Warning: In this blog I use very frank terms to answer a question about a particular sexual act. If that may offend you, please do not proceed.

The question came not as a question but as just two words. Anal sex.

When this question comes during one of my Love, Sex & Marriage workshops, I usually ask the audience why they think people want to have sex via anal penetration. These are the most common responses:

•    To keep from getting pregnant.
•    It’s exciting to do something “forbidden”
•    Variety
•    Because after childbirth the wife’s vagina is not as tight
•    Some people find sexual excitement in mild to moderate pain

In the seminar I offer other methods for including variety in a couple’s sexual life. I also provide exercises, medical alternatives, and differing positions that can offset the stretching of the vaginal canal after childbirth. (If you wish to ask about any of these, please go to the main page www.JoeBeam.com and find the form to send the query to me.) Then I move on to give my view of whether anal sex is a valid practice.

Be aware that my answer is based in my Christian faith. As quickly as I state that I also need to explain that I am not one of those who think that anything other than typical intercourse is unnatural, sinful, perverted, or any other negative word some may conjure. I’m told that some site actually branded me a heretic because I don’t condemn oral sex. (Somebody definitely needs to understand what heresy is, don’t you think, before they embarrass themselves again.) Therefore, I’m used to being attacked with any number of invectives by those who have sexual hang-ups and try to blame them on Scripture. That, however, will not affect my answer. I share based on what I believe to be true, not based on political correctness as defined by any group.

There are several principles in the Bible that apply to our sexual lives. I won’t make a long Bible lesson here, but am happy to offer a sheet with scriptures concerning the basic sexual principles if you wish to have it. Just ask. Here I condense them into three major areas:

1.    Sex is to be with the person you are married to and no one else, in reality or fantasy.
2.    Sex is never to involve any animal. (I know, this freaks some out but it is a Biblical principle.)
3.    Sex must never do harm to either person.

It is that last principle that applies to anal sex. While I am definitely not a medical doctor or an expert on human anatomy, I have asked several physicians who work with “that” area of the body. (Okay, anus or rectum. Happy?) So far, each has told me that anal sex — penetrating the anus with an erect penis or a mechanical device of corresponding size or larger — does irreparable harm to the body.

Therefore, as a Christian I object to the practice based on I Corinthians 6:19-20. As a human being, I object to it based on the fact that it does damage.

Again, if you wish to know other ways to bring variety to your sex life, ask.