Why is thinking about sex so terrible?

[Trelow]

If it bothers your conscience then you aught to confess it.

Mother Angelica had a great thought that goes with this that I’d like to share:
The sinner, falling into a mud puddle (sin) relishes in it. He can’t think of anything better, wallowing around and thoroughly enjoying themselves. The average person sits in the mud puddle, bemoaning his fate. They’re upset with falling into it, wondering what they could have done to avoid it. They sit there, brooding over it. The saint, seeing himself in the mud puddle, picks himself up (or asks for help getting up), gets themselves cleaned up, and resolves to try and avoid that puddle in the future.

 

[Racer_X]

“What is so wrong with thinking about sex?”

Oren is assuming that thinking about sex is not by-itself-wrong, and so is looking for some more fundamental principle which is itself evidently wrong and which “thinking about sex” contradicts.

Example:

(1) Thinking about sex is harmful to others because …
(2) It is wrong to harm others.
Therefore, (3) It is wrong to think about sex.

But what reason do we have to think that “thinking about sex is wrong” is not itself a fundamental principle on the same level with “harming others is wrong?” If so, that would explain Oren’s confusion. In that case, wrongness would just be an inherent aspect of “thinking about sex” just at it is with harming others.

Why is harming people wrong? It just is.

A thread titled “Why is harming people so terrible?” would be like starting a thread on “Why is light so bright?” Perhaps it is the same with this thread.