Kelsee Williams
Professor John Carlson
REL 381- First Paper Topic
26 February 2014
Word Count: 983
Wanted: Real Sex
Everyone wants to have good sex. Just flipping through the pages of popular magazines we are bombarded with articles offering advice and tips in our pursuit of good sex. But what about real sex? In our hyper-sexualized culture, good sex has mistakenly become synonymous with real sex. This erroneous link between good and real has resulted in a deterioration of sexual ethics. In our cultural pursuit of good sex, we have traded Christian teachings and scriptures about sex for those set out in Cosmo. Fact of the matter is, good sex is not necessarily real sex but real sex is always good. In Lauren Winner’s Real Sex: The Naked Truth About Chastity, Winner attempts to correct this wave of sexual immorality overwhelming our culture. Winner emphasizes the relevance and importance of scripture and Christian tradition as a remedy for such moral decay. In her argument, Winner boldly states that real sex may only be experienced with marriage and sex outside of marriage is not only forbade by the Church but a sexual sin and act of immoral behavior of which takes place outside God’s original intent and is incompatible with natural law. Critics of this basis for sexual law find this approach to be flawed in the context of modern day as discriminatory laws bar some sexual relationships from attaining the right of marriage or one’s inability to reproduce, despite commitment of marriage to one another.
“God created sex for marriage” (Winner: 2002, 29) Sex outside of marriage is not only forbade by the church, but a sexual sin inharmonious with natural law (Winner: 2005, 38). For something to be morally good, it must fulfill it’s ...
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...l, is not a moral justification for premarital sex. Because pleasure is not the purpose of sex and immoral, it is not able not possibly moral. Often opponents argue from the position of homosexual couples who are unable to marry. In such an approach, homosexual sex would be accepted as immortal as the can neither reproduce nor wed. Such a sexual relationship is inherently unnatural as it consists of two people of the same gender. In addition, many also argue that those who are able to marry, but unable to reduce are acting outside of natural law due to their inability to fulfill the purpose of sex. Although God created sex for marriage, the meaning of marriage is embedded in the societal structure stimulated through procreation. Anything other of which lies outside of these specific and clearly defined contexts is morally wrong and a direct threat to rightly order.
"Pontifical Council for the Family, The Truth and Meaning of Human Sexuality." HUMAN SEXUALITY. N.p., 8 Dec. 1995. Web. 19 Nov. 2013.
In today’s society religion is a life decision that influences the choices the people in that certain religion make. One major influence that stands in the way for a comprehensive sex education and hinders Shelby’s views is her strong devotion and beliefs to Christianity. Reverend Ed Ainsworth has been a key character within the film. He is a pastor that preaches and educates to upcoming teens and young adults in the approach of abstinence until marriage when it comes to sex. With his program, True Love Waits, he is able to use a religious tactic and quote from biblical contexts to influence these uneducated teens about sex that this method i...
Wengert, Timothy J. "The Book of Concord and Human Sexuality, Seen Through the Institution Of Marriage." Dialog: A Journal of Theology 48.1 (2009): 9-18. Academic Search Premier. Web. 5 May 2014.
The term “compulsory sexuality” refers to a set of attitudes, institutions, and practices that enforce the belief that sexual...
Since the dawn of man, sex has played a crucial role in society. Before they learned to read or write humans were engaging in sex and without it none of us would be here. In today’s society, sex has grown to become much more complicated. If I were to ask a group of people on the street what they believed sex was? I bet they would have a hard time answering. The question puzzling society today is how do we define sex? Can we define sex? These are questions raised in Tracy Steele’s article “Doing it: The Social Construction of S-E-X”. This article is about the current questions and issues that have been raised about sex within today’s society. In this paper I will summarize the key points of the article, while sharing my own thoughts and opinions of Steele’s findings.
A considerable amount of religions, object to premarital sex. Religious entities, Christianity specifically, put much stress on the solid association between morality and happiness. Christianity guarantees satisfaction to individuals who are morally upright. Happiness comes as a prize to those who fit in with the general religious standards, which consists of abstaining from premarital sex. The joy you feel when you partake in that activity before marriage, doesn’t compare to the joy you’ll experience when you are married and sex is allowed. What essentially being said is religious teachings validate the perspective that morality is important for
“Sex and religion? Those two don’t really go hand in hand,” commented by a freshmen student from UF. Like this student, numerous people around the world believe this misconception to be true. Whether people argue for or against the importance of sex in religion, more than just what goes on the bedroom has been heating up lately. Many debates have sparked due to the negative connotation associated with sex when confronted about its position in religious cultures. A study done had proven a direct relationship between religiosity and sexual attitudes in college student, but to what extent are their spiritual values influential in their sexual beliefs and what are the reasons behind this (Beckwith, n.pg.). Either way, there is to some extent an influence on sexual behavior, whether it is by gender, ethnicity, or religion. After extensive research and several interviews, I’m determined to find the truth about sex and its importance in religious cultures, its effects on spirituality, and the roles it plays in religion.
Richard Wasserstrom argues the theory of open marriage is not acknowledged as immoral by the virtue of not breaking the conditions and principles in adultery and morality defined by
Milstein, Susan A. Taking Sides Clashing Views in Human Sexuality. Ed. William J. Taverner and Ryan W. McKee. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2009. Print.
“…sex attains meaning in social relations, which implies that we can only make appropriate choices around sexuality by understanding its social, cultueral and political context.” (Quote: 9293 jeffrey weeks)
In John Corvino’s essay, “Why Shouldn’t Tommy and Jim Have Sex?” he advocates his argument that gay sex is not “unnatural” in any moral way. However, this argument is easy to critique when considering opposition from natural law theorists, democracy, and other perspective ideas.
The viewpoints that are the most vehemently opposed to legalizing prostitution in the United States stem from religious ideals. Charles Clark, senior editor at the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, suggests that sex out of marriage is a large factor in the disapproval of prostitution from religious Americans (1993). The religious perspective offers something than many prostitution arguments lack. A series of guidelines and clear cut rules on the matter. Evelina Giobbe (as cited in Clark, 1993), director of Women Hurt in Systems of Prostitution, implies that most religious groups find that prostitution is immoral (1993). The idea that prostitution is immoral makes making policy on the matter easy. Those who prescribe to the religious way of thinking seem to suggest that prostitution should not be allowed and therefore criminalized. On the other hand there are arguments against prostitution that feel that it is immoral for other reasons.
The famous bishop of Hippo, St. Augustine, is claimed as a cornerstone of Christian theology by both Catholics and Protestants. Many of his views are regarded by Christians as authoritative interpretations of the Bible because they have withstood heated debate throughout the centuries. Christians ought to ask, however, whether such allegiance is justifiable in all cases. Augustine's idea of sex after matrimony, for example, is very narrow, restricting actions and emotions married Christians today consider part of the beauty of intercourse. A logical assertion then, is that Augustine's view of sexuality, as delineated in many writings, is a response to his life of sensuality prior to salvation; therefore, his idea about the intent for sex within marriage stems more from his former sin than from Biblical perspective.
I will begin first with the idea that sexual behavior should not be granted its own moral code. Sexual ethics only makes sense if sexuality plays a unique role in human life. If procreation has significance precisely because it is a contribution to God's ongoing work of creation, sexuality is supremely important and must be governed by restrictive rules, which would therefore prohibit sexual acts that are not for procreative purposes. This justification of sexuality as a unique aspect of human life, however, is dependent on a theological claim that there exists a God who micro manages the sexual lives of individuals. Without the presence of such a God, there can exist no separate restrictive rules on the nature of sexual acts. Even if we grant that there is a God, most people will agree that sex is more often used as a way to intensify the bond between two people and therefor sex is the ultimate trust and intimacy that you can share with a person.
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)