Isn't the usual reason to reject Christianity the teaching about sexual immorality?

Question

Christianity follows Judaism in teaching that sex is reserved for marriage, where one man and one woman become one flesh. Those who want to have sex outside of marriage find this bothersome, and to resolve the cognitive dissonance between their behavior and beliefs, they change their beliefs. Some try to have their cake and eat it to by claiming God wants an amorphous "love" that includes sex outside of marriage, but they do not find corroboration in biblical texts for this compromise.

Isn't this the real reason for atheism, agnosticism, New Age paganism, and postchristian liberalism--a chafing at sexual restrictions?

Why am I getting the feeling that atheists aren't being honest here.

Possible test case for those who said no: Do any who are neither Jewish nor Christian practice strict heterosexual monogamy with your one spouse, the husband or wife of your youth, forsaking all others as long as you both shall live, and rejecting all extramarital sex as unloving?

About 40 responses so far, but I don't recall a single response from a nonchristian limiting sex to marriage. Just a coincidence? Or is the siren of unrestricted sex the real reason for rejecting the faith that says a husband and wife become "one flesh"?

Answer 1

People who are not believers cannot fathom the implications of a life dedicated to serving God rather than self. They imagine all kinds of disagreeable consequences of living this way. What Christ promised instead is his peace in our hearts, and the fullness of joy. Christians filled with the Holy Spirit are not very agreeable to non-Christians because the Holy Spirit came to convict the world of sin, and lead us to all truth.

Shame and humiliation are initially painful, but he offers forgiveness and direction to overcome the habits of sin to counter that sense of failure. Sexual promiscuity is one of those sinful habits hard to break. Like an addiction, it is hard to give up because sex is a pleasurable experience and our brains are wired to seek those things which satisfy physical needs. But he doesn't forbid sex. He created it. He provides a sexual outlet for his children and direction for how this gift is to be used - through marital committment in a monogamous relationship, a relationship open to creating a family and extending the community of believers.

Jesus spoke these words to his followers before he was executed for no reason: (John 16:8-9) The Spirit will come and show the people of this world the truth about sin and God's justice and the judgment. The Spirit will show them that they are wrong about sin, because they didn't have faith in me.

I think promiscuity is a biggie, but even greater is that sense of pride that so many have. They are gods unto themselves. This is the real reason for atheism, agnosticism, paganism, and liberalism. They don't realize how very much they need God, for every breath they breathe, every step they take, and every beat of their hearts. But some day, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord.

Answer 2

Thanks for bringing up the subject. Now that I have thought about it and read through the answers so far, I think that a better way of posing the question would have been:

Isn't the usual reason to ignore Christianity and never give serious intellectual consideration to its claims is the teaching about sexual immorality?

And now I will answer my own question (as seems the habit among many contributors these days).

The usual way so resolve cognitive dissonances between BC and AC (Before Contraception and After Contraception) and many others, I might add, is to simply ignore or trivialize the problem. Which, given the many opportunities for cognitive dissonances in modern first world societies, explains the current level of apathy, low voter turnout, and lots of other "isms" as well. As many of the other posters have indicated, this concern is probably not the main intellectual block for those that do seriously examine Christianity from a coldly logically point of view.

Love those atheists though. I don't think you can be a “real, mature” Christian until you have examined your faith in a very critical way. These guys and gals are a lot closer to God than a lot of other people, although they will deny this with a passion. If there is a God (which I know and believe that there is) then he would obviously be more pleased with an atheist who was going around actively engaged in pointing out inconsistencies in "Christian" faith and arguing on R&S than the vast majority that have their head in the sand. The story of the apostle Paul comes to mind.

Answer 3

It's looking like your question is really a statement of your opinion on the matter and that you're not interested in replies that do not conform to your preconceived ideas. That you would write that those who give other reasons for rejecting Xtianity are not being honest says alot more about you than the people who take the time to respond to you--and what it says is not to your credit.

I'm acquainted with a number of people who left Xtianity for reasons that had very little to do with their libido; usually it had to do with the more general question of evil in the world or it had to do with their experiences with "Christians" who were lacking in what are considered Christian virtues... you know, the stuff like a humility that doesn't presume that people reject a given religion just because they want to be a libertine.

There are a number of problems with assuming the causal relationship you postulate, but rather than trying to explain them all to you i'll simply suggest you read the following:

Titus 3:9-10

Answer 4

Actually, the usual reason to reject Christianity is that for some, it simply doesn't work.

There have been, since the dawn of man, many different faiths. The reason there are so many is because there are many different types of people, and many different cultures and systems of belief. One set of philosophical and religious laws cannot apply to all.

So called "sexual immorality" from a Christian perspective really only applies to Christians, just as the prohibition against the marriage of certain priests only applies to certain Catholic priests. One does not become a Protestant minister solely because one disagrees with the Catholic perspective regarding married clergy.

I'm a Pagan, a Wiccan, and used to be Catholic. I still have a great love for much of the Catholic church. Currently, and since I was married, I've been celibate. I'm certainly not Wiccan because I wish to engage in sexual immorality.

I'm of the faith that I am, simply because it has helped me to live a life that I couldn't have otherwise. Throughout my life, I've dealt with many challenges. In a Christian context, these challenges remained unresolved. With my dedication to my faith, I've overcome much, from mental illness to alcoholism and more.

I don't reject Christianity as wrong for all, nor do I state that Wicca is right for all. Rather, I believe that different religions work for different people. The only problem I have with any religion is their claim to exclusivity to the truth. While their truth may be correct for them, to claim that it must necessarily apply to all seems hubris in a high degree.

Again though, this is my faith, and I can't claim my reasons apply to all, or that I'm right to the exclusion of all who disagree.

--Dee

Answer 5

Actually my rejection of Christianity had absolutely nothing to do with sexual immorality.

I am Pagan but I was raised to be a good little Christian. I rejected Christianity for several reasons. One of them was the contradictions the Bible had and the fact that more than one church felt I wasn't a good fit because I questioned the Bible. Such as in Genesis "Let US make man in OUR image." Who is us and our?

The fact that I had one preacher try to convince me that GOD was neither male nor female but couldn't explain why God impregnated a woman and not just sent the essence through the man to impregnate the woman. But rather God chose to get a perfect unwed virgin pregnant and risk his precious off springs life and an innocent girl who did nothing wrong to anyone to a mob.

Let's see.. what else. Exodus. God acknowledges the others. Ye should not worship any other Gods BEFORE me. He didn't say I'm the only one. He said , put me first.

So many contradictions that have served one purpose and that was to lower the image of a divine female.

I chose my path to be Pagan because I can think for myself. I feel happier and more in tune with myself because of my Mother Goddess Danu in my life. I feel loved by her and cherished as one of her children. I never felt that with the Christian God.

And that has absolutely nothing to do with sexual restrictions. I will say one thing though as a Pagan, touch is not concidered taboo and that is an integral part of human nature.

Answer 6

Personally, sex had nothing to do with my choice to leave Christianity. As a parent I can not believe that any loving "father" would punish his children for a crime committed by someone else (Adam & Eve) or that he would sentence them to suffer for eternity in a burning hell. But the hypocricy is what gets me the most. One of the 10 Commandments is "Thou shalt not kill" yet many times in the book of Genesis alone God called for the killing, death and genocide of some entire tribes of people. The whole "do as I say, not as I do" line of thinking is insulting to anyone with a brain. I certainly don't use that method to raise my daughter as chilldren learn more by example than by what they are simply told, no matter how many times they hear it. If God is perfect then even he would see a problem with that type of reasoning. I also have a problem with Christianity basically disowning homosexuals. Why would God create or allow the creation of something that he sees as being wrong? I honestly can not believe that these people would just wake up one morning and say "Wow, I think I'm going to be gay so that I can be abused physically, emotionally and maybe even disowned by family and friends!" I don't recall waking up one morning and deciding to be heterosexual.........do you?

Answer 7

Not at all, for me. I do find that if the Creator created us with the sex drive we all obviously have for the perpetuation of our species, the exclusivity of marriage for sexual relations is an invention of the Church for control of human behaviour. In fact, the rules of the Church are almost all for their control of human behaviour and are rooted in Fear: fear of damnation, fear of Hell, fear of losing the love of God. However, all the Church's efforts to instill Fear are counteracted by the one scripture from the Bible, "God Is Love." So, if God is Love, God equals Love, as in a mathmatic equation, there is no reason to fear Him/Her and there is no reason to believe anyone will be condemned for their feelings, attitudes or behaviour. Now, truthfully, I do not regard Christian scripture or the Jewish Talmud as the "Word of God". I believe the authors of both (and there were MANY) were at times inspired by God/Goddess, but the books as they are written are not infallible, not supreme, and not the be-all and end-all where the words of a Loving Creator are concerned. I believe they are in large part the work of the elite of a patriarchal religion seeking to discredit and disrespect the previously Divine Feminine oriented cultures and reduce the importance of the female in their cultures.

Answer 8

Not at all. I find that the myths provide a much more definitive spiritual outlook. The myth isn't the truth, the truth is in the myth. While it is true that christians portend to practice a "moral" lifestyle, the real truth is few actually do live by that rule. There is a much more ethical lifestyle in the Heathen/Pagan belief structures. When I did a study on comparative religion and realized where all this mumbo-jumbo came from I was actually quite relieved. I no longer see the need to emotionally or mentally flagalate myself for some supposed "natural sin."

Answer 9

The reason why people wish to have sex outside of marriage is because they are ignorant of the fact that sex IS for after marriage - not before. The bible refers to sex outside of marriage as 'fornication',which is nothing short of what prostitutes do, though they do it for money and that's the only difference between prostitutes and those who have sex outside of marriage. Also, it is because of the sinful nature and wickedness of man and the ways of the world, which is denial of God's law. Man wishes to take pleasure in sin rather than to abide by the moral law of God's word. That's the reason why people today believe it is ok to have sex outside of marriage, not to mention that the bible also refers to that as 'lust of the flesh' and 'uncleanness', so there you have it.

Answer 10

It's one reason but not the only. A lot of people just have a problem not being "A-#1" over their lives in the first place.

Obeying an Omni-All God, especially when He says not to do a number of things that could (for a time make) one 'feel good' prevents and ends that notion.