Is casual sex sinful?
Posted: 19 Jul 2022, 07:05
WARNING: MAJOR DELSPAINING AHEAD!
There is a moral system that guides one in discerning right from wrong. It works everywhere in the world that is informed by the Judea-Christian tradition (which includes Islamic cultures), so pretty much most of the world. You don't need a Bible or Koran to figure it out (Aristotle did not have these).
You don't even have to be a believer.... just respect that religion exists to support the natural human code of right behavior. One can discard faith in God, but no one can discard the natural moral code.
All I can do is give it a snapshot here..... still tl;dr. Q. & A. format:
Q. Why do we exist?
A. God made us. We are made for God. Our ultimate happiness can only be found in having a mutual loving relationship with God. Loving like that of a parent and child.
"Having a right relationship with God" is what most Christians means when we speak of "salvation."
Q. What is sin?
A. Sin is anything that separates us from God and His love. Sin is always some sort of selfish behavior, choosing my own will and pleasure instead of the moral good. This leads to unhappiness.
Q. Why do we sin?
A. As a whole, humanity has lost our relationship with God. We no longer see Him clearly. And so we are easily tempted to seek shortcuts to happiness, resulting in foolish and harmful choices.
Q. How should we treat our fellow human beings?
A. We should desire their happiness as much as we desire our own happiness. Often, this means that I must sacrifice my own comfort and pleasure to make sure that another person's needs are secured. Again, as a parent cares for a child and as a child obeys his parents.
A peaceful and thriving society is built on this cooperation.... especially in our personal relationships.
- As a society, we tax ourselves to establish governments, courts, police and armies. This secures our safety from criminals and invaders. This secures justice for the weak who would be oppressed by the strong.
- In personal relationships, we must not use others for our own pleasure or gain.
- In all things, we must not tempt others into sin. We do all things to help others achieve happiness -- seeing that their physical needs are met, opening the way for them to grow closer to God, placing no obstacles in their paths.
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So let's apply this thinking to "casual sex," and why human society insists that such activity is immoral:
Q. What is sex for?
A. Sex has two purposes:
- The primary purpose of sex is to bring forth children.
- The secondary purpose (because it is in service to the first) is to bond the father and mother intimately so that they may work together as one to raise their children.
- To serve these purposes, sex is designed by God and nature to be pleasurable.
Q. Why is casual sex immoral?
A. This abuses and frustrates the purposes of sex. There is no desire for children, and no desire for bonding.
ABUSING SEX FOR PLEASURE IS LIKE ABUSING DRUGS FOR PLEASURE. BOTH LEAD US AWAY FROM THE REAL HAPPINESS THAT WE SEEK. And both almost always leave a wake of devastation and pain for other people around us.
The core problem is that this is abusing another person for one's own pleasure. This is degrading to the other person.
And you are allowing another person to abuse you. This is degrading to yourself.
Often some material value is traded as well (money, dinner, drugs, a place to stay), further underscoring the transactional nature of the relationship.
The degradation is masked by the momentary pleasure and transactional gain, but it is ultimately harmful to both persons -- and to everyone else who has to live in a promiscuous society. It leads to divorce, children conceived without loving parents, and overall loss of self-worth.
Our first problem is that we don't define our terms. We throw around vague words like "sin" and "faith" and "salvation," and rarely do we clearly define what we mean.Troubadour wrote: 18 Jul 2022, 03:20 In the 21st century, would you say that casual sex is sinful? Please elaborate.
There is a moral system that guides one in discerning right from wrong. It works everywhere in the world that is informed by the Judea-Christian tradition (which includes Islamic cultures), so pretty much most of the world. You don't need a Bible or Koran to figure it out (Aristotle did not have these).
You don't even have to be a believer.... just respect that religion exists to support the natural human code of right behavior. One can discard faith in God, but no one can discard the natural moral code.
All I can do is give it a snapshot here..... still tl;dr. Q. & A. format:
Q. Why do we exist?
A. God made us. We are made for God. Our ultimate happiness can only be found in having a mutual loving relationship with God. Loving like that of a parent and child.
"Having a right relationship with God" is what most Christians means when we speak of "salvation."
Q. What is sin?
A. Sin is anything that separates us from God and His love. Sin is always some sort of selfish behavior, choosing my own will and pleasure instead of the moral good. This leads to unhappiness.
Q. Why do we sin?
A. As a whole, humanity has lost our relationship with God. We no longer see Him clearly. And so we are easily tempted to seek shortcuts to happiness, resulting in foolish and harmful choices.
Q. How should we treat our fellow human beings?
A. We should desire their happiness as much as we desire our own happiness. Often, this means that I must sacrifice my own comfort and pleasure to make sure that another person's needs are secured. Again, as a parent cares for a child and as a child obeys his parents.
A peaceful and thriving society is built on this cooperation.... especially in our personal relationships.
- As a society, we tax ourselves to establish governments, courts, police and armies. This secures our safety from criminals and invaders. This secures justice for the weak who would be oppressed by the strong.
- In personal relationships, we must not use others for our own pleasure or gain.
- In all things, we must not tempt others into sin. We do all things to help others achieve happiness -- seeing that their physical needs are met, opening the way for them to grow closer to God, placing no obstacles in their paths.
==========================================================
So let's apply this thinking to "casual sex," and why human society insists that such activity is immoral:
Q. What is sex for?
A. Sex has two purposes:
- The primary purpose of sex is to bring forth children.
- The secondary purpose (because it is in service to the first) is to bond the father and mother intimately so that they may work together as one to raise their children.
- To serve these purposes, sex is designed by God and nature to be pleasurable.
Q. Why is casual sex immoral?
A. This abuses and frustrates the purposes of sex. There is no desire for children, and no desire for bonding.
ABUSING SEX FOR PLEASURE IS LIKE ABUSING DRUGS FOR PLEASURE. BOTH LEAD US AWAY FROM THE REAL HAPPINESS THAT WE SEEK. And both almost always leave a wake of devastation and pain for other people around us.
The core problem is that this is abusing another person for one's own pleasure. This is degrading to the other person.
And you are allowing another person to abuse you. This is degrading to yourself.
Often some material value is traded as well (money, dinner, drugs, a place to stay), further underscoring the transactional nature of the relationship.
The degradation is masked by the momentary pleasure and transactional gain, but it is ultimately harmful to both persons -- and to everyone else who has to live in a promiscuous society. It leads to divorce, children conceived without loving parents, and overall loss of self-worth.