Varying religious perspectives on loving relationships were examined by clergy and audience members during a panel discussion last night in the HUB fishbowl.

"The Last Temptation? Religious Perspectives on Loving Relationships," was designed to give a clearer view on relationships, said the panel's mediator Reverend Anne Ard.

The discussion was part of the Healthy Loving Week programs and attempted to address the religious aspect of a person's sexuality, Ard said.

"We are here to dialogue . . . to think critically not to debate but to come to a clearer understanding of what various religions have to say about relationships in general and the place of sexuality in relationships specifically," she said.

The panel, Rev. Evelyn Wald of St. Mark's Lutheran Church, Rev. Conan Feigh of the Penn State Catholic Center, Rabbi Michael Harel of the Hillel Foundation and former clergyman Matt Riley presented their views as representatives of various religions.

"God created us as sexual beings and sometimes we think the church has tremendous amounts of problems with that and those of us who are religious leaders rarely have an opportunity to talk about sexuality because everyone gets very nervous when the word sex is mentioned, particularly when it is mentioned in a religious community," said Wald.

A sexual relationship involving as much love and commitment as marriage is not condemned by Jewish tradition, Harel said.

"I'm not convinced the Scriptures write very much in terms of sexuality. Sometimes we plug into Scripture perhaps what we think might relate to sexuality. Maybe it does, but I think we would all here agree that there is not a lot in Scripture about sexuality," Conen said.

"All people are in need of intimacy. Intimacy is a key component to us as human persons," said Riley, an educator at the State College AIDS Project.

The panel addressed the audience's questions which covered adultery, promiscuity, fornication, divorce, differing religious views within a marriage, AIDS as a punishment, tradition in today's society, rape and gay relationships.

One member of the audience felt that the panel did not address the issues as clearly as it should have.

"The panel would have been better if someone on the panel disagreed," said Andrew Sicree (graduate-geology), adding that "no one was willing to speak for traditionalism."

"I believe the panel tried to answer the questions honestly and directly based on their perspectives," said Blake Withall (graduate-administration of justice).

"The questions tended to be either very broad or very specific," Wald said, explaining that there was not enough time to answer the questions which were "not black or white, yes or no, but very gray."

The complexity of religious perspectives on gay relationships brought tension to the room as one member of the audience quoted a passage from the Old Testament.

The panel was unable to give a direct answer but explained that the issue must be looked at in a broader sense.

"It is very dangerous to take a passage out of context and use it as a valid judgement or in support of an argument," said Riley, adding that only through close conversation can the issue be addressed adequately.