What made the church change it's mind on the teachings of sex?

Question

why in counceling do they now have to emphasize that it is a "gift" and a very good thing in the confines of marriage, not dirty, etc.?
If you look in past bible explanations of the song of songs ,song of soloman, the religious up until very recently where trying hard to convince everyone that it is to be interpreted as "god's expression of love to the church"....etc..
Now, sometime recently the church has made a conscious effort to talk about sex as a good, almost godly thing, this is in opposition of what was done traditionally: tell you sex is worldly and vile and lusts of the flesh were wrong, fornication etc. ---then not tell you anything at all about marriage, just leave you hanging....many with vast sexual hangups and confusion due to strict religious upbringing and shaming them about sensuality.
SO what provoked the turnaround and when did this happen?

Answer 1

Because religion is flawed. It changes as popular demand changes. they are trying to appeal to the "now" generation. People, and teens unfortunatley, are widely sexual. They talk about it all the the time, and do it so much more frequently, because it's "cool". Thus, the church has to change to accomadate to the "cool". Although in my opinion, sex has always been a natural thing, and should be enjoyed by 2 consensual adults. I think religion is falling, especially the christianity part. It shows how corrupt it is by changing something they have preached, beaten people about, even killed people over, and sworn their lives to for centuries.

Answer 2

When you say the church consideredit dirty, I don't know what church you are talking about, possibly Catholicism. I know the Puritans, despite their distorted image, taught that it was a normal part of marriage. With so many different denominations, sometimes the beliefs of one can be better known than others. Then after a few decades, the beliefs of another group becomes well known. To the observer it may seem like there was a major shift when all along they have had the same belief. Also keep in mind that none of us have a perfect interpretation of the bible. We do our best, but we are still only human. Combine this with the fact that all these different denominations learn from each other and you can have some denominations that DO change their teachings. This does not mean that they are catering to the masses. Most denominations are Protestant. That is they can trace their roots back to some point where they protested the practices of the Catholic Church. The problem is that to varying degrees many of them although separated from Catholicism, only changed a few things. They kept many of the practices and teachings which were not questioned at the time of the original split. These come up from time to time.
In the late 1800s, there was a new movement known as the Restoration movement. Among the leaders were Barton Stone and Alexander and Thomas Campbell. They believed that the bible was sufficient enough to tell Christians how to live and worship. They completely disregarded all the edicts of the Pope and tried to return to the form of worship that is described in the new testament. Because these Churches of Christ have no central authority like a Pope, their teachings can vary from one congregation to another. However most of them teach that it is both the responsibility of the husband and the wife to be attentive to their spouses sexual needs. As they examined one doctrine after another, many others were also changed to reflect what the bible actually says.
So that is a long way to say that, some of what you have heard may be old baggage from Catholicism which persisted until someone started fresh.
Hope that helps.

Answer 3

Usually what happens when one error is discovered people go overboard in the other direction in reaction to it. I don't know when "the church" that you are referring to went too far in the other direction. I don't need to reinterpret the Song of Solomon to know that the Bible teaches that sex between a man and his wife is a good thing in God's eyes.

Hebrews 13:4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.

1 Corinthians 7:3 The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4 For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. 5 Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

Proverbs 5:18 Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth, 19 a lovely deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight; be intoxicated always in her love.

I do know however that the Roman Catholic Church was responsible for many non-biblical teachings and that's where I would look for the start of the sexual repression that was found in the doctrines of men and not in God's Word. Probably they started picking on the congregation as a way to justify the cruel practice of telling a Priest that he couldn't be devoted to God and still have a wife when the Bible says just the opposite.

1 Timothy 3:2 It is necessary, therefore, for a bishop to be irreproachable, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, well-behaved, hospitable, skillful at teaching;

1 Timothy 3:12 Let deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children well, and their own houses.

Answer 4

Sex in marriage has never been a bad thing. At least not in the Bible I read. Not only is it an expression of love between a Husband and wife. It is how we make children. And God loves Children! For such is the Kingdom of God. Plus it was God who gave us the ability to enjoy this union. So we would make children! Or, even just to "practice" lol
I think the problem is many people believed "We are born in sin"
Therefore sex must be sinful. And that's not what is meant here.

Answer 5

I think it's cultural, mostly. Before the '60s, sex was hardly talked about at all, in or out of a religious context. It was addressed as little as possible, probably mostly because of cultural taboos and embarrassment. Now that it's a more common subject, church leaders aren't so shy and are more willing to discuss a complete view of sex.

It's unfortunate that it was treated the way it was before recently. It has never been dirty or shameful, and contrary to what many Christians believe, is not merely for procreation.

Answer 6

Regarding its views on sex, the strict view that sex was for procreation only, and could not be enjoyed even in a marriage, was historically based on the teaching of Augustine of Hippo (Saint Augustine) -- not the Bible per se. Granted, the church probably softened its stand in light of cultural pressures (I.E.: the sexual revolution of the 1960s), but it is noteworthy that the ultra strict view was not Biblical in the first place.

Answer 7

Your answer just before your question at the end is very clear. These are my thoughts...
Being that communities are being overrun by superstitions and lack of knowledge (plus the fact that over half of the marriages end in divorce) - something had to change. The church does not ignore the facts that people need better education and guidance. So this, as you stated, is why there is change.

Answer 8

some human beings say the devil costs scripture notably sturdy. i've got seen the Bible utilized in a fashion that makes it look to declare some notably outlandish issues whilst it is taken out of context, and that i think of that's what's happening at those church homes. there's a place and time the place preaching the actual Gospel won't fill the pews. it is not maximum suitable to sacrifice the Gospel for attendance. the reason those church homes exist is with the help of the fact human beings opt to pass to church homes that carry forth those issues. "For the time will come whilst human beings won't submit with sound doctrine. as a substitute, to slot their very own desires, they are going to collect around them a great sort of instructors to declare what their itching ears opt to hearken to. they are going to turn their ears removed from the actuality and turn aside to myths." i've got spent a lot of time looking into the priority, and are available to realize that classic ((as adversarial to revolutionary) Christianity is classic because of the fact it relies in Christian traditions, that could easily be discovered in the Bible of all places. maximum revolutionary Christians look to think of that in case you opt to examine approximately God and Jesus, the 1st undertaking you should do it burn the Bible and study the Gnostics.

Answer 9

I don't know why a church would put so much emphasis on sex either way. There is so much more to our lives than sexual experience, or lack of it. Why not talk about the importance of getting a good education, a good job, not doing illegal drugs, diet and exercise, being nice to other people, etc?
Now that I think of it, I think religious organizations would do much more to improve their members' lives if they talked about diet and exercise. Cardiovascular disease is the number one KILLER of Americans anyway, so why don't they talk about that?
As far as sex is concerned, you can really mess up someone's mind if you tell them to "wait for marriage". I don't advocate sleeping with a bunch of people, but this "waiting for marriage" thing can really mess people up.

Answer 10

What church are you talking about? Sex was never taught as dirty in my church, because we are bible believing Christians. The bible says that sex is for marriage. That's pretty much all that's said about it...don't know where you got this other stuff.