Reply #3: You've already bought the spin, I see.

[Ninchik]

"Temple harlots" were a feature of certain temples. Some cultures asked all their young women to take a turn in the temple. See, before it was filthy and immoral, sexual union was considered the act that brought a simple human being closest to the gods. And it was considered necessary in some cases to ensure fertility in the fields and forests and for the general well-being of the planet.

The theory was called sympathetic magic. If you want abundant crops, have an orgy in the fields after sowing the seeds. Plow those furrows, boys! {Note the abundant wealth of the United States when Bill was fertilizing the Oval Office. It should be a requirement.)

Some religions preferred to spill a different bodily fluid of life in the fields: blood. The sacrificial victim was dragged bleeding thru the fields so that his blood was nicely distributed.

Now what any of this has to do with the news business, I couldn't tell you.