Why Christianity's Infatuation With Sex?

[Skwim]

In another thread I quoted a woman who said:

"Christianity is full of messages about sexuality and how that should be expressed for each gender. For example, we were told that women don’t really think about sex (I beg to differ) and that served to multiply my shame and it amplified the feeling that I was “not normal.” I had “too much of a sex drive.” We were told that boys were visually stimulated and thought about sex on a near constant basis. We were often told that “guys use love to get sex, while girls use sex to get love.” Married women would joke about how they tolerated sex because it was their “wifely duty,” and it helped them get their husband to take out the trash. There was no mention of women who engaged in sex enthusiastically, regularly, and for the pure enjoyment of the physical act itself. In the Bible, men were warned to stay away from women like this, because it would surely lead to ruin. Girls who were promiscuous were just “looking for love” or having “daddy issues.” Surely they couldn’t simply be interested in sex because they enjoyed it."​

Although I've wondered about the Bible's various messages about sexuality, I've never asked, Why? Why does Christianity, and by extension, the Bible and it's authors, care sooo much about sex, and why do they feel the need to control how others engage in it?

Any thoughts?

 

[beenherebeforeagain]

okay, this is my take: Much of the Bible at least was written by people displaying OCD...they were vastly over-concerned (imo) with "purity," and "perfection," and etc., and wanted to have rules for everything because they were so OCD. Now, maybe there was good reason for this, considering their environment and lifestyle, but I think while most of the people didn't care much, a small portion of the population hijacked the earlier beliefs and practices and stories and turned them into the set of rules we see today. Then, Christianity came along, and became even more concerned with purity and perfection...and getting "saved," and quite frankly, any little sin or impurity gets way too much attention.

Puritanism: that deep, nagging suspicion that somewhere, someone is having fun. And that is not to be allowed!

 

[buddhist]

IMO the whole book is about controlling the masses, and sex is one of the most important ways of control.

 

[Tumah]

I don't know the answer to your question. But I do think that if you would invest as much infatuation with biotechnology as you do with knocking Christianity, the world would be a healthier place today.
Different strokes I guess.

 

[Skwim]

okay, this is my take: Much of the Bible at least was written by people displaying OCD...they were vastly over-concerned (imo) with "purity," and "perfection," and etc., and wanted to have rules for everything because they were so OCD. Now, maybe there was good reason for this, considering their environment and lifestyle, but I think while most of the people didn't care much, a small portion of the population hijacked the earlier beliefs and practices and stories and turned them into the set of rules we see today. Then, Christianity came along, and became even more concerned with purity and perfection...and getting "saved," and quite frankly, any little sin or impurity gets way too much attention.

Puritanism: that deep, nagging suspicion that somewhere, someone is having fun. And that is not to be allowed!

My question would be, why was sex in particular chosen to be an object of purity, and why were rules created to the point of designating some their infractions as sins? Could it actually come down to the nagging thought that somewhere someone is having fun and I'm not? "Nor me!" "Me either." "And I'm not getting any as well." "Hey! Let's make it taboo." "Better yet, a sin."


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[beenherebeforeagain]

My question would be, why was sex in particular chosen to be an object of purity, and why were rules created to the point of designating some their infractions as sins? Could it actually come down to the nagging thought that somewhere someone is having fun and I'm not? "Nor me!" "Me either." "And I'm not getting any as well." "Hey! Let's make it taboo." "Better yet, a sin."


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I think because YOU are focused on sex. The history of Christianity over the last 1,000 years or so had included an awful lot of preaching and activity against The Seven Deadly Sins, of which Lust is only one, and it's one of the last ones to have the religious connotation over secular laws in place (Greed, etc., having been effectively moved to the legal realm over the past several hundred years, at least in Western Europe).

 

[Skwim]

I don't know the answer to your question. But I do think that if you would invest as much infatuation with biotechnology as you do with knocking Christianity, the world would be a healthier place today.
Different strokes I guess.

Different strokes is right. And I find it interesting that you equate questioning Christianity, and by association, the Tanakh, with knocking it. Hmmmm.


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[Tumah]

Different strokes is right. And I find it interesting that you equate questioning Christianity, and by association the Tanakh, with knocking it. Hmmmm.


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I don't make that association, since I'm Jewish.

 

[Riders]

I find it odd that so many people in 12 step programs including mine sex addicts anonymous and over eaters anonymous are so set on witnessing people getting them into the Christian church will even go so far as to say you have to be Christian to get sober. the reason is do you know how many Christians raised up a Christian in the Christian church become sex addicts? A lot.

 

[Skwim]

I think because YOU are focused on sex.

???? Makes no sense.

The history of Christianity over the last 1,000 years or so had included an awful lot of preaching and activity against The Seven Deadly Sins, of which Lust is only one, and it's one of the last ones to have the religious connotation over secular laws in place (Greed, etc., having been effectively moved to the legal realm over the past several hundred years, at least in Western Europe).

Okay.

 

[jeager106]

Because it feels so good?????

Probably to keep sex among two consenting partners thus avoiding the jealous syndrome.
Thoughts?
To avoid confusion about who daddy is?
I mean with child support and all.
To make for a family unit.
After all the family unit is the basic building block of a society.

 

[Riders]

No answer yet, and I don't see Christians keeping to those laws

 

[beenherebeforeagain]

???? Makes no sense.

Sure it does: you keep posting threads about sex vis-a-vis Christianity...maybe not exclusively, but often.

And, you seem to not pay much attention to Christianity's moralizing about sloth, greed, envy, etc. Maybe you have, I just haven't notice...probably because sex is so much more interesting...

 

[Sunstone]

If you pass property down through the male side, as all patriarchies do, you tend to become very concerned with insuring that the children are indeed the biological offspring of the male whose property gets passed on to them. Hence, there's a tendency to restrict sex in various ways in order to increase the odds that the male's own children inherit his property. That's not the sole reason, in my opinion, for the concern with sex and sexuality in Christianity, but I think it's one of the reasons.

 

[Riders]

Sense most pasters are rich and greedy I wonder why they don't preach the greed law much they never preach I much either,

 

[Unveiled Artist]

In another thread I quoted a woman who said:

"Christianity is full of messages about sexuality and how that should be expressed for each gender. For example, we were told that women don’t really think about sex (I beg to differ) and that served to multiply my shame and it amplified the feeling that I was “not normal.” I had “too much of a sex drive.” We were told that boys were visually stimulated and thought about sex on a near constant basis. We were often told that “guys use love to get sex, while girls use sex to get love.” Married women would joke about how they tolerated sex because it was their “wifely duty,” and it helped them get their husband to take out the trash. There was no mention of women who engaged in sex enthusiastically, regularly, and for the pure enjoyment of the physical act itself. In the Bible, men were warned to stay away from women like this, because it would surely lead to ruin. Girls who were promiscuous were just “looking for love” or having “daddy issues.” Surely they couldn’t simply be interested in sex because they enjoyed it."​

Although I've wondered about the Bible's various messages about sexuality, I've never asked, Why? Why does Christianity, and by extension, the Bible and it's authors, care sooo much about sex, and why do they feel the need to control how others engage in it?

Any thoughts?

Sex is lust of the flesh. Outside of intercourse between two married souls, because of how strong the experience is, it is one of the biggest things the religious even Buddhist feel separates them from their god, their Dharma, or so forth.

 

[Riders]

While its true the 12 precepts in Buddhism teaches us yo be sexually moral, tehres no description of what that morality is. Most are ok witg GLBTs.

 

[Riders]

Marriage certificate isn't required.

 

[Deidre]

It would be interesting to find out when and why it all started...like why would God consider sex with consenting adults, a sin? Why is being a virgin seen as lifting people up on pedestals, in the Bible? Why is it more important for a woman to be a virgin before marriage than a man? I follow Jesus' teachings, and for all intents and purposes, I consider myself a Christian, but definitely don't subscribe to the oppressive side of the religion.

 

[Riders]

its not he never said man should not be a virgin and actually marital ceremonys were not what marriage is today. they did not get married by todays rule, theres no proof about sex before marriage. The word fornicate doesn't mean having sex before marriage Christians made it up.