How’s that for a grabber title? No, not a Graber title, a GRABBER title 😉
Anyway, I’ve always wondered what the relation between religion and sex was. Are there specific passages in the Bible, Koran, Torah, etc that specifically lay out the rules of sex. I know the commandments specifically denounced adultery, and I’ve read passage in the Bible that lay out some silly adultery rules and punishments, but what about other religions?
My personal belief is that since sex is such a strong motivator and need in humans, religious leaders may have used that to help control the masses. These would be unscrupulous leaders, of course, and not an indictment of the religion or other leaders. But I still think that there are so many rules about food and sex in religion because everyone’s gotta eat, and everyone’s gotta, well, you know. So use those to keep the people in line.
I feel that if you’re old enough to make your own decisions, and the other party is old enough to make their own decisions, and you’re honest with each other, then make like bunnies and get’er done. When it comes to children, you have to educate them to EVERYTHING about sex, because they’re going to search out what they don’t know and figure it out themselves. If you can show them the possible consequences, that’s your best chance to prevent pregnancy and disease.
Of course, these are functions that should be provided by parents, with help from schools and such. NOT by the schools primarily. If parents won’t lay the groundwork, all school education will provide is snickers and titters.
Back to religion, I don’t see why God would care who I sleep with until I make a committment to one person to stay faithful to her and only her. And even then, if we had an open understanding of other arrangements, what’s the big deal? I think the biggest thing about sex is honest and open dialogue. In the USA, it’s such a hush thing unless you’re entertaining or sellling. Sex happens all the time, and there’s proof everywhere. Just look in the mirror.
Is there an argument for religion messing with our sex lives that I’m missing?
My $.02 Weed
hehe
Hehe… you said titters.
FOR THE BETTER..
I think the idea is this.. Understand that I am a believer, so I come from the point of view that the laws (as outlined in the Christian Bible) were mandated by God.
okay, that being said.. I think its for us, not for God. I think the idea is that what is best is when a couple is intimate, that intimacy should never be broken. It is often a damaging thing (and I’ve seen the wrecked stuff that comes about when that bond is broken). I also know of a number of “consenting” people who in later years had regrets about sharing what they did with who they did – and wish they could take it back. I know a number of women in particular who were “consenting”, but somewhat less than willing, or who were in a self-destructive funk and used sex with multiple partners to invalidate the abusive intimacy of one partner.
Any good listen to Loveline will give you someone who is promiscuous, and Dr. Drew gets to the bottom of it and finds dysfunction. Heck, most guys have to live with, at some point the ghosts of their partner’s past, and sometimes get haunted with ghosts of their own.
Finally, the world is full of children who are the results of sex outside of marriage, and while some (including myself) have good relationships with both parents, there are women who don’t tell the dads, there are abortions, there are financial hardships, there are women who want the baby and men who don’t and vice versa – and so it seems again that what is best is a single lifetime coupling.
So god kind of said, look, I designed people to function this way, we are emotionally hardwired to attach to the person with whom we first couple – but we are driven also by the desire to couple – so God made it clear “when you feel like tittering, here is where God stands”.
Or, maybe I’m wrong. Not a theologan.. but, hey, its a thought. Visit the Official Justin Timpane Website Music, Acting, and More! http://www.timpane.com
Maybe
I agree that if you’re going to have children, then you shouldn’t be catting around. Raising a child is the ultimate task we’re assigned while here, and it takes all the energy of two people to accomplish successfully (along with a lot of energy by the village).
However, outside of marriage with children, I don’t see the need. A lot of people end up messed up by sex, but I think that’s more due to lack of parental guidance, societal norms (or abnorms), and sorry education than because “premarital sex is bad”.
America likes to watch sex, but doesn’t like to talk about sex. It’s like we all do it, and we all like it, but shhhhhh, don’t talk about it. And ignorance breeds much more horrible things than sex ever will.
My $.02 Weed
Sex vs. Education
Matt would no doubt point out that youre setting up a false Dichotomy.
Ignorance does breed horrible things. Sex can also lead to a lot of problems. These two things are not mutually exclusive. Children should be educated as to how things work, and how to approach these things from a relatively early age. This information should not be held back. That does not mean that Premarital (or extramarital) sex is healthy.
Visit the Official Justin Timpane Website Music, Acting, and More! http://www.timpane.com
Innoculation
I wonder what effect an innoculation against all STDs and unwanted pregnancy would have? So far, the best pill seems to be adequate education. Most people (4 out of 5) choose to have premarital sex by the age of 19 with the way we’re doing things now. Most avoid pregnancy in these liasons. It seems that if you provide women with the tools to avoid pregnancy, and educate them in their use, they prefer to use them.
I also often wonder an innoculation against religious persuasion would affect mankind. But that’s another topic 🙂
—
Matthew P. Barnson
False Dichotomy???
How is that a false dichotomy.
Sex can breed two things: babies and disease.
Ignorance can lead you to both of those outcomes with respect to sex, but it can also lead to a lot of other bad things.
Let me rephrase it this way; Not educating people about sex will lead to a statistically less-desired result than sex with education.
My $.02 Weed
I agree
You current statement does follow.. but the idea that education is somehow unwanted by those who purport that extramarital sex is potentially damaging was the false dichotomoy.
As your revision stands, there is a much more clearly followed logical path.
Visit the Official Justin Timpane Website Music, Acting, and More! http://www.timpane.com
Devil’s Advocate
Just to play devil’s advocate, someone who is promiscuous and is perfectly happy and well-adjusted about it is unlikely to call Loveline and complain. Of course a listen to Loveline is going to give you dysfunction. It’s like declaring that the vast majority of Americans are sick based on a visit to a hospital emergency room. 😉
Of course, I’m not saying that promiscuity is a good thing – just that what works for one guy might not work for another, and vice versa. For me, I can barely deal with one woman in my life – I can’t imagine what it would be like to have to deal with more than one.
— Ben
Spong
I like Bishop John Shelby Spong. The man has a huge following for a reason. Asked recently regarding condemnation of homosexuals by Christians, he had the following to say (and I think this ties in marvelously):
(Emphasis mine)
—
Matthew P. Barnson
In Essence
So in essence, God is just when we treat each other nice, and evil is when we put ourselves before others for gain?
I really hate it when people can say what I think better than I can in four paragraphs. That’s a wonderful quotation. Mark Twain has a quote that says something to the effect, “I don’t have time to write a short letter, so I’m writing you a long letter.” To be able to sum it up so quickly is a thing of beauty.
Treat your fellow people nicely, no matter who they are, and you’re doing God’s work. Simple as that.
BTW, what does this have to do with religion and sex? 😉
My $.02 Weed
Twain
” I would have written a shorter letter, but I didn’t have time”. M. Twain
One of the quotes i have on my office wall.
Uh-Oh
According to this site, it was actually Blaise Pascal who said that quote.
Oh well
My $.02 Weed
Stand Corrected
Learn something new everyday…
Twain quoting…
Twain was famous, Pascal not so much. Twain quoted Pascal, and thus was an urban legend born…
—
Matthew P. Barnson