Love and Sex in the Bible
And i am called upon to write an 8 page paper on the subject of Love and Sex in the Bible. Now, in contemporary times, it is common to view these two ideas differently from one another. Yet if we consider how Greeks have categorised the different forms of love, Sex is actually a subset of Love.
And my main argument would go as follows.
That the greeks have managed to parse the idea of Love into categories : Agape, Eros, Philia, Storge.
In the bible, Erotic love, or what the translated text refers to generally as sexual immorality, is seen to be the basest of all 4.
Thus, as put forth by Paul in Corinthians, marriage was seen as a necessary evil to keep people away from sexual immorality, and sex itself was a necessary albeit disgusting ritual to procreate. I have heard of fervent catholics who agrees with this idea wholeheartedly and engages in sex only to bear children.
There is a whole preoccupation about sexual immorality and impurity in the new testament, and that only one form of love, Agape, is to be extolled.
In essense, universal love, the love for the divine, the love for otherworldliness and the love for everyone in a non-sexual way is the preoccupation of the christian writers.
xxxx
I am at disagreement with this 'ascetic' philosophy. Many would choose only to expound the dangers of sexual immorality, but why would no one give a discourse on the dangers of Agape love while neglecting the other 3, especially Eros?
A recent christian leader in Planet Shakers, Australia, who claims to be sick since a teenager, has confessed not too long ago of his preoccupation with Pornography. And i truly pity this fine young lad and his struggle to live a life of service to the world. Yet his preoccupation with fleeing his concept of 'Sin' and 'Wrongdoing' paradoxically brought him closer to what he feared, which manifested itself physically in sickness. Such is the effect of extolling Agape love and squelching Erotic love totally from ones value system. This is akin to trying to block off a valve in the heart.
Doing so is an impossibility because we are built in a way to experience all 4 kinds of love or maybe even more that people have a lack of words to describe them. Doing so leads to scarring emotional trauma and breakdown of a christian if he is not careful.
How so? A new born in Christ places all his hopes and dreams in an ideal unachievable. He places all his esteem and self identity on one subject, the Christian Godhead. This continual refining process towards Pop christian 'Godliness', becoming 'Jesus-like' in the Pop christian sense, has a pernicious effect on his own individuality. With limited guidance especially in a church that does not base their sermons and service on a deep understanding of the word of god (many charismatic movements), he no longer know who he is as he has fully assimilated into a pop ideal, and any steps away from these 'values' will cause himself grievous mental hurt which will eventually manifest itself physically. How many voices are running in his head i must imagine! How many 'spiritual battles' with himself would he have to go through! That is my Gripe.
Everything in life, I believe, comes in a fine balance. Any attempt to tilt this balance in favor of an 'idea' will inadvertantly be ruinous.
And my main argument would go as follows.
That the greeks have managed to parse the idea of Love into categories : Agape, Eros, Philia, Storge.
In the bible, Erotic love, or what the translated text refers to generally as sexual immorality, is seen to be the basest of all 4.
Thus, as put forth by Paul in Corinthians, marriage was seen as a necessary evil to keep people away from sexual immorality, and sex itself was a necessary albeit disgusting ritual to procreate. I have heard of fervent catholics who agrees with this idea wholeheartedly and engages in sex only to bear children.
There is a whole preoccupation about sexual immorality and impurity in the new testament, and that only one form of love, Agape, is to be extolled.
In essense, universal love, the love for the divine, the love for otherworldliness and the love for everyone in a non-sexual way is the preoccupation of the christian writers.
xxxx
I am at disagreement with this 'ascetic' philosophy. Many would choose only to expound the dangers of sexual immorality, but why would no one give a discourse on the dangers of Agape love while neglecting the other 3, especially Eros?
A recent christian leader in Planet Shakers, Australia, who claims to be sick since a teenager, has confessed not too long ago of his preoccupation with Pornography. And i truly pity this fine young lad and his struggle to live a life of service to the world. Yet his preoccupation with fleeing his concept of 'Sin' and 'Wrongdoing' paradoxically brought him closer to what he feared, which manifested itself physically in sickness. Such is the effect of extolling Agape love and squelching Erotic love totally from ones value system. This is akin to trying to block off a valve in the heart.
Doing so is an impossibility because we are built in a way to experience all 4 kinds of love or maybe even more that people have a lack of words to describe them. Doing so leads to scarring emotional trauma and breakdown of a christian if he is not careful.
How so? A new born in Christ places all his hopes and dreams in an ideal unachievable. He places all his esteem and self identity on one subject, the Christian Godhead. This continual refining process towards Pop christian 'Godliness', becoming 'Jesus-like' in the Pop christian sense, has a pernicious effect on his own individuality. With limited guidance especially in a church that does not base their sermons and service on a deep understanding of the word of god (many charismatic movements), he no longer know who he is as he has fully assimilated into a pop ideal, and any steps away from these 'values' will cause himself grievous mental hurt which will eventually manifest itself physically. How many voices are running in his head i must imagine! How many 'spiritual battles' with himself would he have to go through! That is my Gripe.
Everything in life, I believe, comes in a fine balance. Any attempt to tilt this balance in favor of an 'idea' will inadvertantly be ruinous.
posted by deadpoet at 2:27 AM
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