Interesting: the writer stresses the error in equating celibacy and chasteness with "un-wholeness." When in fact it would do well for Christians (including Catholics) to have a higher view of celibacy and of wholeness beyond the confines of sexuality. Even institutions like the Catholic priesthood suffer because the wrong-minded are drawn as opposed to those with a genuine commitment to celibacy. Preoccupied with God, not sex.
Also a higher view of marriage is called for: it is far more sacred, not just a mere outlet for sex. But even 'purity culture' taken too far makes marriage out to be nothing more than that. So chasteness is only viewed as a state of anticipation, rather than as a spiritually fulfilled state of being in and of itself.
And finally contraceptive culture and pornography go hand in hand when it comes to the postmodern deconstruction of boiling everything sacred down to 'pleasure.' But most Christian churches do not cast a critical eye on contraception, just abortion.
“single-handedly”?
So what does God say on the matter? What is the only way out and will we do it?
I can think of only one example and that is in the book of Jonah, where the whole nation did what needed to be done.
“Interesting: the writer stresses the error in equating celibacy and chasteness with “un-wholeness.” When in fact it would do well for Christians (including Catholics) to have a higher view of celibacy and of wholeness beyond the confines of sexuality. Even institutions like the Catholic priesthood suffer because the wrong-minded are drawn as opposed to those with a genuine commitment to celibacy. Preoccupied with God, not sex.”
Well said.
It has been my experience that men who regularly get “serviced” by the lady they love have little interest in porn.
A civilization that exhausts pleasure before honor and righteousness will soon enough have only abuse and manipulation and sensibilities so jaded and libertine that pleasure is on the way out too.
It is not just the Church. It is America as a whole. America’s number 1 export to the world, pornography. Wow!! Ain’t we proud of what we have become?? Christ cannot come soon enough! This nation has a bullseye dead on its backside. The LORD will punish this nation straight into the depts of hell. And we have earned it.
No, pedophile priests and the “church” they belong to has been tainting religion.
Mega-expensive “churches” have been tainting religion. As someone else said, “My God isn’t broke, mister.”
Homosexual “Churches” have been tainting religion.
Christians do fine. We just stay away from organized “religion”.
i was told recently by a FReeper male that watching porn is just like watching football. they enjoy it even if you (female) do not. but no harm done.
Now I am worried about my husbands Jim Brown jersey and helmet..... both are signed!
The devaluation of virginity has been one of the hallmarks of the fall of western civ.
Nonsense
Evangelism was killed by churches teaching people that the only way to be successful in life is to go to a Christian College and become a Pastor, Missionary or get a MRS degree.
I learned a great deal about Christian history but learned nothing about relationships, planning for the future and life in general.
I became successful on my own and those who taught me what God wanted are poor, destitute and lost in the wilderness.
You may not like China’s authoritarian govenment and censorship, but they saw they danger of this. They have censored it off the internet and being involved can get you life in prison.
“And finally contraceptive culture and pornography go hand in hand when it comes to the postmodern deconstruction of boiling everything sacred down to ‘pleasure.’ But most Christian churches do not cast a critical eye on contraception, just abortion.”
Yes, that is a key point. Whatever I might disagree with Catholics on, they did correctly point out what acceptance of contraception would lead to in society.
Not many people will maintain a firm control on their sexuality just out of a devotion to God. The impulses are just too strong. The only thing that keeps people in line are having consequences to indulging those impulses. What contraception, abortion, and pornography all have in common is facilitating people indulging their impulses while avoiding the natural consequences.
Unlike ethos and logos which are based in reality, Pathos is all about "feeeeling".
Used in a sentence "The toddler whine about having to use the potty was filled with Pathos"
I wonder how much porn Mollie Tibbits murderer was indulging in.
I admit I don’t belong on this thread so sorry for that right off, but how could you let your religion be “killed” by people’s sex practices? I thought our religions were here to help us through a world filled with good and evil, sin and saintliness?
How could porn be any worse than real life wrong sex practices? And that’s been going on since there were more than 2 people. Don’t let it hurt your religion. Didn’t Jesus hang with prostitutes, trying to raise up the sinners? Onward and upward.
Slowly killing marriage, relationships, and the global birth rate.
Its like taking wheat and sugar cane, which in and of themselves are okay, and then making a sickly, unhealthy jelly donut out of them.
Your opinion only.
There's no proof that one causes the other nor that contraception is the cause of the immorality.
On the contrary, if you consider contraception a sin, then all sin is the symptom of immorality in the heart first.
Contraception does not cause promiscuity.
The desire for promiscuity, which happened first, fueled the demand for the contraceptives.
The availability of contraceptives is the symptom of the problem, not the cause of it. Catholics have it all backwards.
Sin is conceived in the heart before it is born out in the actions.
True believers will strive for holiness. It becomes part of their new nature.
Is it a problem? Yes. Does the author overstate the issue by generalizing the whole of “Evangelicals” for that the evidemce shows is a minority, in spite of the anecdotal evidence. The same is true on the Catholic priesthood. Is it - those who have committed sexual abuse - too many? Yes; way too many. Yet even that is still not a majority of Catholic priests.
There is giant journalistic failure that always fails to use a simple qualifier like “some” within a group, and leaving that qualifier out and not quantifiying evidence paints, by default , a broad brush against all of a group.
Should western Christian church leaders admit there is a social problem that even SOME of their own leaders are participant in? Sure, definately. Yet, neither Catholics or Evangelicals should accept a broad guilt that is attempting to be palced on all of their faith. Yes, they should be proactive in ferreting it out within their faith, but that is far as any group-guilt goes.
Sometimes I think these articles are not written by true Evangelicals or Catholics but by actual Liberals who know they are makeing broad-brush guilt puctires against entire faiths - for Liberals own agandas.