Pleasures of the Flesh?

Question

What do you think of pleasures of the flesh, like a man sexually admiring a woman as she walks bye on the street?

Which is worst, that, or a priest or believer telling us all that it's a "sin" and we will forfeit heaven for engaging in it.

Do any of you really think that something bad will happen, like a plague or a terrorist attack, if we like to watch Shakira shake her booty on MTV? I don't mean an attack just because an aggressive puritan is so annoyed, but an actual supernatural repercussion for sinful ways, like we heard of in the bible and koran, or even in the Buddhist and Hindu scriptures.

Personally I believe that our sexuality is natural and not evil in any way. It is one of the things that we can enjoy in life, and we ought to do so without a superstitious fear of adverse consequences.

I mean, really...like I'm going to be struck by lightning or something like that.

I would welcome and theories about WHY the flesh was originally seen as sinful and dangerous,

and any comments on the history of the phenomena.

Answer 1

My theory is that the sin was invented by the priests to protect their women from the other men. Trouble is always around the corner if you mess with another man or woman's partner. I believe marriage was invented for the same reason. So perhaps marriage and sin are linked in some way.

Answer 2

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and discipline. Proverbs 1:7
The book of Proverbs has a lot to say about this subject; you would be well advised to read it when you get a chance.
Just remember, if you believed in your heart that checking out the babes walking by was fine, you wouldn't be here asking, would you?
And just so we're clear, we all do it. Anyone who says they don't because they're so righteous is usually a liar; Jesus said "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" and "none are righteous, no, not even one!".
Keeping you eyes straight ahead is not easy and typically cannot be done without His help.

Answer 3

It isn't sinful or dangerous. Like all animals, if we werne't meant to do it, we would not have been given the ability to do so. I would like to know where all the guilt comes from. Nothing wrong with the pleasures of the flesh. Its what its all about. We might be more evolved than the average monkey but only because thats the way we are. They have their way, we have ours. Why feel guilt for something which is naturally human? Ohter animals don't feel guilt.

Answer 4

My opinion is:

People in general want to reproduce in the sense that they want to make more people like themselves.

Since sexually dysfunctional people have (by definition) problems with biologically reproducing themselves, they tend to gravitate toward sexually repressing others.

Most of this problem started when the church developed the "celibate" priesthood. The Jewish culture from which Jesus and Peter came seemed to be whole and healthy with respect to sex. Scripture that could be interpreted otherwise I interpret to be just justified disgust at the excesses of Greek and Roman hedonism of the day not an indication that the Jewish society that Jesus came from was sexually dysfunctional. And of course these scriptures apply to hedonism (sexual and other types) today as well.

Note that there is a world of difference between sexual restraint, particularly in a time when there was no reliable birth control, and sexual repression.

Answer 5

We are not animals that should be under the complete control of the flesh, would you turn to your wife while watching Sharikira and say I really want to have sex with her? so does it make it alright if you keep this to yourself?
There is nothing wrong with sex when it is channeled in the proper moral direction and this does not include uncontrolled lust.
There is always a bitter price to be paid for allowing our passions to go wild and uncontrolled, adultery is one bitter pill for the one betrayed, many young women live in hardship economically simply because some young men want to sow their wild oats and disapear after the girl is pregnant.
You may not be struck by lightning friend but what about the emotional storms you would leave in your wake?

Answer 6

"a priest or believer telling us all that it's a "sin" and we will forfeit heaven for engaging in it"

If a priest or believer (I assume you mean Christian) said that to you, then they are ridiculous, because they have missed the whole point of the religion. That is, you do NOT forfeit Heaven by sinning. All you have to do is accept Christ and ask for forgiveness.

Answer 7

Things have changed over the years. When I was young, most of what is on TV and in other media would have been classified as 'soft porn'.

Damn it - now I'm too old to remember what it was all about...

QUOTE
a priest or believer telling us all that it's a "sin" and we will forfeit heaven for engaging in it.
UNQUOTE

Well, they gotta have something else to do besides masturbate in secret...

Answer 8

To love Jesus with all of your heart by receiving Him as your personal Savior.To love and forgive everyone.To help people.To listen to the Holy Spirit and obey His commands is much more important than the sins of the flesh.Paul said The flesh is weak but the spirit is strong.But that does not mean that you can just keep sinning by audultry or prostitution.We all make mistakes but with the help of Jesus we are able to overcome .I will tell you a true experience.I went in my room and I said Jesus I believe You are the Son of God.I am a sinner.I believe You died on the cross for my sins.Please forgive my sins.Come into my heart Jesus.All of the sudden Jesus filled me with so much peace and love It was overwhelming.I said its Jesus He saved me.This really happened.If you go from a 100 degree room to a 70 degree room can you feel it?

Answer 9

It isnt evil at all, if you believe god created man, then you must also believe god created mans sexual responses, its all perfectly natural.

The only peoples with a sexual hang up are monothiests, Jews, Christians and particularly Muslims.

The hang up comes from the Adam and Eve myth, and it is just that, A MYTH!

Also, much in religion simply reflects the views, emotions and hang ups of mankind, and of the period these religions flourished. Dressing something up as the word of god, simply makes it easier to force your views on others, particularly among the superstitious, uneducated and weak willed.

There is also a great deal of hypocrisy, medieval priests were notorious letches, and look at the number of priests these days fiddling with kids!

Also, Homosexuality is UTTERLY RAMPANT, in muslim society! Its incredibly common among Turks, Arabs, Afghans etc.

Im an Assyrian, and thus a christian, from Iraq. My father was utterly shocked when he left his village as a teenager and went to Baghdad, and was repeatedly approached by Arab men looking for gay sex, he never knew such people even existed!

So its the hypocrisy that gets me!

Answer 10

I think it's crude and tasteless to watch someone in an overt sexual display. While it may be "natural", does it have to be public? I think you really like it because it's free, and doesn't require you to make a commitment. Comes under the heading of "why buy the cow?"