Above I posted a link to an article I read on CNN online today. Tyler Blanski discusses his opinions on how Christians should change their viewpoint on sex. He is not encouraging sex before marriage but explaining why sensuality is special. Recently, we have been talking a lot about purity and what it means to be pure. Is the urge to have sex mean that you are still pure? If God wanted us to be like him and stay clean, why did he make us sexual creatures? What are your opinions on the article.
Thanks,
Lauren
Hey lauren,
ReplyDeleteFirstly, I thought it was a good article he was very practical and straight forward. Secondly, I want to make a disclaimer, that I am very prude myself, even though I have a steady boyfriend. I choose not to have pre-marital sex because of personal convictions and limits. (I approach it from a feminist, and practical perspective). To answer your question, I absolutely do not think that the urge to have sex is bad. I dont even think that it is "wrong" to engage in pre-marital sex, even if I dont think it is the wisest desicion. Here is my reasoning...
I think that God is the ultimate source of goodness in the world. Something we cannot see or comprehend. Jesus gave us a small glimpse of what God is, and we cant even comprehend that (we are still arguing about it 2000 years later!). So, perhaps at the risk of being heretical, I belive that the Bible was written by men in a specific place at a specific time. Were some of the writings inspired by God? Absolutely. Yet, it was still men who wrote the books. My opinion is that when the laws were put into place, they were indoctrinated by the cultural context. Yes, it was seen as a bad thing to have sex before marriage, so why not make it a law? Everything had a law in the old testament. Laws are the foundation for Jewish spitiuality. When sex is adressed in the new testament, it is labeled as a bad thing for two reasons, 1. the background of Judaism 2. sex (almost) served as an idol in Roman culture. Paul recognized that sexuality, many times, came before God. I agree with that concept. God should come first.
Furthermore, I think that one of the primary contributors to the image of sex as a bad thing was Augustine (who had all of his fun and then made it illegal for everyone else).
Also, whether you believe in evolution or not, one must recognize that for a species to continue, it has to reproduce. (I believe in it, so I think that as we evolved, it was practical to make sexuality pleasureable). Im not sure why we would try to go against that. Even though we are sinners, I dont think it is our nature to be bad. Sex is good for sustainability if nothing else. Why lable nature as something bad if I dont think nature is bad?
Im not sure if this answers your question at all, but it looked like an interesting topic to comment on! Have a great week-end!
- Hannah B
I believe this article is relatively straight forward while dealing with a controversial subject in the minds of many. Ever since I can remember sexuality has been cast in a negative light and has been regarded for some as 'taboo'. The cause of such ambiguity regarding sexual practice may stem from those who assign a particularly literal meaning to Scripture. In my opinion, it is important to employ multiple interpretations to the text because no two analyses are identical. In other words, the opinion of one person on Christ's intentions may not be the same for another.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, I think society is in a different place than it was in Jesus' time. Practices that were once outlawed have evolved into accepted disciplines, one being sexuality. In the days of Christ people were punished for practicing premarital sex. Although premarital sex is no longer worthy of punishment it is still not considered completely acceptable. But this does not prevent people from doing it. My point is that I believe it is important to adopt Christ's teachings to the twenty first century instead of acting as if we live in a world of the past.
In Conclusion, sex is a part of life in which two people share their love for one another. That said, how could this be regarded as impure? When Christ instructed his followers to reserve sex for marriage I believe he was really saying that sex is not something to be abused, that it is truly something special; something that should be valued. Sex is an expression of love and a part of life. To call it 'impure' is to renounce it's true purpose.