Sexual Ethics Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

2025

Sustainable water management is crucial for overcoming the challenges caused by water scarcity, particularly in agriculture. Conventional irrigation methods often lead to excessive water consumption, highlighting the need for innovative solutions. This study presents an Automatic Water Irrigation System (AWIS) designed to optimize water usage through sensor-based automation. This system utilizes an Arduino UNO and a soil moisture sensor to monitor soil conditions in real-time. When the sensor detects low moisture levels, it automatically activates a water pump to irrigate the soil until optimal moisture is restored. This system also adapts to environmental conditions, preventing overirrigation that can cause water logging and soil erosion. A relay mechanism ensures precise control by switching the pump off once the required moisture content is achieved. This automated approach significantly reduces water wastage, minimizes labour requirements, and enhances agricultural productivity. By integrating sensor technology with sustainable irrigation practices, AWIS offers an eco-friendly and efficient solution for modern agriculture, ensuring better crop yield and resource conservation.

2025, Madhya Bharti (मध्य भारती) - Humanities and Social Sciences UGC Care Group I Journal

Socioeconomic determinants play a significant role in predicting the leading public health issues in India, Child malnutrition. This research examines the impact of economic status, parental education, maternal health, and availability of resources on child weight, drawing evidence from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) for Telangana. Statistical Analysis and Machine Learning models, map the relationship of independent variables like Type of Residence, Source of Drinking Water, Type of Toilet Facility, Ethnicity, and Wealth Index Deciles with Child Weight. Chi-square tests identify important associations between child weight and major socioeconomic determinants, such as wealth index (χ² = 20.123, p = 0.0000), type of toilet facility (χ² = 3975.842, p = 0.00000), and Source of Drinking Water (χ² = 4173.472, p = 0.00000). For forecasting the risk of malnutrition, a comprehensive analytical framework incorporates Machine Learning methodologies, including Linear Support Vector Machines (15.436 for 80:20 partition), multiple linear regression model (15.311 for the 80:20 partition), and Decision Tree Regression (15.234 for 80:20 partition), were utilized, with Random Forest (14.771 for 80:20 partition) registering the lowest RMSE. This data-informed research perspective offers important insights for policymakers and public health authorities to help and contribute to minimizing malnutrition and achieving improved health status for children in Telangana.

2025, … presentada en la …

2025, Madhya Bharti -Humanities and Social Sciences

The Delhi Declaration of G20 begins by stating that this is a "defining moment in history" and that G20's decisions today will affect the future of the people and planet. Don't dismiss this as typical diplomatic hyperbole, for this recognition of the importance of the moment, and the implications for the long-term, is central to understanding India's historic Before it gets into the substantive elements across domains, the text, agreed upon in entirety by all 20 members, outlines the political, economic and environmental challenges that have engulfed the world. In a clear sign of India's role in ensuring that the interests of both the global South, which constitute the marginalised within the international order, and the poor and vulnerable who constitute the marginalised within both rich and poor countries, is addressed, the text also lays out clear principles and priorities. The Indian presidency has made it clear that there will be no compromise between fighting poverty and fighting the climate crisis. And themes such as ensuring growth, getting sustainable development goals (SDGs) back on track, battling the climate crisis, preparing for health emergencies, reforming multilateral development banks (MDBs), dealing with the debt crisis, spreading digital public infrastructure (DPI), generating jobs, bridging the gender gap, and giving a voice to the global south dominate the letter and spirit of the document.

2025, Clerical Sexual Misconduct: An Interdisciplinary Analysis

Clerical sexual abuse of children and adults and its cover-up are not new problems for the Catholic Church, but a deeper sensitivity to the harmful effects of sexual harassment, sexual assault, and revictimization, as a result of... more

2025, Madhya Bharti -Humanities and Social Sciences UGC Care Group I, Journal UGC Care Approved, Group I, Peer Reviewed, Bilingual, Biannual, Multi-disciplinary Referred Journal

Prior to colonization, India was one of the self-sufficient nations in food production and rich in resources for domestic needs. The nation suffered greatly during colonialism as a result of the vested interests of European forces, and the designation of self-sufficiency disappeared. However, following independence, the status of the country was very destitute, and without foreign aid, the country could not fulfil the regular domestic food consumption demands. The great Green Revolution in India changed the entire food production scenario, the country transitioned from a food deficient to a food surplus nation and started commercialization. Though the rapid evolution of agriculture benefited the nation, it came with significant costs, such as desertification, an increase in groundwater salinity, and depletion of the groundwater table. On one side, in terms of food sufficiency, the country's condition stabilized, but on the other side, the expense on environment increased, like overreliance on an inorganic practice damaging the environment and leading to loss for future generations. Sikkim is the first state in India, which has adopted organic farming in 2003. Not only among the states in India but also in the world, Sikkim is standalone that adopted 100 percent organic farming and practicing completely free from man-mad fertilizers, pesticides, etc. The aim of adopting organic farming was to ensure long-term sustenance of soil fertility, protection of the environment and ecology, decreasing the risk of health ailments, and promoting healthy living. This state is at the forefront of our country's sustainable development in agriculture, rippling up to the development of the state and standing as a role model to the world. This paper uses the existing research papers to study the efficiency of the state's adoption of sustainable practices. It paves the path for other states to adopt organic farming.

2025, Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services

A sectarian family service agency confronts an ethical dilemma with regard to sexual behavior of clients in supervised group residences. The analysis undertaken by staff considers a wide range of values affecting this issue-the values of the client, traditional Judaism, the law, parents, community, clinical professionals, and the agency. Conflicts among these values are examined. EWISH FAMILY SERVICES (JFS), an agency of J THE ASSOCIATED: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore, works to strengthen and preserve the quality of individual and family life in the Baltimore Jewish community and beyond through a wide range of predominantly sectarian services. With a $5.7 million budget, the agency employs 180 full-time and part-time staff, including 85 clinical social workers. Under the administration of its Residential and Support Services Department, JFS operates group residences for adults with mental retardation. In addition, the agency operates group homes for adults with severe mental illness and for those who are frail and/or elderly. A total of 70 persons-all of whom have been deemed legally competent-now reside in JFS supervised housing. Currently, all residents are Jewish (though this is not always the case) and unmarried. The homes for adults with mental retardation have 24hour supervision; other units have on-site supervision seven days a week, but no overnight staff.

2025, The Journal of Sexual Medicine

2025

Western civilization's global leadership in fairness, honesty, and trust toward non-kin has been attributed to various institutional and cultural factors. This essay argues that specific mating patterns in Western Europe-no sex before marriage, prohibition of cousin marriage, regular execution of antisocial men, late marriage, love-based marriages with women's mate choice, and a significant proportion of women never marrying-played a pivotal role in shaping these traits. By fostering self-control, weakening clan structures, selecting for cooperation, promoting economic independence, reinforcing egalitarian relationships, and reducing population pressure, these practices cultivated a population uniquely suited for complex, trust-based societies. Drawing on historical and academic sources, this analysis explores the mechanisms through which these mating patterns influenced psychological and social outcomes, contributing to Western Europe's distinctive cultural evolution. The findings highlight the interplay between reproductive norms and societal development, offering insights into the origins of Western civilization's social capital.

2025, Centre for Bhutan & GNH Studies Zhichenkhar, Langjophakha, Thimphu

In India, when we hear the word temple, we only imagine images and architecture of Hindu/Jain temples. But the first temples of India were built by the Buddhists. This paper maps the historical journey into the evolution of Buddhist... more

2025

This chapter strives to promote a spiritual sexual ethic rooted in humanistic and existential psychologies to assuage the culturally induced shame and guilt of sexual pleasure causing turmoil for many people, including women, LGBTQ people, people with sexual trauma histories, and people from conservative religious/cultural upbringings. Specifically, I meditate on sexual pleasure as a form of "sacred goodness" in its own right-as a form of holiness and virtue, perhaps even of contact with God. First, I define "sacred goodness" as an existential-humanistic construct by exploring existential and humanistic psychologists' approaches to spirituality and ethics, then review the spiritual and ethical implications of Abraham Maslow's foundational work on the peak experience, which situates pleasure as an avenue to self-actualization. Next, I review literature from humanistic, existential-phenomenological, and transpersonal psychologies, as well as theological literature that identifies the sacred and virtuous qualities of sex-particularly its pleasurable aspects. Finally, I review interpretations of sacred Judeo-Christian and Eastern religious texts that position carnal sexual pleasure as a gateway to God. The purpose of this literature review is to offer "sacred goodness" as a healing psychological concept through which to reclaim the inherent beauty, goodness, and divinity of losing oneself in the joys of sex. There is some kiss we want with our whole lives, the touch of Spirit on the body. Seawater begs the pearl to break its shell. And the lily, how passionately it needs some wild Darling! -Rumi

2025, BMGN - Low Countries Historical Review

In this article we research attitudes and activities within Dutch Protestantism dealing with the environment between 1960 and 2020. We position the article in recent debates on the ambivalent relationship between Christianity and environmentalism. By examining newspapers, reports of Protestant ngos and public surveys, we establish that Dutch Protestant Christianity is becoming more environmentally conscious. We propose that this process of greening developed in four historical phases. We explain the drivers for this process, which are found to be rooted in private faith, secular developments and the developing climate crisis
rather than in church policy

2025

Christians have a far more beautiful story to tell about the glorious nature of human sexuality than any other story occupying the cultural stage now or ever. None of the rivals are even close.

2025

This study explores the Biblical Foundations and Catholic Social Teaching (CST) in Promoting Integral Human Development through a case study of the Catholic University of Rwanda (CUR). The objective is to assess how theology students understand, internalize, and apply the principles of CST in their formation and pastoral engagement. The central hypothesis is that while students value integral human development, there exists a gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application due to curricular limitations and socio-cultural challenges. The main research question is: To what extent are biblical and CST principles integrated into the theological and pastoral training of CUR students, and how does this influence their role in promoting human development? Data was collected through a mixed-method approach combining surveys (n=120) and focus group discussions with theology students. Techniques included thematic content analysis and descriptive statistics. Findings reveal that 86% of respondents associate integral human development with the holistic well-being of the person, rooted in dignity and justice. 74% correctly identified scriptural references supporting the common good and solidarity. However, only 41% were familiar with key CST documents such as Populorum Progressio and Caritas in Veritate. While 62% reported involvement in outreach or youth initiatives, only 38% believed CST principles were strongly integrated into their academic formation. Students perceive CUR as a moral model (72%) but expect enhanced curricular emphasis on CST and practical field experiences. The study concludes that strengthening CST integration in theological education at CUR is essential for forming catechists as transformative agents of development in Rwandan society.

2025

This paper critically examines the "Bachelor’s Argument" against marriage, which holds that because mutual love is likely to fade, entering marriage is irrational or imprudent. While acknowledging the argument's validity in structure, I argue that it is ultimately unsound. I advance four objections: (1) the risk of marital failure is overstated and does not universally apply; (2) marriages founded on sound, substantial reasons are significantly more robust; (3) mutual love is not merely a matter of fate but can be meaningfully cultivated through intentional action; and (4) the true purpose of marriage lies not solely in everlasting love, but in promoting mutual flourishing through commitment and shared life experiences. In responding to these objections, the paper contends that marriage, approached thoughtfully and responsibly, remains a rational and deeply meaningful pursuit, rather than an imprudent risk to be avoided.

2025

Catholic sexual ethics proposes a number of exceptionless moral norms. This distinguishes it from theories which deny the possibility of any exceptionless moral norms (e.g. the proportionalist approach proposed in the aftermath of "Humanae Vitae" and condemned in "Veritatis Splendor"). I argue that Catholic teaching on sexual ethics refers to chosen physical structures in such a way as to make ‘new natural law’ theory inherently unstable. I outline a theory of “the moral act” (Veritatis Splendor 78) which emphasises the place which chosen physical features – in particular, chosen sexual structures – play in specifying human actions. I conclude that this account, involving what I term UMDAs, is needed to make sense of the Church’s teaching in these areas.

2025

Lecture notes for my "Ethics of Love + Sex" course

2025

Supplement for students assigned Raja Halwani's “Racial Sexual Desires.”

2025

The COVID-19 pandemic posed unique challenges for Tibetan refugees in India, exacerbating socio-economic vulnerabilities while disrupting religious and communal life. However, Tibetan Buddhism played a central role in shaping the... more

2025, Catholic University of America Press

Drawing upon the timeless wisdom of Aquinas, The Natural Law offers clear insights into perplexing ethical dilemmas. The compelling conclusions of Aquinas emerge through a critical examination of contemporary ethical frameworks including moral relativism, utilitarianism, and Machiavellian politics. In part one, which elucidates the core principles of natural law ethics, the reader will discover fundamental truths underpinning the concepts of right and wrong, which are rooted in the very fabric of our humanity. Part two navigates the ethics of harm, grappling with contentious issues such as capital punishment, just war, and self-defense, while at the same time addressing moral quandaries like sacrificing one life in order to save another. This section also resolves thorny practical questions surrounding human actions. How can we tell the difference between an action and its consequences? How do we determine exactly what it means to kill another person? Part three ventures into the intricacies of human societies. The reader will explore the importance of authority and rules in guiding social interactions, from the nurturing bonds of the family to the shifting complexities of political society. The principles examined will shed light upon controversial topics within sexual ethics, such as transgenderism, faithful spousal intimacy, and cloning. The Natural Law invites readers on an engaging journey of critical inquiry. By challenging prevailing assumptions and provoking self-reflection, it will reshape your understanding of ethics and human nature, ultimately revealing your role and purpose within the universe.

2025

Är dessa verser Bibelns mest missförstådda? De beskrivs ofta som svårtolkade och som rester av mytologi. Min analys visar att verserna är ett uttryck för författarens litterära briljans när han avslutar hela mänsklighetens historia... more

2025, First Things

Review of: Chastity: Reconciliation of the Senses, by Erik Varden

2025

The traditional understanding of gender and family is increasingly challenged, leading to confusion and a decline in commitment to marriage. This shift threatens the moral foundation of society, making it essential to reaffirm the family’s role in moral formation. Grounded in Revelation and the Church’s Magisterium, the family remains the primary school of moral values, crucial for individual and societal development.

2025

This paper examines the influence of demographic variables on the mathematical abilities of schoolchildren in Ballari Urban. Mathematical abilities are a very important part of cognitive development. It includes reasoning, memory, problem-solving, and thinking skills that help young children understand and organize their world. The population of this study consists of 32 children from the Government Higher Primary School in Ballari Urban, Karnataka. Here an experimental study in the form of a single group pre-test and post-test design, as well as experiential learning method activities conducted in the intervention period. The mathematics achievement test and student demographic questionnaire were used for data collection, whereas descriptive statistics, the chi-square test, and the t-test were used for statistical analysis. The findings of this study showed that male and female students were equally good in mathematic achievement tests. It has been found that parents' economic status Influences children's mathematical abilities. There is a significant difference in the mathematical abilities of schoolchildren compared to their father's education. The difference in the mean scores before and after the intervention through the experiential learning method is significant. The students in the experimental class had a positive attitude toward learning and were eager to learn about lessons that included content-related mathematics experiences that they could apply in their real-life situations. (BP Uyen et al., 2022).

2025, Iranian association for ethics in science and technology

Introduction: Unlike previous generations who adhered to a standard and predictable model of marriage, the modern world may offer new opportunities and ideas for marriage to younger generations. Some of these changes in the domain of marriage align with the overarching cultural master narratives of society and are widely accepted, while others may not be fully embraced but are nonetheless considered rational by some or even most members of the community. This study aims to gain a deeper understanding of Generation Z's (born between 1997 and 2012) attitudes toward marriage. Materials and Methods: This study employed a qualitative research design. The sample consisted of 29 male and female participants aged 14 to 27 from Tehran, selected through voluntary sampling. Data were collected using focus conversation conducted in focus groups. For data analysis, the study utilized Braun and Clarke's (2022) reflexive thematic analysis approach. Results: The analysis revealed six main themes related to marriage: "meaning-making of marriage," "partner selection," "traditional family roles," "premarital sex," "parenthood," and "marriage customs". Conclusion: Findings indicate that that while marriage, as a sacred institution, remains intact and continues to be regarded by Generation Z as an implicit reference point with social, cultural, and Moral legitimacy, there is an observable shift away from a singular, fixed concept of marriage. Instead, marriage is increasingly being redefined and reinterpreted as an institution shaped by dynamic individual preferences, with its meaning, role, and significance subject to ongoing reconsideration.

2025

Jag gör en komparativ analys av Bibelns skapelseberättelse och Enuma Elish. Resultatet är överraskande tydligt. Analysen visar entydigt att det finns ingenting som tyder på att skapelseberättelsen har lånat eller bearbetat någonting från... more

2025, Madhya Bharti- Humanities and Sciences, Vol. 85, Issue 12

This study investigates how sensory marketing strategies impact consumer purchase behaviour in
Bengaluru's cosmetic industry. It examines the utilization of visual, auditory, olfactory, tactile, and
gustatory cues by cosmetic brands to shape consumer perceptions, emotional responses, and
ultimately, purchase decisions.
The research adopted a quantitative technique using a structured questionnaire administered to 482
consumers in Bengaluru, both online and at retail locations. Demographics, buying patterns, opinions
regarding sensory marketing, and the impact of particular sensory signals on purchasing decisions
were all examined in the survey.
The results show that sensory marketing has a big impact, and that tactile experiences, scent, and
visual attractiveness are important factors that influence consumer decisions. The report also
emphasises how influencer marketing and digital platforms are becoming increasingly important for
communicating sensory experiences. Consumer feelings and purchasing decisions are influenced by
product packaging, aroma, and the tactile experience of application. Touch affects decision-making
and raises the perceived worth of the goods. Ambient noises have an impact on customers' moods
and in-store time.
The report recommends that in order to improve consumer satisfaction and increase sales, cosmetic
firms in Bengaluru should give sensory marketing top priority. It is advised to make investments in
eye-catching displays, design welcoming in-store spaces, and use digital channels to highlight
sensory experiences. The long-term impacts of sensory marketing on brand loyalty might be
investigated in more detail.

2025

This paper aims at understanding the role of financial literacy and income management in enhancing the well-being of BPL families especially in the rural area where such families face challenges of fluctuating income and limited access to banking facilities. The focus of the study is on the adequacy level of financial literacy in the management of Below Poverty Line families residing in the rural area and therefore the importance of financial education for the improvement of the well-being of BPL families. The first objective is to look at the Relationship between Financial Literacy and Financial Well-Being with Income Management as the Mediator. The research design of the study is quantitative and the analysis of the data collected is done through Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and Partial Least Squares (PLS) to test the proposed hypotheses. The data were collected through a large number of participants to increase the reliability of the study in terms of representing the target population. The results indicate that Financial Literacy has a highly positive and significant direct effect on Financial Well-Being and also has a significant indirect effect through Income Management thus suggesting partial mediation. The model shows a high level of explanatory relevance with an R² of 0.649, this means that 64.9% of the variation in Financial Well-Being is explained by Financial Literacy and Income Management. There is no bias in the analysis and the confidence intervals are also narrow and statistically significant which enhances the reliability of the results.

2024

What are the words that describe the different ideas and even the different human anthropologies? I have the wrong body, wrong gender, for me. The culture, even the government and teachers, tell me that with technology I can remake myself. God created man in the image of himself, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27. In Gender theory there is no end to produce new life, it is a dead end. Interest in genealogy would come to an end.

2024, Asian journal of multidisciplinary studies

This study determined the perception of college students towards premarital sex (PMS) amid the continuum of sexual conservatism and liberalism. It also investigated on the engagement and extent of awareness of the students to the various consequences of engaging in PMS. The cross-sectional descriptive study was participated by 320 respondents chosen through cluster random sampling form the different colleges in the town. Results revealed that students continue to hold a conservative view of PMS. However, degree of conservatism has diminished. Immorality and social unacceptability of PMS were slightly agreed on; although virginity and sanctity of sex were concepts respondents hold a tight view on. PMS is permissible if done by engaged couples and loving partners. One out of five respondents engaged in PMS which is relatively low compared to the regional and national data. Respondents’ awareness of the various consequences of PMS was fairly low with a mean of 1.6 responses, and the mo...

2024, Esprit et Vie

La disparition récente de Xavier Thévenot, le 14 août 2004, est l’occasion de revenir sur l’oeuvre de ce théologien moraliste français, qui a tellement marqué la scène catholique d’après-Vatican II en France. Car ce prêtre, Salésien de Don Bosco, s’était constitué un véritable public, tant pour son enseignement oral que pour ses multiples articles, dont certains
furent rassemblés en recueils traduits en plusieurs langues. Lorsqu’on avait écouté l’une de ses conférences, suivi l’une de ses sessions pour novices ou pour séminaristes, on courait acheter son dernier livre, tant l’homme avait impressionné par son ouverture d’esprit, l’équilibre de son jugement, la profondeur de sa vie spirituelle et même par la vivacité de son humour ! L'article resitue l'œuvre de Thévenot, dont la pensée est subtile et exigeante, au sein de la théologie morale post-conciliaire.

2024

Through the hermeneutical lens of spirituality and ecology that foregrounds the importance of interconnectedness and intersubjectivity, this essay highlights the predicament of “echo chamber” caused by habitus and idolatry in Romans 1:18b–32. To address such predicament that objectifies the existing understanding of oneself and others, Paul shows how the Roman believers hold fast to the truth from their own perspectives to the point that the truth becomes their own version of the truth. As such, different from most of the Chinese and English translations of Romans 1:18b that render katechontōn as “suppressing,” this essay argues for “holding fast,” that is, the basic meaning of katechontōn. Hence instead of translating Romans 1:18b as “those who by their wickedness suppress the truth” (NRSV), this essay proposes “those who hold fast to the truth in injustice.” Such interpretation accentuates the problems of idolatry and ideology, which are not the problems of wrong or lack of knowledge. It also contends that only by interacting and learning from one another can the Roman believers be conscientized to see their own habitus problem, and hence, not be bound by their own inner groups.

2024

10. Conduct quality appraisal of retrieved literature. 11. Critically review literature. 12. Check reference list for accuracy. Papers were obtained through the following databases: Discover (Massey University's Library Discovery Layer searches multiple databases, including Web of Science, Web of Knowledge and PsychInfo) and Scopus. Google Scholar was used extensively in early exploration of the topics, but was determined to be too imprecise to accurately identify specific numbers of articles that met the set criteria. Searches were conducted from October 2013 through January 2014. To be included in this review, the literature was limited to English language articles that were original research studies, relevant to SVPE, scholarly, published, and available through Massey University in full-text. The focus was on finding recent publications relevant in the New Zealand context.

2024, Hugoye 27.1

From the late fifth to mid-sixth centuries, the leaders of the Church of the East had two main concerns concerning sexual ethics. On the one hand, celibacy, as the foundation of their Christian sexual ethics, was the subject of the state’s disapproval by the Sasanians and Zoroastrian clergy. It was also the subject of some Jewish polemics. On the other hand, some of the Christians in the western parts of the Sasanian Empire were following the sexual norms of the other traditions such as next-of-kin marriage, polygamy, and exogamy, which could not enjoy any form of ecclesiastical approval. At the end of the fifth century, addressing these external and internal challenges, Aqaq and Barṣauma were the first generation who embodied the earliest legal ideas in their works. These early reflections on sexual ethics as the core of an exclusive communal identity led to the birth of family law in the Church of the East in the works of Abā I. This study investigates this repertoire of legal literature to understand how defining a set of exclusive sexual norms to create a distinctive communal identity would lead to the formation of family law in this legal tradition.

2024, Moebius : écritures / littérature

2024, Trans Life and the Catholic Church Today

The introduction for 'Trans Life and the Catholic Church Today' (ed. Burbach and Cahill, T&T Clark 2024) This essay explores the contours, perils, and possibilities of the Catholic Church's encounter with transness. I begin by looking... more

2024, Sexualities

Queer, polyamorous folk are redefining kinship in the US but BIPOC's perspectives are absent. Due to metaphorical captivity, exclusion from traditional kinship, and intersectional oppression, queer African Americans' polyamory entails liberation. A queer of color critique framework was applied to analyze social media content of polyamorous, Black American, queer, femme and non-binary interlocuters. We (a) provide historical, sociopolitical context, (b) center interlocuters' experiential knowledge of polyamory spaces, and (c) describe their strategies for navigating themselves, relationships, and communities. Their strategies provide a survival guide for oppression and path towards liberation. Keywords Black or African Americans, femmes, non-binary, polyamory, queer of color critique Black queer femme and non-binary individuals' polyamory: An act of liberation Although the heteronormative nuclear family persists as the US standard, queer, nonmonogamous Americans are redefining kinship (Manley and Goldberg, 2021; Pain, 2020). Researchers have explored polyamory, a non-monogamy characterized by

2024, Images of the Human Being: Eighth International East-West Symposium of New Testament Scholars, Caraiman Monastery, May 26 to 31, 2019 (WUNT 521; Mohr Siebeck: Tübingen 2024), 311–320.

The moral aspects of the relational nature of the human body in the theology of Paul greatly differ from the views concerning the body which are popular in modern European and American culture. The body is not the property of the self. The body belongs to someone else: the Lord and, in case of being married, the spouse. The body can and should be offered to God and to others. The Pauline thought that we do not possess our bodies is certainly challenging for our modern moral discourses. The paper reconsiders the importance of Paul’s anthropological-moral idea that our bodies belong to others, and that we can offer them to others. It also offers challenging exegetical analyses of the Pauline texts 1 Cor 7:10–11, 27–28; Rom 7:2–3 (as presenting the possibility of legal divorce in an unequal legal contract based on Deut 24:1, 3 and not on Mk 10:11–12) and Rom 12:1 (as a sequentially organized four-element reworking of 1 Cor 11:24).

2024

Threatened with desolation, ethnic and national groups will adopt policies that attempt to punish singleness, encourage marriage, and raise the birth rate. This phenomenon, which I will call “procreative nationalism,” appears in various forms in ancient and modern societies, but Biblical interpreters and moral theologians fail to consider its relevance, and instead treat procreation separately from ethnicity. First, I examine the debate over contraception among Anglicans in the early twentieth century and show that Anglican theologies of sexuality were set on their modern trajectory by certain ambitious procreative nationalists from that period. Then, I turn to classical Greco-Roman sources, such as Plato’s Republic and Musonius Rufus’s moral philosophy, and instances where rulers attempted to implement this ideology, such as the Augustan marriage legislation. I also examine Jewish sources, primarily in the Tanakh but also in Philo of Alexandria, that are characterized by procreative nationalism. Next, I turn to the book of Romans and argue that Rom 1:26-27 condemns a failure to procreate: the gentile nations become hedonistic slaves to pleasure and lose sight of their own national best interest, depopulating themselves into destruction. Last, I consider the argument of Romans as a whole. Paul has an eschatological indifference toward procreation, and yet, procreative nationalism remains in the substructure of his thought, in his appropriation of the ancestral narratives, and in his reasoning about Jewish and gentile claims to membership in the Abrahamic covenant. Even still, Paul can conceive of national survival without procreation because the Messiah’s righteous reign will bring unending life for Israel and for gentiles in Christ. By rereading these ancient sources with ethnicity in mind, I hope to complicate the often uncritical appeals to these sources made in modern Anglican theologies of sexuality.

2024

Byzantine chant, the music of the Greek Orthodox Churches in America, embeds meanings and functions as a methodological tool which constructs and teaches about the role of women within church communities. This thesis explores how as cultural group identity, belongingness, and gender identity are semiotically iconized, purified, and recursively transmitted through the liturgical music of the church, specifically hymns about women saints and The Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God. This work is a culmination of twelve years of ethnomusicological fieldwork conducted by the author in Midwestern Greek Orthodox churches and monasteries, using participant-observation techniques. The work outlines the basic musicological theory of Byzantine chant, describes how the portrayal of women in liturgical music provides templates for the desired behavior of females within the community, and examines how Byzantine music works as a memory aid, teaching tool, and constructor of social ideas in relationship to the roles of women.

2024, Public Affairs Quarterly

The present war in Ukraine has seen millions of women flee as refugees, while martial law forbids adult men under 60 from leaving the country. According to various reports, many and perhaps most women Ukrainian refugees are breaking romantic ties with the men they leave behind, building new lives with men in their countries of refuge, and/or planning never to return. I avoid any comment about the morality of these events, and instead take up the general question of whether women war refugees have any obligations of "connubial loyalty" to their menfolk in circumstances where those men are discharging a moral obligation to fight in the war that precipitated their womenfolk's flight in the first place. I answer that they do.

2024, Facta Universitatis, Series: Philosophy, Sociology, Psychology and History

This article has two main points: 1) there are no reasons why sexual ethics should be excluded from fashionable “applied ethics” and “bioethics” investigations, and 2) that the key concepts of “sexual discourse” – especially the concept of “perversion” – deserves full philosophical attention. As an example, the author offers a brief analysis of the reasons why, despite the ruling “libertarian paradigm,” the concept of “perversion” should be kept in ordinary language.

2024, Journal of Asian Studies

The Tibetan Nun Mingyur Peldrön: A Woman of Power and Privilege. By Alison Melnick Dyer. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2022. xiii, 225 pp. ISBN: 9780295750378.

2024, SBL Press eBooks

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-publication Data Communities in dispute : current scholarship on the Johannine epistles / edited by R. alan Culpepper and paul n. anderson. p. cm.-(society of Biblical Literature early Christianity and... more

2024, Madhya Bharti (मध्य भारती)

This paper explores how the atmospherics of a retail environment influence shopping behavior. It aims
to assist researchers and practitioners by summarizing current knowledge and identifying gaps and
potential directions for future research. The review encompasses studies in retail marketing and
environmental psychology from the past 35 years. Research has demonstrated that environmental cues,
such as music and scent, impact consumers' emotional states, leading to behavioral changes—both
positive (e.g., approaching, buying more, staying longer) and negative (e.g., avoiding, buying less,
leaving sooner). Most studies refer to the PAD model, which measures relevant emotions across three
dimensions: Pleasure, Arousal, and Dominance (Mehrabian & Russell, 1974, "An Approach to
Environmental Psychology," MIT Press). Since then, substantial progress has been made in
understanding the effects of individual cues, their interactions, and the role of moderators like gender,
age, and shopping motivation. However, opportunities for further research remain. There is insufficient
knowledge about the moderating effects of Arousal and Dominance and their interactions with each other
and the Pleasure dimension. Additionally, other moderators, such as gender and culture, should be
incorporated into the model. Neuro-science and neuro marketing aspects also needs to be looked into.

2024

Experts, such as Richard Reeves, who is the author of the book Of Boys and Men claim that young men in the Western World are currently in crisis. Their job prospects look dim, they are struggling economically, and they are not taking their chances to enroll in college. Furthermore, they experienced isolation and loneliness before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to an increase in the number of suicides. In addition, the country has never really recovered from the fallout of the opioid crisis. Consequently, men believe that they are losing power and control over their future. This causes a reasonable amount of anger, anxiety, and fear to build up, but these emotions are not being expressed in a healthy manner though. During times of crisis, individuals are determined to identify a scapegoat for the problems that they face, and it seems like men have identified the source of all their problems: the modern woman. What exactly is the modern woman and why has she become the bane of man’s very existence? Are men not getting the attention from women that they desire? Are modern gender roles becoming inconvenient and socially disruptive for men with traditional views? Is loneliness more serious than we would like to acknowledge? Do changing gender roles influence men to turn to negative and destructive social behavior?
In speaking of loneliness, when men desire to have a romantic and/or sexual partner of the opposite sex, but fail to find a partner, they become what society addresses as an involuntary celibate, or incel. Of course, when people feel lonely, isolated, and shut out of society, they seek to form bonds and relationships for social support. If in-person interactions become too difficult for men due to isolation and feeling left out, they still have a tool at their disposal. In recent years, we have witnessed the rise of a mostly online and digital community of heterosexual young men with patriarchal, traditional, conservative, sexist, and misogynistic views. The term for this is simply, the manosphere. Within the manosphere, involuntary celibates would qualify as a subculture, and this is due to the variation and distinction in beliefs, behavior, and ideas between the microculture and macroculture. However, a subculture and their respective macroculture can still overlap and intersect in regard to beliefs, ideas, and behavior. An appropriate research question for this case is, how did changing gender roles and norms contribute to toxic masculinity, male fragility, and the rise of involuntary celibates within the manosphere?

2024, STJ | Stellenbosch Theological Journal

In search of the contours of theological ethics of human sexuality with regard to homosexuality: a Reformed perspectiveThis article offers a description and discussion of the contours of theological ethics of human sexuality, with regard to homosexuality. In the first part of the article, the topic of homosexuality is discussed within the larger historical development of the concept of human nature in the broader tradition of the church. Here special attention is paid to the views of Philo of Alexandria, St. Augustine and St. Aquinas, showing that the right and wrong of the sexual act were judged in terms of the procreative potential of the act. In the second part of the article, I propose a reformed perspective with regard to sexual ethics. This is done by a re-reading of the concept of human nature, by removing it from the traditional Roman Catholic “nature-grace” paradigm of salvation and re-reading it in terms of the reformed paradigm of “creation (law)-sin-gospel”. I argue that...