Some forms of early ascetic Gnosticism held all matter to be evil, and that unnecessary gratifications of the physical senses were to be avoided. Married couples were encouraged to be celibate. The Skoptsys were a radical sect of the Russian Orthodox Church that practiced castration and amputation of sexual organs. The Skoptsy believed that Christ had been castrated during his crucifixion, and it was this castration that brought about salvation.
The Shakers was a radical Protestant sect that opposed procreation and all sexual activity. The Shakers were more opposed to pregnancy than anything else.
John Harvey Kellogg, the inventor of corn flakes breakfast cereal, was opposed to all forms of sexual activity, especially masturbation. "The Road to Wellville" satirized his life and practices. Father Divine, founder of the International Peace Mission Movement, advocated religious abstinence from sex and marriage and taught that sexual objectification is a root cause of undesirable social and political conditions.
The Anti-Flirt Club, set up in the United States during the interwar period, was set up in order to protect women from unwanted advances from men.
A popular venue of antisexuals is the Antisex.info (Antisexual Stronghold) website founded by Yuri Nesterenko. He launched a FidoNet-based antisexual community in 1995. While putting forward the slogan "Say No to sex", the spokesmen said that no sexual urges are so violent that they may not be deterred through mental reason, or else transformed through abstinence. Some members of the IAM say they have successfully overcome the desire for sex.
Ned Flanders
Nedward "Ned" Flanders is a character in the animated television series "The Simpsons".
Ned Flanders and his son Todd first appeared in the season one episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", which was the series first episode. The first episode in which Flanders and his family were seen is season two's "Dead Putting Society", which also showed the first appearance of Maude and Rod Flanders.
Flanders was named after Flanders St. in Portland, Oregon, the hometown of "Simpsons" creator Matt Groening. Groening wanted Flanders as "just a guy who was truly nice, that Homer had no justifiable reason to loathe, but then did." It was not until after the first few episodes that it was decided Flanders would be a faithful Christian. Mike Scully said that Flanders is "everything Homer would love to be, although he'll never admit it." Flanders had originally been meant to just be a neighbor that Homer was jealous of, but Harry Shearer used "such a sweet voice" and Flanders was planned to become a Christian and a sweet guy that someone would choose to live next to over Homer.
Ned's "unbearable niceness" has been described as ""The Simpsons"<nowiki>'</nowiki> worst comment about religion. Although Flanders was meant to be only a character making fun of Christian right, he has since become a favorite of many Christian viewers. He has been described as "[The United States]' most well-known evangelical." Dr. Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, declared himself as a "Simpsons" fan, and likes Flanders.
Mike Scully
Mike Scully (born October 2, 1956 in West Springfield, Massachusetts) is an Emmy Award-winning American television writer best known for his work as show runner of the Fox series "The Simpsons" from 1997 - 2001 (Seasons 9-12).
George Meyer
George Meyer is an American producer and screenwriter for the television series "The Simpsons". He is arguably the writer who has done the most to the series over the many years it has been made. In 2000, Meyer was called "the funniest man behind the funniest show on TV" by "The New Yorker".
Christian right
The Christian right (known as the religious right in the United States) is the name for right-wing Christian political and social movements. They also exist in other countries, such as Canada. However, the term is most often used in the United States. These groups have a strong support of conservative social and political ideas. Usually, this comes from a belief that the United States was founded on a strong belief in God. It also come from a belief that American laws and policies should be based on what is in the Bible. Members of the Christian right can be from any branch of Christianity, including Catholicism. However, the religious right is most often used with Evangelical Christians, Fundamentalists (such as Born-agains) and Mormons. About 15% of Americans say they are part of the Christian or religious right.
People who have been conservative due to their religion have been in the United States for hundreds of years. For example, the people who put John Scopes on trial would later be called members of the religious right. However, the term first came into use in the 1970s. Jerry Falwell was one of the first people to use it. He and others felt that the country and its institutions (such as schools and colleges) were run by left-wing intellectuals who did not believe in God. They thought that in reality most people believed in God and did not care for left-wing intellectuals. The fight between left-wing intellectuals and the religious right is often called the "culture wars".
Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush and Donald Trump were elected in part due to support from the religious right.
As well as the Christian right, there is something called the Christian left. However, it is not as well-known or powerful.
Here are some issues that the Christian right feels strongly about:
The Christian right became more popular again in the 1970s under Falwell due to abortion. This was in response to the "Roe v. Wade" decision made by the U.S. Supreme Court. Most members of the Christian right feel that life begins at conception. They think that killing a fetus is murder. Therefore they think abortion should be illegal in most or all cases. This is called being "pro-life". Though the right has not been able to get rid of "Roe" (and it is now considered to be a precedent by most judges), they have been successful in making it harder to get abortions in some states.
Many members of the Christian right believe that the Bible says it is bad to be homosexual (gay or lesbian). They used to support sodomy laws. Today, they are mostly against allowing gay marriage. They have had many laws and initiatives passed to stop gay people from marrying (such as California's Proposition 8). Some of these were found to be unconstitutional in the courts. To make stopping gay marriage constitutional, many have pushed for an amendment to the United States constitution to ban gay marriage.
Many members of the Christian right do not believe in evolution, because it goes against the creation story of the Bible. They instead favor creationism or intelligent design. Most biologists believe that evolution is true and that arguments against evolution are weak. In a few places, they have been successful in teaching intelligent design alongside evolution in public schools.
Many members of the Christian right want to allow prayer in public schools and display of things related to Christ in public or government places. As with gay marriage, this has been questioned in the courts, usually due to the freedom of religion clause in the First Amendment.
Tress MacNeille
Tress MacNeille (born June 20, 1951) is an American voice actress, comedian, clown, and jester. best known for doing voices on the animated television series "The Simpsons", "Futurama", and "Animaniacs", The Powerpuff Girls". Her most famous characters on "The Simpsons" include Agnes Skinner, Brandine Spuckler and Lindsey Naegle, while her performance as Mom is her most notable "Futurama" role.
She also been the voice of the penguins in the Disney TV Series Club Penguin, and the voice of Daisy Duck. Dreambuilders
Karl Wiedergott