Debating Christianity and Religion

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The Bible says people shouldn't have sexual intercourse (sex) before marriage, and, in fact, deems sex so distasteful, even immoral, that god had to invent marriage to legitimize it.

So, for whatever reason, god finds sex pretty reprehensible, for which he provides only a single remedy, and one not fitting everybody. However, according to the most recent statistics I could find, of never-married 18-22 year-olds, on average 74% of Christian females and Christian males have had premarital sex.



source


Now, considering god's stand on premarital sex, to me them's pretty daunting statistics. Chastity be damned, as it were. Stats I would think to be more fitting the non-religious.

In fact, as of five months ago "half of U.S. Christians say casual sex between consenting adults is sometimes or always acceptable."
source (My emphasis)



So, what do you think about chastity and sex before marriage? In time will chastity no longer be a concern of Christianity?

And what group do you fall into?


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JehovahsWitness wrote: ↑Fri Feb 12, 2021 3:02 pm

Miles wrote: ↑Fri Feb 12, 2021 2:50 pm
That because marriage is the gift, so too must sex be the gift, because that's not what it says.

Yes, but that is what we can reasonably conclude. A gift can be defined as "something given willingly to someone without payment". Since nobody could force an omipotent God to give anything, if God gave us sex, orgasm and sexual pleasure, it was because he wanted to.

Which is the quandary here. God gave us something, but doesn't want us to use it. So, although sex may be a gift in our eyes, it obviously wasn't meant to be in his “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” Go figure. It's like the other contradictions I listed in post 39.

He wasn't forced to and he certainly didnt need the money, so what do we conclude? That SEX was a gift.

Just like other things people are not forced to do:


Point being, used as such, "gift" is rendered trivial.


GOTTA SAY, the subject here has run its course and is no longer of any interest. So post. Don't post. But to everyone here






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Sex is a gift, to be used with care is what I believe. It is not to be indulged in without a great deal of care. Because it is something so good, it can be addictive and easily misused. All around us we see careless, wanton use of it. Yet though it is essentially a wonderful aspect of ourselves, it has immense power to corrupt and harm ourselves and others.
Look at how it is portrayed in film and media, cheapened and misused.
Acting with care, wisdom and love is the way surely God wants us to proceed. So the Bible guides us.

Rose2020 wrote: ↑Mon May 09, 2022 1:44 am Sex is a gift, to be used with care is what I believe. It is not to be indulged in without a great deal of care. Because it is something so good, it can be addictive and easily misused. All around us we see careless, wanton use of it. Yet though it is essentially a wonderful aspect of ourselves, it has immense power to corrupt and harm ourselves and others.
Look at how it is portrayed in film and media, cheapened and misused.
Acting with care, wisdom and love is the way surely God wants us to proceed. So the Bible guides us.

Sex is not a gift. It is a product of the evolutionary process that provides a mechanism and driving force for reproduction. There is nothing wrong with sex before marriage. It existed for eons, long before the concept of marriage. The only part I agree with is that it should be indulged in with some care. In the distant past when human lifespans were short and most conceptions or even births probably failed early on, getting pregnant did not present the issues that it might today. But, that said, the hormones providing the impetus and the desire to have sex have not changed. People will engage in it for pleasure most of the time and you can't fight that. By the way, one of the advantages of same sex coupling is that the pleasure is still there without the threat of being burdened with an unplanned or unwanted pregnancy. Everything makes so much more sense when you take God out of the picture.

[Replying to brunumb in post #43]

That is such a bleak view, as if we are like brute beasts, just reproducing or indulging mindlessly because it feels good.
If sex has no meaning it is best avoided. Certainly any person valuing their emotional well-being should steer clear of all that!

Rose2020 wrote: ↑Thu May 12, 2022 3:54 am [Replying to brunumb in post #43]

That is such a bleak view,

Are you suggesting that because you consider it bleak that it isn't true? Not everything which is true is happy go lucky.


Tcg

[Replying to Tcg in post #45]

Depends how you view things. Yes it's true we are as the beasts in many ways. Yet we have minds and souls to enable us to soar above what is merely base function.

Rose2020 wrote: ↑Thu May 12, 2022 3:54 am [Replying to brunumb in post #43]

That is such a bleak view, as if we are like brute beasts, just reproducing or indulging mindlessly because it feels good.
If sex has no meaning it is best avoided. Certainly any person valuing their emotional well-being should steer clear of all that!

Bleak? Indulging in sex just to please God or on the occasions when reproduction is required truly sounds bleak. Feel free to steer clear of sex if that is how you feel, but anyone valuing their well being will avoid suppressing natural instincts or indulging in pleasurable activities. I wonder if that suppression is what leads to failed marriages, adultery, seeking out pornography and so on that is not uncommon at all among 'faithful' Christians.

Rose2020 wrote: ↑Thu May 12, 2022 4:13 am [Replying to Tcg in post #45]

Depends how you view things. Yes it's true we are as the beasts in many ways. Yet we have minds and souls to enable us to soar above what is merely base function.

Base function? Where did that come from? I addressed your comment about a "bleak view." Care to address it?


Tcg

I just say keep the gift of your body for a truly special person that you love. Don't squander God's gifts.

Rose2020 wrote: ↑Thu May 12, 2022 5:04 am I just say keep the gift of your body for a truly special person that you love. Don't squander God's gifts.

You do realize do you not that people have sex many, many times, and that few of them look upon it, or even the first time, as some kind of gift from god. Heck, birds do it, bees do it. Even educated fleas do it. So, other than being notable as "my first time," it often fades into an "Hmmm, could have done that a lot better" kind of event. AND, why does love have to be involved? Granted that having sex with someone you love can be meaningful, but it's no game changer. In fact, today sex almost always precedes love. The old adage about saving oneself for marriage is just one of those admonitions handed down from past generations to save young-uns from the peril of unwanted pregnancy. Not a bad ploy years ago, but today with so many contraceptives on the market, post coital interrupters, and abortion on demand, "keeping the gift of your body for a truly special person that you love" is a pretty dated and widely ignored notion.


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