I come from a christian upbringing.
My views changed with time, but my starting point was something between childhood innocence and christian dogmas.
Jehovah’s witnesses are against abortion but they are not against contraception.
If i remember right, catholics believe that all sex is a sin but the least sinful form is between married people, in a missionary heterosexual position.
Catholics are against contraception.
I have been entertaining the idea that certain things can be perfected.
Therefor i asked myself what would sexual perfection be?
Is sexuality simply a form of pleasure, or is it meant to improve our species?
What would the perfect sexuality be, if there was one?
Would the perfect pleasure be different than the perfect sexuality?
I’ve entertained the idea that sexual attractions are delusions, and such delusions are evolutionary utilities.
We could say that there is no such thing as perfection, and that perfection should not be saught, as it is an impossible and unrealistic ideal.
Jehovah’s witnesses teach that we were originally perfect beings, and that perfection is something we should try to seek as best we can, but we can never achieve perfection on our own, we need God’s help in order to retain perfection.
I’ve held onto the idea that perfection is both good and possible.
But not everyone would entertain such an ideal.
Do you think that sexual perfection exists, and if so, what would it be like?
Yes, it’s when two people love each other truly, openly, honestly, and devotedly and as a result, a child whom both continue to love endearingly throughout the entirety of their lives is born.
This doesn’t mean same-gender sex is imperfect or that it is incapable of every being perfect.
It simply means that same-gender sex is not yet the equal of perfect sex emotionally in scope in totality.
I don’t think emotions play into sex as much as people like to think. Sexual perfection (as it pertains to the act of sex) and christian morality do not mix, in that it’s wrong to have pre-marital sex, but I personally could never marry someone if I didn’t know we had sexual chemistry.
I’ve had amazing sex with a man I didn’t care for in anything more than a platonic way. Nothing could have made it better. I felt no need for an emotion connection to fulfill my needs, I simply enjoyed it and went home until the next round.
I was once in love with a man who was everything I wanted in every area but the bedroom. He was intelligent, hilarious, travelled, and just a blast to be around. I loved him for everything he was, but the sex was horrible. Just awful. I stayed with him for eight months, and we never once had good sex.
Christian “morality” would dictate that I marry the man I love, and have awful sex for the rest of my life. OR, that I marry a man I DON’T love, so that we can enjoy each other sexually without offending god.
Hell.
No.
I am an extremely sexual being. Some might say I’m over-sexed. On top of being generally horny all of the time, my stress manifests itself as sexual frustration and tension. I refuse to have no sex or shoddy sex for the rest of my life, I REFUSE!!! No amount of “proof” of the virtues of waiting until marriage will ever convince me that it’s a good idea. Furthermore, I stand my my belief that sex is an excellent stress reliever and therefore much more than just a means to perpetuate the species. Stress is a f*cking killer, man.
After the Fall, men (and women in your case) are in rebellion against God.
You are not purchased by Christ, and therefore feel no need to live for Him as opposed to living to fulfil your own sinful desires.
Additionally…“perfection” is reached when something conforms to God’s purpose for it. Value is not a subjective thing for the Christian then. Without going into further detail on a Christian theory of value (and aesthetics) I can simply reply by saying that your caricature of the Christian position is lacking.
If you love someone, you’d spend time with them to help them reach closer to conformity with God’s purpose.
That is, afterall, what a woman is meant to do for a man…(from the Christian perspective.)
I would appreciate if you would go into greater detail on the christian theory of value.
I’m curious. I’ve explored the christian faith, called myself a christian at one point, but can’t say I’ve ever been certain of what god’s purpose for myself or anything else in my life is. Perhaps it’s supposed to be that way, “god works in mysterious ways” and whatnot…
I do believe in god. Absolutely. But is it possible for me to conform to god’s purpose for me when I don’t know what that purpose is? I don’t think so. Maybe my job is just to be open and trusting. I am that. I’m still not perfect.
I’ll start a new thread for it so that I wont be hijacking this one.
I usually refer to Christian value theory when comparing and contrasting Christian economic systems with secular ones (like Austrian theory and Keynesianism) although, I doubt that’s what you wanted clarification on.
How about I call the thread: “What My Purpose is Lawd?”
I think that BS’s post speaks well to the various tensions we have in a relationship. Fantastic sex alone does not represent a sustainable relationship but if all the right elements are there sans good sex, that too represents an unsustainable relationship. As shallow as it may seem, this premise demands that sexual compatibility holds equal weight with everything else. Unsatisfactory in either is a deal-breaker and merely acceptable in one demands fantastic performance in the other to justify a deeper relationship.
Is sexual perfection possible? I think that between people engaged in the act (no reason why the number ought only be two) perfection can be approached provided all members are open and honest about their predilections and the tastes are shared.
But is that sufficient? Even if sexual fulfillment is at 100%, if the other factors average to 10%, you are left with a relationship that is 55% good. Good enough for some mindblowing orgasms, sure. But it lacks staying power. The reverse is as damning.
So what do you mean by sexual perfection? I could talk about awesome sex. I could talk about meaningful sex. I could talk about sex that is both meaningful and awesome. But I think that in quests for sexual perfection the former two categories are emphasized, much to the detriment of all involved.
In christian terms, every natural function was designed by God to suite God’s plans.
This includes things such as love and sex.
Not every christian would agree with that, but that’s what some christians believe.
Sexual perfection would be sex done in exactitude with God’s plans.
Many christians thought that homosexuality is a sin, because they believed that God’s plans were heterosexual only.
This becomes an argument, because who knows exactly what God’s plans are?
But i asked you in the OP what you think sexual perfection would be like, according to your intellegence and understanding.
For me? I don’t believe in sexual perfection bit what would come close would be a polyamorous, gender neutral situation with a lot “switches” in BDSM meaning.
Having experienced that and monogamy, I have to say that if I ever decide to have kids, I can’t imagine raising them in a situation that doesn’t also describe my sexual ideal. In my experience, monogamy is just way too fucked up to even consider trying to involve kids in.