Chastity in Today's Society
In today’s society chastity has become less of a standard in most cases. The topic of sexual morality is a rising conflict with people of all ages. Sexual morality is mandatory in becoming a strong Christian.
Many look at sexual morality as an unimportant virtue. “Modern people are always saying Sex is nothing to be ashamed of.”(Lewis 98) Lust is the main purpose of the disobeying of this moral outlook. It is a desire everyone is born with and is very difficult to ignore, especially in the adolescent years. “Perversions of the sex instinct are numerous, hard to cure, and frightful.”(Lewis 97) This gives many the thought of is it is a natural instinct its O.K. All temptations should not be given into, such as this one. Lust is the key; it is much easier to give in to Lust than to turn away from it. Life gives us many temptations and it is our job to be strong and determine to prevail over temptation.
Abstinence is an attainable goal for everyone and is a quality many strive to find in a spouse. “Chastity is the most unpopular of the Christian virtues.”(Lewis 95) The purpose of sex is procreation. To give life is a gift we are blessed with and it is a sin to take advantage of that gift. We have a purpose as humans and that purpose is to reproduce. Sexual bliss is not the goal for our lives, a world were everyone is out to achieve sexual bliss would be a world of chaos. Everyone only looking to benefit themselves is not a quality of human nature. Letting lust drive your life will push you away from a Godly life and into a life of unfulfillment.
Sexual morality, while attainable by ones self the goal is much easier reached through the help of God. “We learn, on the one hand, that we cannot trust ourselves even in our best moments, and, on the other, that we need not despair even in our worst, for our failures are forgiven.”(Lewis 102) In Gods eyes, our strive for purity, is one in which he sees our desires but will help us through if we ask for his helping hand. If God desires for us to have chastity, then who can his wishes not be the right ones?
Cohabitation is when a couple chooses to live together without marriage, becoming sexually active and turning away from God. The Catholic Church loves those who are engaged but strongly watch over them if they are cohabitating. Sex outside of marriage is morally wrong and sinful. Sadly, today cohabiting is the norm, (SC 1) unlike before where it was strongly disapproved and those who did cohabit with others were discourages but now the world does not care anymore. Many people choose to cohabit because they may feel naïve and may not understand what they are feeling or the temptation is too strong to fight. Also, many couples mistake this choice for freedom, thinking they are freer if they cohabit. That is where the virtue of chastity is needed because chastity is the virtue that helps have self-control over pleasures and wants. A chaste person is not driven by urges or passions but can control themselves for the gift of their true selves to their real spouse. God made sex as a way to express our love physically with our spouse after marriage and for procreation, but sex is abused when people use it for nothing more than for physical pleasure. (SC 1)Couples should not live together without marriage, because they will undermine the benefits of marriage and doing so will have them in spiritual danger, they will create psychological stress, and it jeopardizes family relationships.
The state of celibacy is exalted above that of marriage in the Church based upon 1 Corinthians 7:32-35, which states, " He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord: But he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife. . . . And this I speak. . . that ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction." That's a wonderful ideal, but 1 Corinthians 7:9 says, "But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn ( with passion)."
The Middle Ages were a time of expanding and experimenting sexually for the people. Religious figures who had taken vows of celibacy had children, sometimes with more than one woman. Even some popes of the time had illicit affairs. However, adultery was often condoned, especially in knights, because the Chivalry Code expected of them certain “actions”:
The Christian vision of Human Sexuality compared to many religions is seen as quite restrictive. Religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism do not put near as much effort in restricting human sexuality as Christians do. Particularly in Hinduism, sex is seen as a good thing and is even celebrated. Even more, some Hindu’s practice the teachings of the Kama Sutra “which provides the details of erotic method…presenting the particulars of various types of positions, caresses, and embraces” (LoPresti 25). These views of sexuality in Hinduism are significantly different to the views of Christianity. “How would you characterize the Christian vision of human sexuality, as relatively positive and affirming or more cautious and restrictive?” (LoPresti 137)
The Christian views on sexuality were not developed based on Christian beliefs alone. The Hellenistic perspective became one of the greatest influences on the development of Christian theology because of its opposing views to what the Catholic people believed to be morally correct. Homosexuality was not cons...
Upon reading first Corinthians 6:18-20, “Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body” (
St. Augustine's sordid lifestyle as a young man, revealed in Confessions, serves as a logical explanation for his limited view of the purpose of sexuality in marriage. His life from adolescence to age thirty-one was so united to passionate desire and sensual pleasure, that he later avoided approval of such emotions even within the sanctity of holy union. From the age of sixteen until he was freed of promiscuity fifteen years later, Augustine's life was woven with a growing desire for illicit acts, until that desire finally became necessity and controlled his will. His lust for sex began in the bath houses of Tagaste, where he was idle without schooling and "was tossed about…and boiling over in…fornications" (2.2). Also during that time, young Augustine displayed his preoccupation with sexual experience by fabricating vulgarities simply to impress his peers. In descript...
Celibacy is an art, something you have to continuously practice. A husband or wife does not learn how to be a good spouse on the day of his or her wedding. Likewise, a priest does not learn what it means to be a good priest on the day of his ordination. Being successful comes with growth. Each of us thrives in a hermeneutic experience; the priest can greater accomplish this through celibacy. A priest vows to chastity to give himself up to God and to make him available to love and help as many other people as possible, just as Jesus did. Jesus was only around for 33 years. Priests need to be the ones who continue his teachings and share His gift. The gift of celibacy that priests receive can truly bring them near God and further help the people of the community learn how to be closer to God.
...ndard that puts sex within the fidelity and security of marriage is the most responsible code that has ever been developed. You are justified in following it without apology as the best standard for protecting human, moral, and religious values that has been devised.
Education for family life and indeed for responsible life in society requires formation in chastity and self-discipline. By contrast, pornography and wanton violence can blind individuals to the divine image in the human person, can weaken marriage and family life, and can do serious harm to individuals and to society itself.
Patrick Carnes, Ph.D., the first person to identify and treat this affliction, hypothesized sex addiction results from a person needing certain neuro-chemical changes (4). Everybody experiences certain neuro-chemical changes that make the physical act of sex feel pleasurable. A normal person produces this stimulus, attains the natural high, and is satisfied. An addict, however, uses this chemical to escape pain or seek relief from stress (4). This theory supports a nature argument because there is nothing a person can do about it. Their body creates an altered response to a completely normal act and fosters an uncontrollable need to experience sex. It is comparable to an alcoholic's reaction to alcohol (4). The sex addict needs this chemical to be released in order to desensitize themselves from their problems. This is not healthy, but i...
Previous to her exclamation of the acts and harvests of marriage, The Wife of Bath begins to discuss virtues other than chastity that are expected to be mastered and practiced by all "good" Christians (115-118). She readily admits that she has no intentions of obtaining perfect chastity.
These questions arise from our own desires as Christians to reflect a biblically sound attitude towards sexuality and relationships. That same desire to act according to biblical scriptures is subject to opposition from today’s culture and views about sexual relationships, gender, and roles. A new definition of marriage, sexual orientation, and sexual practices is challenging our relationship with God and our view of human sexuality. Bishop John Spong defines sex and its impact on relationships: “Sex can be called at once the greatest gift to humanity and the greatest enigma of our lives. It is a gift in that is a singular joy for all beings and enigma in its destructive potential for people and their relationships.” (Spong, 1988)
...ole does it play in religion? Well, it has become apparent to me that sex in fact is much more than physical actions. As was mentioned, yes sometimes sex can be just pure meaningless sex. Even sometimes when people recognize the true meaning behind sex and understand the deepness it represents but chose to ignore it to engage in just physical actions it becomes meaningless sex. However, it is for those times of strong spiritual connection between couples that makes sex important. In some cases sex is just pure sex. In other cases, sex is the basis of religion, the ultimate meaning of love, the binding of two flesh that become one, and the bringing of a couple to a higher level of spirituality in their relationship. Sex is deeper than just physical actions, sex does have an important role in religion, and sex does have a strong and deep effect on spirituality.
The typical morals that were set in the early times are not the same social norms we have in the 21st century. In today 's society, it is perfectly fine to lose your virginity at a young age or even as an adult, as long as you are using protection and other alternative methods such as birth control to reduce your risks of teen pregnancy. I was sixteen years old when I first got on birth control. Although I was still a virgin up until my senior year my grandmother still didn’t want to take that chance and not try to protect me from jeopardizing my future by getting pregnant before I graduated from high school because condoms are not 100% effective. Although I was raised in a Christian household and was taught that you should always value your virginity at that age the person I lost it to I thought I was “madly in love” with them. Sex is perceived to be a great thing from the time we are young from television shows, movies, magazines, and from older friends. It’s a form of satisfaction sex is all over society and it’s absolutely normal. It’s almost impossible to even engage in television shows without seeing people kissing intimately, or even having sex. I believe that sex before marriage is ok for couples in a committed relationship, who are of age and capable of making of responsible decisions. Also, I think that many people have a misunderstanding about sex. Sometimes religion can