Are our bodies like prison cells?

[HardRockGTR]

Again, body is blamed for something totally unrelated to the body.

What about erections during slumber? Surely that cannot be a matter of the soul.

I’ve woken up in the morning with erections before I ever had impure thoughts and still was at the age where people feared cooties.

 

[GEddie]

What about erections during slumber? Surely that cannot be a matter of the soul.

I’ve woken up in the morning with erections before I ever had impure thoughts and still was at the age where people feared cooties.

It isn’t a sin, either.

Why would you think that it was?

ICXC NIKA

 

[HardRockGTR]

It isn’t a sin, either.

Why would you think that it was?

ICXC NIKA

First: I’m sleepy and can’t really think straight, so I’ll admit of likely saying entirely and blatantly wrong things.

Second: The soul is the reason we have bodily addictions, as previously mentioned. Our feeding of desires is what makes us want them more. Erections occur because of sexual arousal, whether intentional or not. I just found it curious that I’d get them before I even knew what sex was.

 

[GEddie]

First: I’m sleepy and can’t really think straight, so I’ll admit of likely saying entirely and blatantly wrong things.

Second: The soul is the reason we have bodily addictions, as previously mentioned. Our feeding of desires is what makes us want them more. Erections occur because of sexual arousal, whether intentional or not. I just found it curious that I’d get them before I even knew what sex was.

No mystery there.

Our bodies keep our minds alive (or rather, hold the life for our minds), so body always needs to be a step ahead of the mind in order to meet the mind’s needs.

ICXC NIKA

 

[HardRockGTR]

That seems to suggest that the body is initially responsible for our addictions, albeit only a little bit.

 

[GEddie]

That seems to suggest that the body is initially responsible for our addictions, albeit only a little bit.

Not really.

Addiction is a response to something that should not be present, something the mind caused to be there.

There is a biological component, but the addictive behavior needs to trigger that component.

We would not bec

 

[GEddie]

That seems to suggest that the body is initially responsible for our addictions, albeit only a little bit.

Not really.

Addiction is a response to something that should not be present, something the mind caused to be there.

There is a biological component, but the addictive behavior needs to trigger that component.

We would not become addicted physically if our minds did not become dependent first.

ICXC NIKA

 

[HardRockGTR]

But like I said, I had the physical aspect before the psychological aspect. I would wake up in the morning with, to put things lightly, an engorged corpus cavernosum, before I even understood why, and before I even had impure thoughts.

 

[GEddie]

But like I said, I had the physical aspect before the psychological aspect. I would wake up in the morning with, to put things lightly, an engorged corpus cavernosum, before I even understood why, and before I even had impure thoughts.

That’s different from an addiction. That’s just your natural, human soma, getting ready to meet the needs of your sexual nature when the time came, and waiting for your mental/emotional/social self to catch up.

Addiction is different. There, the mental and social self drive the otherwise innocent soma into a behavior body was never designed for.

ICXC NIKA

 

[HardRockGTR]

That’s different from an addiction. That’s just your natural, human soma, getting ready to meet the needs of your sexual nature when the time came, and waiting for your mental/emotional/social self to catch up.

Addiction is different. There, the mental and social self drive the otherwise innocent soma into a behavior body was never designed for.

ICXC NIKA

Makes sense. Alright.

 

[Robert_Sock]

“We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the sinful body might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin.”
-Romans 6:6

 

[tonyrey]

“We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the sinful body might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin.”
-Romans 6:6

My emphasis!

St Paul goes on to say:

“11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. 14** For sin shall no longer be your master**, because you are not under the law, but under grace.
15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! 16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.”

Our bodies are **not **prison cells when we resist physical temptations. They give us a magnificent opportunity to glorify God and liberate ourselves with art, music, the liturgy, ceremonies, processions, pilgrimages - and above all the Holy Eucharist.

 

[Robert_Sock]

My emphasis!

St Paul goes on to say:

“11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. 14** For sin shall no longer be your master**, because you are not under the law, but under grace.
15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! 16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.”

Our bodies are **not **prison cells when we resist physical temptations. They give us a magnificent opportunity to glorify God and liberate ourselves with art, music, the liturgy, ceremonies, processions, pilgrimages - and above all the Holy Eucharist.

But we all remain in sin (within the sinful body) until the day we die.

1 John 1:10
If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

 

[davidv]

But we all remain in sin (within the sinful body) until the day we die.
1 John 1:10
If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Not true. A good confession cleanses us from sin and releases from any sin.

1468 "The whole power of the sacrament of Penance consists in restoring us to God’s grace and joining us with him in an intimate friendship."73 Reconciliation with God is thus the purpose and effect of this sacrament. For those who receive the sacrament of Penance with contrite heart and religious disposition, reconciliation "is usually followed by peace and serenity of conscience with strong spiritual consolation."74 Indeed the sacrament of Reconciliation with God brings about a true “spiritual resurrection,” restoration of the dignity and blessings of the life of the children of God, of which the most precious is friendship with God.75
1469 This sacrament reconciles us with the Church. Sin damages or even breaks fraternal communion. The sacrament of Penance repairs or restores it. In this sense it does not simply heal the one restored to ecclesial communion, but has also a revitalizing effect on the life of the Church which suffered from the sin of one of her members.76 Re-established or strengthened in the communion of saints, the sinner is made stronger by the exchange of spiritual goods among all the living members of the Body of Christ, whether still on pilgrimage or already in the heavenly homeland:77
It must be recalled that . . . this reconciliation with God leads, as it were, to other reconciliations, which repair the other breaches caused by sin. The forgiven penitent is reconciled with himself in his inmost being, where he regains his innermost truth. He is reconciled with his brethren whom he has in some way offended and wounded. He is reconciled with the Church. He is reconciled with all creation.78

 

[Robert_Sock]

Not true. A good confession cleanses us from sin and releases from any sin.

Then one good confession should set us sin-free for life, but that is not the case.

 

[tonyrey]

*St Paul goes on to say:

“have not sinned” does not mean “are sinning”.

If we all remained in sin until the day we die we would all go to hell! St Paul makes it quite clear we have been set free from sin.

It doesn’t make sense to describe the body as sinful because the body doesn’t know what it is doing. Jesus told us that sin comes from within:

“But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

 

[CrossofChrist]

But we all remain in sin (within the sinful body) until the day we die.

But our body isn’t sinful per se.

 

[Robert_Sock]

“have not sinned” does not mean “are sinning”.

We sin in this life until the day we die.

If we all remained in sin until the day we die we would all go to hell! St Paul makes it quite clear we have been set free from sin.

This is why the Sacrament of Reconciliation is so important. We do not go to confession once and then forget about it, but we confess our sins throughout our lifetime.

It doesn’t make sense to describe the body as sinful because the body doesn’t know what it is doing. Jesus told us that sin comes from within:

“But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” [highlight mine]

From within what? From within the body. The body may not know what it is doing, but it paves the way of sins through the five senses. This is why the monastic way of life warns against the lusts of the five senses. Worldly beauty, for example, goes against monastic rule because God alone is beautiful.

 

[davidv]

Then one good confession should set us sin-free for life, but that is not the case.

This is simply not the case because even though a confession frees us from sin, we can still refuse the grace to resist temptations and fall back into sin. It has nothing to do with the efficacy of repentance, but everything to do with free will. The real world is evidence that you statement is false. There is no magic in repentance that lasts for life.

 

[tonyrey]

“have not sinned” does not mean “are sinning”.

Do you mean we are compelled to sin every day?

If we all remained in sin until the day we die we would all go to hell! St Paul makes it quite clear we have been set free from sin

*.

This is why the Sacrament of Reconciliation is so important. We do not go to confession once and then forget about it, but we confess our sins throughout our lifetime.

So everyone who doesn’t confess their sins goes to hell?

It doesn’t make sense to describe the body as sinful because the body doesn’t know what it is doing. Jesus told us that sin comes from within:

“But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” [highlight mine]

From within what? From within the body. The body may not know what it is doing, but it paves the way of sins through the five senses.

“paves the way” implies that the body is intended by God to be a source of temptation. Do you believe that?

This is why the monastic way of life warns against the lusts of the five senses. Worldly beauty, for example, goes against monastic rule because God alone is beautiful.

So beautiful statues, paintings and cathedrals are regarded as sources of temptation and shunned by nuns and monks?

“Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.”

How do you explain what Jesus said?