Lectionary Calendar
Thursday, November 21st, 2024
the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
Attention!
Tired of seeing ads while studying? Now you can enjoy an "Ads Free" version of the site for as little as 10¢ a day and support a great cause!
Click here to learn more!

Bible Dictionaries
Onanism

1910 New Catholic Dictionary

Search for…
or
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z
Prev Entry
Omophorion
Next Entry
Once in Royal David's City
Resource Toolbox
Additional Links

The theological term for the crime committed by married persons, who in the performance of the conjugal act aim to prevent conception. The name is derived from Onan, the son of the Patriarch Juda, mentioned in the book of Genesis (38:8). When Juda requested Onan to marry his (Onan's) brother's widow, in order to raise up progeny to his brother, Onan frustrated conception. "And the Lord slew him, because he did a detestable thing." The more popular terms for onanism are: birth control, family limitation, race suicide, and neo-Malthusianism. Onanism is always a grave sin. It is a crime opposed to natural law, for it frustrates the primary purpose of matrimony, namely, the procreation of offspring. In extreme cases, for example, when there is danger to health or life to one or both parties, married persons should simply abstain from the conjugal act.

Bibliography Information
Entry for 'Onanism'. 1910 New Catholic Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/​dictionaries/​eng/​ncd/​o/onanism.html. 1910.
 
adsfree-icon
Ads FreeProfile