excellence of a man or a woman. ... The heart, a frequent modern symbol of love Love has several different meanings in the English language, from something that gives a little pleasure (I loved that meal) to something one would die for (patriotism, pair-bonding). ... Paganism (from Latin paganus) and Heathenry are catch-all terms which have come to connote a broad set of spiritual/religious beliefs and practices of a natural religion, as opposed to the Abrahamic religions. ... An Abrahamic religion (also referred to as desert monotheism) is any religion derived from an ancient Semitic tradition attributed to Abraham, a great patriarch described in the Torah, the Bible and the Quran. ... Michelangelos depiction of God in the painting Creation of the Sun and Moon in the Sistine Chapel This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and derived henotheistic forms. ... The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view. ...

On the other hand, the Bible tells of God's commandment to Adam and Eve to be "fruitful and multiply," while still in the Garden of Eden. The Garden, is viewed by Christians and others to have been literally heaven on Earth (paradise) until "The Fall" of Adam and Eve from grace to sin. Of course, being "fruitful" meant lots and lots of sexual reproduction, none of which was in violation of the Garden. The violation, or sin, came from disobedience of God, which resulted, in the expulsion of man from the immortal existence in the Garden to mortal existence on Earth. Hence, there is a legitimately Abrahamic interpretation of the Bible which views sexuality as both non-sinful and literally Holy. In this context, there emerged a debate among Christians regarding a liberal or conservative interpretation of other sexual doctrines and customs. According to the Book of Genesis in Judaisms Torah and the Christian Bible, and Islams Quran, Adam was the first man created by God. ... The Fall of Man by Lucas Cranach, a 16th century German depiction of Eden The Garden of Eden (from Hebrew Gan Eden, גַּן עֵדֶן) is described by the Book of Genesis as being the place where the first man - Adam - and woman - Eve - lived after they were created by God. ... Michelangelos interpretation of Heaven Heaven is an afterlife concept found in many religions or spiritual philosophies. ... Earth is the third planet from the Sun. ... Look up Paradise in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Paradise is also a title of a tv-series The word paradise is derived from the Avestan word of pairidaeza (a walled enclosure), which is a compound of pairi- (around), a cognate of the Greek peri-, and -diz (to create, make). ... The Fall of Man by Lucas Cranach The fall refers to the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, as recorded in the biblical book of Genesis, and the consequences of that expulsion. ... Divine grace is believed by Christians to be the sovereign favor of God exercised in the bestowment of blessings upon those who have no merit in them. ... Sin has been a term most usually used in a religious context, and today describes any lack of conformity to the will of God; especially, any willful disregard for the norms revealed by God is a sin. ... Holiness means the state of being holy, that is, set apart for the worship or service of a god or gods. ...

This is debated and argued within the Christian context, however, with some minor sects favoring more liberal views (such as the overt endorsement of polygamy), while others favoring more conservative views. Some even hold the view that puritanism is largely a mask for sexual promiscuity, which covers the world of sexual openness with a cloak of secrecy, the penetration of which becomes a symbolic rite of passage. The old adage that "sex without sin is like an egg without salt," represents this view to some degree, that sexuality is simply part of the normal human adventure, and that concepts of guilt and sin simply enhance the experience of that adventure. The term polygamy (literally many marriages in late Greek) is used in related ways in social anthropology and sociobiology. ... A rite of passage is a ritual that marks a change in a persons social or sexual status. ... A carton of free-range chicken eggs Ostrich egg Bird eggs are a common food source. ... A magnified crystal of a salt (halite/sodium chloride) In chemistry, a salt is any ionic compound composed of positively charged cations and negatively charged anions, so that the product is neutral and without a net charge. ...

Regardless of the debate, the views which dominate Christian thinking at any particular time moreoften tend to be viewed as conservative, relative to others, which is often viewed from the outside as being puritanical and prudush regarding sexuality. Depending on the particular culture and even person, this conservatism can be either a basis for a healthy use of one's sexuality, or else become a rigid dogmatic disconnection from natural impulses toward sexual intimacy. The Puritans were members of a group of radical Protestants which developed in England after the Reformation. ...

Common examples

Bernini's sculpture Ecstasy of Saint Teresa is an example of sexuality in Christian art (in this case Catholic). In the sculpture, St. Teresa is stabbed repeatedly by an angel by a long golden spear with an iron tip. The sculpture depicts a scene from St. Teresa's life when an angel stabbed her repeatedly causing her pain and sweetness. The stabbing of a such a phallic object producing both pain and pleasure has sexual overtones. A self portrait: Bernini is said to have used his own features in the David (below, left) Gian Lorenzo Bernini (Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini) (December 7, 1598 - November 28, 1680), who worked chiefly in Rome, was the pre-eminent baroque artist. ... Teresa of Avila by Peter Paul Rubens Saint Teresa of Avila (known in religion as Teresa de Jesús, baptised as Teresa de Cepeda y Ahumada) was a Spanish Roman Catholic mystic and monastic reformer; born at Avila (53 miles north-west of Madrid), Old Castile, March 28, 1515; died...

St Sebastian, by Mantegna

Homoerotic images may also exist, such imagery may be present in such paintings as Saint Sebastian. St Sebastian, by Mantegna (detail) The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... St Sebastian, by Mantegna (detail) The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... Homosexuality is a sexual orientation characterized by esthetic attraction, romantic love, or sexual desire exclusively for another of the same sex. ... This article is about St. ...

See also

• Christian art
• Teresa of Avila

Christian Art is a broad classification of art that spans across many different Christian religions. ... Teresa of Avila by Peter Paul Rubens Saint Teresa of Avila (known in religion as Teresa de Jesús, baptised as Teresa de Cepeda y Ahumada) was a Spanish Roman Catholic mystic and monastic reformer; born at Avila (53 miles north-west of Madrid), Old Castile, March 28, 1515; died...

External links

• Bernini's Ecstasy of St Teresa
• St.Teresa Biography