This document discusses how science relates to and supports the Catholic theology of the body. It covers topics like the natural order of attraction, fertility, sexual intercourse and child development. It then addresses issues like pre-marital sex, contraception and same-sex relationships that can disrupt natural order and cause chaos. The conclusion advocates adopting a sacramental worldview and argues that science, when properly understood, affirms the theology of the body.

1. SCIENCE OF THE THEOLOGY
OF THE BODY
Ian Maxfield
The Catholic Laboratory
www.catholiclab.net

2. 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

3. 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

4. LET THERE BE ORDER
Rules of attraction and fertility
Sexual intercourse
Pregnancy
Birth and child development

6. 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!

7. SEXUAL INTERCOURSE
Body Chemistry ...
Oxytocin - woman is drawn to man
Vasopressin - woman has sexual preference and
protection
Bonding increases
LET THERE BE ORDER

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. Hook ups, casual sex and co-habitation
Contraception
InVitro Fertility treatments
Same sex relationships and parenting
Abortion
Pornography
CHAOS THEORY AND
PRACTICE

12. 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

13. 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

14. INVITRO 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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 andVasopressin (bonding chemical) misuse
Turning women into objects
Impact on demographics
CHAOS THEORY AND
PRACTICE

20. 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

21. 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

22. ThankYou
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EMail - ian@catholiclab.net
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SCIENCE OF THEOLOGY OF
THE BODY