In short, by God's design in creating us, we are hardwired for the spiritual marriage, for becoming one with God; that's why we are so thrilled at becoming one with each other, as the images of God. As we are images of God, the sexual union is an image of union with God. It is an appetizer of Heaven, a faint image of the Beatific Vision.
Sex is close to religion because the ultimate end and center and point of all true religion is a spiritual marriage to God. That's what we are designed for, that's the only thing that will keep us in unbored ecstasy for ever. That's what the Bible says. The last event in human history, at the end of the Apocalypse, is the marriage between the Lamb and His bride, Christ and His Church, God and man. That's the end, point, purpose, highest value, greatest good, meaning, consummation and perfection of human life.
Why is sex such a thrill? Because it's one of the few things in life that's like that. It's literally an ecstasy – the word means "standing-outside-yourself", self-forgetfulness, self-transcendence, the overcoming of that hidden inner loneliness that every one of us brings into the world with that wonderful and terrible little word "I". The "I" is restless until it becomes a "We". And ultimately, that's because God is a "We".
Read More: Christian anthropology versus the Sexual Revolution ~ CERC
The power of our sexuality makes it inherently dangerous. It must be managed responsibly. When it is mis-managed it can leave a devastating impact for a lifetime.
ReplyDeleteGod built our sexuality on the model of sexual intimacy, the ability of one spirit to be intimately joined to another spirit and by that intimacy knit distinguishable persons together in a shared life. It is this capacity that makes sex so damaging when misused.
It is for this reason God surrounded sex with covenantal commitment.
Refer 1 Cor 6: 13 - 20
We are meant for Spiritual, Physical and Emotional intimacy, trying to replace all three with just the Physical is doomed to failure... When an individual or culture elevates the Physical aspect at the cost of the other two it become idolatry.
*God built our sexuality on the model of spiritual intimacy,
ReplyDeleteJeremy,
ReplyDeleteTotally agree. That bonding effect that occurs is also very destructive when not done in a committed way via casual sex, especially for women. The only way they can cope is to turn off that part of their femininity, and viola, sexually confused women abound! And men, who don't know what they are supposed to be doing as well.
Hang on.
ReplyDeleteWe have sex. We do it just like every other mammal on the planet.
We do it because it feels good, and it feels good because nature wants us to do it to perpetuate life. It is a very simple biological urge,
Why do you want to over complicate something that is so simple?
Why is religion so anti sex?
Sorry, why are religious people so anti sex?
ReplyDeleteLRO,
ReplyDeleteSex is precious enough to limit. As Peter Kreeft puts it, sex creates people. The people that are created need to be looked after, as they come out very small and helpless.
Why are religious people so anti food?
ReplyDeleteOr are they?
LM, no,that is simply your opinion. Why does sex need to be limited? We can control fertility now, you know.
ReplyDeleteAnd you may not have noticed, but there is more to sex,way more, than simply ejaculating in a vagina.
LRO, aside from your efforts to be crass, your comment is very ironic:
ReplyDeleteAnd you may not have noticed, but there is more to sex,way more..
That is exactly the position we have been consistently arguing here, and usually against you, unless it suits your purposes to flip your arguments around completely.
For example, a couple of comments earlier you said:
We do it because it feels good, and it feels good because nature wants us to do it to perpetuate life. It is a very simple biological urge,
Why do you want to over complicate something that is so simple?
One moment it's that we over-complicate things, and the next there's way more....nicely done.
Here's an experiment for you to try for a couple of months:
1. Visit prostitutes and have casual, simple, meaningless sex to satisfy your natural urges all mammals have. Let your wife and mother know.
2. Hit on your daughters girlfriends. Remind them that birth control allows safe causal sex.
3. Hit on your daughters and explain social taboos are just a cultural context thing, and they are over complicating things.
4. Join a swingers club. Take your children along. Ask for a family discount.
5. Start running adverts to hook up. Let your wife and work colleagues know. Maybe some people at your work would be interested anyway?
6. Cruise known public spots for random homosexual encounters to experiment with another aspect of what some mammals do.
Report back to the blog and share your findings and results.
What I would be interested to analyse and consider is if any complications and complexities arise, in spite of adequate birth control, and following natural urges is how you think it is the fault of religious people for pointing it out in advance of the experiment.
Where you consider the results to be fine, it would be interesting to consider the level of intimacy and depth of relationships you feel you have or if there is any sense of estrangement or isolation from your friends and family.
Then I think we could look at the far more subtle effects of this topic, and without blaming religion for offering opinions based on observations, debate the topic a little more sensibly.
1. I have used prostitutes in the past, to fulfill a need. It seemed to work out well for them and for me.
ReplyDelete2. I don't live near enough to my daughter to try this, but when we did live in the same household, I didn't find any of her friends attractive enough.
3. As above.
4. Sorry, that may be your bag, but I am too shy to let it all hang out in a group. Can't even pee at a urinal.
5. I have had a large number of sex partners, never needed to place an ad, always found it easy to meet and seduce women. Must be my male magnetism, eh?
6. Tried homo sex once, didn't like it, I seem to prefer the softness of a woman.
How about you? Ever experimented at ll, or are you hide bound by myth?
Re 1: The point is it isn't about just you and them. It's about your wife, your family. Or don't they count?
ReplyDeleteRe 2: And about their daughter's fathers, or don't they count?
Re 3: So the only thing holding you back was you didn't find your daughters attractive enough?
Re 4: Oh, you have limits? Why let limits stop you, you seem to think you can tell other people what limits they shouldn't have, and how to think.
Re 5: See point one.
Re 6: See point one.