Why is the Church against sexuality?

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How do I answer the question–that I have and others have posed to me–“why is the Church against sexuality? Always putting restrictions on what we should and shouldn’t do, can and can’t do?”

Thankyou
 
EVERY sane person and society places plenty of restrictions on sexuality - EVERY sane person and society has PLENTY of sexual behaviours that it finds intolerable - pedophilia, bestiality, infidelity, incest and others. Sex is very restricted both within and outside the Church because it is something that is very powerful and an area where a lot of harm can be done.

And states and legal systems place restrictions on sex in areas where the Church doesn’t particularly get involved. For example statutory rape laws that arbitrarily make even consensual sex involving a 17 year old a crime. The Church instead would wisely acknowledge that a percentage of 17 year olds are perfectly ready for both marriage and sex, and would look at it on a case-by-case basis.

Finally, to say that because the Church places plenty of restrictions on sex, it is against sexuality makes no sense. Fort Knox, where most of the world’s gold is, or used to be, held, is probably one of the most restricted, heavily fortified places on earth. Is that because society is anti-gold? Despises it? On the contrary, it is because we value it and prize it SO highly that we guard it so jealously!

Think of the other areas where the Church has lots of restrictions - marriage, the priesthood, Holy Communion. These are all things it values most highly and promotes most vigorously. But, at the same time, it places restrictions upon them to impress upon us their value and worth, their sacred character. So that we don’t take them for granted. Sex isn’t just a recreational activity or a social or physical bond, it is so much more, and the Church appropriately treats it as being more.
 
LilyM said:
EVERY sane person and society places plenty of restrictions on sexuality - EVERY sane person and society has PLENTY of sexual behaviours that it finds intolerable - pedophilia, bestiality, infidelity, incest and others. Sex is very restricted both within and outside the Church because it is something that is very powerful and an area where a lot of harm can be done.

And states and legal systems place restrictions on sex in areas where the Church doesn’t particularly get involved. For example statutory rape laws that arbitrarily make even consensual sex involving a 17 year old a crime. The Church instead would wisely acknowledge that a percentage of 17 year olds are perfectly ready for both marriage and sex, and would look at it on a case-by-case basis.

Finally, to say that because the Church places plenty of restrictions on sex, it is against sexuality makes no sense. Fort Knox, where most of the world’s gold is, or used to be, held, is probably one of the most restricted, heavily fortified places on earth. Is that because society is anti-gold? Despises it? On the contrary, it is because we value it and prize it SO highly that we guard it so jealously!

Think of the other areas where the Church has lots of restrictions - marriage, the priesthood, Holy Communion. These are all things it values most highly and promotes most vigorously. But, at the same time, it places restrictions upon them to impress upon us their value and worth, their sacred character. So that we don’t take them for granted. Sex isn’t just a recreational activity or a social or physical bond, it is so much more, and the Church appropriately treats it as being more.
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Great analogy with Fort Knox, I am going to use that.

What I am looking to answer is the question to the youth why they can’t be sexually active. It is their bodies and they want to enjoy them.
 
The Church in fact is the leader in promoting healthy sexuality.
 
Questioning said:
Great analogy with Fort Knox, I am going to use that.

What I am looking to answer is the question to the youth why they can’t be sexually active. It is their bodies and they want to enjoy them.
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They ‘want to enjoy them’ because they have an evolutionary imparative to reproduce. If they want to live as animals (not deragatory, that’s just the best description of an instinct based existance), that’s their choice. Catholicism is meant for those looking for a higher code to live by.
 
Questioning said:
Great analogy with Fort Knox, I am going to use that.

What I am looking to answer is the question to the youth why they can’t be sexually active. It is their bodies and they want to enjoy them.
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Their bodies? And on what basis do they argue that claim? Did they create their bodies? Did they provide, without any assistance from anyone else, all the food that nourished it, all the housing that sheltered it, all the clothing and medical care that kept if healthy? No.

That being the case, others have a claim on their bodies as well. Not least of all God who created them and the Church which passes His teachings about them on to us! And also not least of all their future spouses and children, since what we do now sexually absolutely has an impact on them.
 
well, one reason so many don’t seem to understand this is because of how perverted and lukewarm to lust the world has become, it is very much conditioning and influence by society and by things like tv and computer and other things.

first of all, what does lust mean? the actual definition of lust is “intense sexual desire or appetite.” or “uncontrolled or illicit sexual desire or appetite”

that probably sounds wrong or not what you though of lust being, but that is it, sex is very much pushed right now, exploring your sexual desires, giving in to your curiosities, we’re told that these things are normal and natural, and that everyone experiences these things growing up and that it’s perfectly alright…well who tells us those things? good catholic teachers? good priests? nuns? the Pope? no, none of them tell us those things, try to remember who tells you these things, they are not Catholic…or atleast not good Catholics.

if you are catholic, then you need to listen to the Church, the Church is the only authority that Jesus left for us to learn our faith, Jesus gave the Church authority over our teaching so we would have someone to trust, and because Jesus told us to trust in and follow His church, then we can do no wrong and cannot be held accountable for anything we do in obedience to the teachings of the Church.

so what does the Church teach on sexuality?
well first off, they have never in history said it is wrong, sex is a natural thing we need for procreation, and it is an expression of love, God made it after all, so of course it is a good thing, but like all good things God has given us, it can be misused,
and unfortunately it is the most misused thing currently, so much so that people have been fooled into thinking lustful actions and imaginations are normal,
another name for the sin of lust is sins of the flesh, and they are in most cases the hardest sins to overcome, and will most likely temp you the rest of your life if you have fallen into them…there have probably only been a very small number of people throughout history who have not been plagued with temptation to sins of the flesh…

so as for lust, here is one of the catholic teaching on why it is wrong…
“Lust is an inordinate desire for or enjoyment of sexual pleasure. The desires or acts are inordinate when they do not confirm to the divinely ordained purpose of sexual pleasure, which is to foster the mutual love of husband and wife and, according to the dispositions of providence, to procreate and educate their children.”

so basically what we as Catholics believe is, the act of sex should only be preformed between husband and wife, and only in a manner leaving open the conception of a child.

why can’t we experience the sexual pleasures alone or outside of marriage?
well for one, we are temples of the Holy Spirit, if you were to masturbate for example, then you would be defiling the temple of the Holy Spirit, and isn’t that a rather shameful thing to do with Jesus inside of you? with your guardian angel watching you…if God didn’t mind the sexual pleasures being used this way, then do you think it would be a good an holy thing? and therefore priests could do it? or nuns? of course not…that’s just shameful and disgusting…

of course people want to have the sexual pleasures to themselves to use as they please, they feel good after all, but isn’t that why we all sin in the first place? because it makes us feel good…we wouldn’t sin if it felt horrible while we were doing it,

ok…to explain this alittle better, because i know i’m not answering your question very well, i’ll explain love…
first of all, love is not a feeling, you get feelings from love, but love itself is in the will, it is also charity, because it is something we only give, love is never taken, it cannot be taken, it can only be given, and received.
we show our love in many ways, but the greatest proof of our love for another is by sacrifice, love and sacrifice are almost interchangeable words, to say i love you without proving it is meaningless, if you are not willing to suffer for the one you love, then your love is a selfish one,
so, where i am going with this is, if you truly love someone, including God, then you would never commit sexual actions with another outside of marriage, and never with yourself, because God has said, not fornicators, adulterers, liars with mankind(and so on and so forth) will inherit the kingdom of God…knowing this, how could you allow the one you love to preform such actions? you basically say, “i love you, so lets go to hell together!” does that make sense? of course not…so when you love someone, but you feel these sexual desires, the only answer is to suffer in fighting them, when you can’t fight them or even refuse to fight them, then i think it’s at that point you need to question your so called “love” for the person you are with…so to answer your question specifically…

the reason the church has so much to say on what restrictions there are in regards to human sexual thoughts words and deeds, is because they love us! they do care if we go to hell, and God loves us more then anyone ever could, and He is the one who has told us of these sins, the church has not declared them sins, they have only taught them as such according to the word of God, the Church cannot ease up or change any of these sins because they have been revealed to us by God, and to change that would be in complete disobedience and defiance with God…so, i hope that helps answer your question,

but here are some reading materials for you that i’m sure will explain much better what you need to know…
columbia.edu/cu/augustine/arch/chastity.html
gaiaonline.com/guilds/viewtopic.php?t=13047641

ok, hope this helps, take care.
 
LilyM said:
Their bodies? And on what basis do they argue that claim? Did they create their bodies? Did they provide, without any assistance from anyone else, all the food that nourished it, all the housing that sheltered it, all the clothing and medical care that kept if healthy? No.

That being the case, others have a claim on their bodies as well. Not least of all God who created them and the Church which passes His teachings about them on to us! And also not least of all their future spouses and children, since what we do now sexually absolutely has an impact on them.
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you are so right! our bodies are not our own, God created us, and we hold Him in us, the only thing we truly have is our free will, our bodies die when God says so, they suffer without our consent, they age whether we want them to or not, we do not own our bodies, we merely care for them(or not)
 
Questioning said:
How do I answer the question–that I have and others have posed to me–“why is the Church against sexuality? Always putting restrictions on what we should and shouldn’t do, can and can’t do?”

Thankyou
Click to expand...
The Church is hardly ‘against’ sexuality, but holds it sacred, not to be used as a toy.
 
Sexuality is a gift from God. The Church supplies the Manufacturer’s approved User’s manual. 😉
 
Sex is meant as a gift, as well as to symbolize the free love between God the Father, and God the Son, (that love being the holy spirit) and so it is super sacred, so if someone (like the devil) wanted to belittle God, he would take what is the symbol for Gods love, and make it into something that is selfish, and lustful, so by giving into that lie, we ourselves are belittling God, and his plan
 
Are dieticians against food? There is a time, place, method, and reasonable amount for all good things in nature. The time for sex is marriage. The place is in private. The method is procreative, mutually desired, natural and healthy (no dangerous or injurious experiments). The reasonable amount is a tricky question, but there are good writings about it.
If a dietician said, “Don’t eat; you just ate ten minutes ago. And don’t eat that – it’s a pile of tire tread, and isn’t food. And don’t eat through a hydraulic jack – it’s too intense for your system. Be reasonable. Use some sense and self-control here.” Would you think she was “against appetite”? I hope not. She knows what she’s talking about. So does the Church.
 
The Church isn’t against sexuality, she’s for a sexuality that doesn’t interfere with love, IOW that doesn’t place itself on such a high level that self-gratification causes us to compromise higher values. This means she’s against any attitudes towards sex that can result in babies being born by unmarried people who can’t or don’t want to care for them, or worse yet, that eliminate the “problem” with the use of abortion, that degrade the dignity of humans by objectifying them, that increase the spread of diseases-IOW we lose when we idolize sex or anything else-even as we think we’re gaining something. Sexual attraction is normal. Making it as big a deal as our society does is abnormal, and ends up increasing human misery.
 
Questioning said:
How do I answer the question–that I have and others have posed to me–“why is the Church against sexuality? Always putting restrictions on what we should and shouldn’t do, can and can’t do?”

Thankyou
Click to expand...
Not “against” sexuality but with a different view of it. If you wish to understand it try JPII’s Theology of the Body or even read Genesis with the eyes of faith:

payingattentiontothesky.com/2009/10/30/understanding-genesis/

and here when speaking to relations between men and women:

payingattentiontothesky.com/2009/10/29/human-beings-in-god%e2%80%99s-image-and-likeness/

Secular culture tries to draw this false analysis of the Church being in opposition to sexuality – nothing could be farther from the truth – you simply don’t understand sexuality or freedom when you repeat them.

Randall Sachs in his wonderful little book, The Christian View of Humanity, speaks to one of the most distorted of secular images of the Biblical, human beings in the likeness or image of God and the relationship between man and woman. As you read the links I’ve provided, think of how the diabolists in our midst live their lives and conduct themselves and what the consequences of believing in “science and progress,” “oneself” or one’s “sexual orientation,” and that terrible trap they refer to when they say “Freedom” — what these things actually mean for the human.

Regards,

dj
 
Questioning said:
How do I answer the question–that I have and others have posed to me–“why is the Church against sexuality? Always putting restrictions on what we should and shouldn’t do, can and can’t do?”

Thankyou
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Many excellent replies have already been put forward.

However; instead of asking (“Why you think the Church is against Sexuality”)

Try asking yourself and contemplating “Why is it the entire world is so Possessed by Sexuality” ? More human souls will undoubtedly find themselves damned to Hell for eternity because of sins of the flesh attributed to SEX than any other sin.
That’s not an assumption…that’s a fact. The power of SEX over the primitive desires of the flesh is one of Satan’s greatest weapons of bringing human souls to ruin.
The only sin that destroys human souls greater than sins of the flesh is PRIDE.
And it is by Pride that Sins of Sexuality take root inside the human soul.
 
The Church is against disordered sexuality, as put forth by our secular society. What comes to mind are the lyrics of a once popular song (which we were greeted with at the Michigan State Fair years ago when my kids were young…I’ve refused to attend since, even though I like going to the fair and supporting it. It’s going away now, due to a sagging State budget, but that is another matter…) Anyway, this pretty much sums up the secular view on sex:

“You and me baby we ain’t nothin’ but mammals
So let’s do it like they do on the Discovery Channel”
 
survive said:
Are dieticians against food? There is a time, place, method, and reasonable amount for all good things in nature. The time for sex is marriage. The place is in private. The method is procreative, mutually desired, natural and healthy (no dangerous or injurious experiments). The reasonable amount is a tricky question, but there are good writings about it.
If a dietician said, “Don’t eat; you just ate ten minutes ago. And don’t eat that – it’s a pile of tire tread, and isn’t food. And don’t eat through a hydraulic jack – it’s too intense for your system. Be reasonable. Use some sense and self-control here.” Would you think she was “against appetite”? I hope not. She knows what she’s talking about. So does the Church.
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Wow, that’s a great analogy! I’ll definitely use that one in the future. Although be careful about the last sentence, not because it’s false, but because the immediate response would be: “What do a bunch of old virgins (nuns and priests) know about sex?”

The Church is really for sexuality a LOT more than secular society. Read almost anything by John Paul II on sexuality, and you’ll see that society’s value of sex just doesn’t compare to the Church’s.
 
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