pandabear wrote:
Or, the man could simply avoid ejaculating in the woman's vagina. Pull an Onan or something.
Technically, Onan's sin was his failure to uphold his responsibilities as a member of a family group.
A careful reading of most any version of the christian bible will make that clear. The tale of Onan as explained in jewish scripture makes it even more clear.
You have to keep in mind that the whole idea of having the family group was for a family line to survive.
Onan's brother died, leaving behind a childless widow. It was his responsibility, according to the laws under which he lived, to give his brother's widow children.
Onan didn't mind screwing her, but he was careful not to give her children, because they would not - according to the society he lived in - be considered his children.
Ultimately in order to get herself knocked up she disguises herself as a prostitute in order to get hired by Onan's father when their cousin (or was it Onan's father's brother? I forget) comes into town and quite naturally they want to show him a good time.
In the christian bible, when this all comes to a head, Onan is "struck down by God". In jewish scripture, he's killed by his in-laws.
So, ask yourself, if your sister's husband died, and the brother-in-law said stepped up to take care of her in her mourning, but it turned out that he was just using her for sex, you'd pretty much want him dead, right? Works the same always.
What's most interesting about the story is that nobody seems to have a problem with prostitution. Or a problem with knocking up a prostitute.
But shirking your familial duties and being an as*hole about it? That'll get you lynched.