Augustine of Hippo and sex

[olegramps]

5. Unfortunately, the acceptance of his teachings tormented millions through the ages.

Last edited Sun May 12, 2013, 05:44 PM - Edit history (1)

If anyone wishes to know the extent of his influence they only have to read "Malleus Maleficarum (Witches Hammer) which was written by two Dominican monks, Henry Kramer and James Sprenger that led to the persecution of thousands for witchcraft. Without going into this monstrosity, let it suffice to only note the profound affect that Augustine works were quoted to justify this massive persecution. I will provide only one quote from this work which contains multiple quotations from Augustine and Jerome's works to justify the nonsense of witchcraft:

Although far more women are witches than men, as was shown First Part of the work, yet men are more often be twitched than women. And the reason for this lies in the fact that God allows the devil more power over the venereal act, by which Original Sin is handed down, than over human actions...For , as we have said, God allows more power over that act than over other human actions, because of sits natural nastiness, and because by it the first sin was handed down to posterity... But if it is asked of what sort are those sins, it can be said, according to St. Jerome, that even in a state of matrimony it is possible to commit the sin of incontinence in various ways. See the text: He who loves his wife to excess is an adulterer. And they who love in this way are more liable to be bewitched after the manner we have said. (Malleus Maleficarum, II q. 1, ch. 7.)