Guidelines For Sexual Purity

[debrand]

This makes being a Christian sound exhausting

MeI thought that the Holy Spirit was supposed to protect Christians. At least I thought that was why some people believe that you can't be good without religion. But if religion aids you in being a good person, why wouldn't it protect you from the devil? Or is Satan only interested in making people horny and really doesn't care if you help the poor or are honest

Michelle Duggar would use the word, defraud, wouldn't she?

[BlueberryBird]

So fucking creepy.

[debrand]

epm.org/resources/2010/Jan/28/guidelines-sexual-purity/

11. Avoid setups like the plague.

Setups include such things as being alone on a couch or in a car late at night or in a bedroom. (Stay out of each other’s bedrooms!) Learn not to trust yourself too much. Psychologist Henry Brandt’s teenage son asked him, “Dad, don’t you trust me?†Brandt responded, “Alone, late at night, in a car, with a girl? I don’t trust me—why should I trust you?â€

Well, that is just sad. I wonder what Brandt's mom thinks about her husband's lack of control?

14. Imagine your parents and church leaders are watching you through the window

No thank you.

In temptation our theology becomes very cloudy. The truth is, there is no such thing as a private moment. God is never in the dark. He is always watching. We may fool ourselves and others, but never God. He knows what we’re thinking about and what we’re doing. And it is his appraisal of our life that ultimately matters.

God sounds a bit like a perverted Santa Claus :shock:

19. Don’t do anything with your date you wouldn’t want someone else doing with your future mate.

Somewhere out there is the man or woman you’re going to marry. What do you want them to be doing now with someone else? Then live by that standard yourself. “Do to others as you would have them do to you†(Luke 6:31).

I would like to formally thank my husband's previous lovers for helping him become a better sex partner. In all seriousness, it is very troubling that they feel that they own their future spouse before they marry them.

[Arete]

God is now our Owner. Awesome. :doh:

[SayNoToMullets]

Well, this does make a convenient out for conservative politicians who get caught with their pants down. Satan was picking on him because he's so Godly! He was persecuted, both by the liberal media and by Satan!

[Arete]

I don't want to think of either my parents or the parish priest while I am exercising in the horizontal. Ever. That is just SICK.

[themadapple]

"11. If you have sexual intimacy with someone outside marriage, you are stealing from God and the other person."

God, do get the hell out of my panties.

[Witsec7]

...

I would like to formally thank my husband's previous lovers for helping him become a better sex partner. In all seriousness, it is very troubling that they feel that they own their future spouse before they marry them.

^This.

When I enjoy the mattress olympics with a skilled man or women I silently thank their previous partners. :D

[doggie]

They got it all wrong. the devil waits till the believer is fully fundizized and fully gullible then he sends in his minions like gothard and Frothy and the tool and such to corrupt them. They follow blindly and become nasty hateful Christians. No cheating requited.

But hey since the devil only goes after Christians getting their freak on we are all free to go at it with whoever.

[ceg045]

I don't want to think of either my parents or the parish priest while I am exercising in the horizontal. Ever. That is just SICK.

I don't care how God-sactioned my sexytime is (and it's not), there is NEVER a time in which the clergy or my parents should/would find it acceptable to view it.

[Therine]

11. If you have sexual intimacy with someone outside marriage, you are stealing from God and the other person.

Um, if me and my partner have decided to have sex, I fail to see how doing so is "stealing" from either one of us.

Also, why would God care? Is he like a jealous boyfriend or something?

14. Imagine your parents and church leaders are watching you through the window

Well, that's not my kink, but if it works for you...

[Deleted07]

I think it takes a lot of self arrogance to think the devil is specifically looking to invest his interests into destroying you because you're so goddamn godly... :roll:

Sin of Pride mean nothing here? *sigh*

[JeanneD]

epm.org/resources/2010/Jan/28/guidelines-sexual-purity/

God sounds a bit like a perverted Santa Claus :shock:

Are they suggesting we need to protect the Almighty from seeing any hanky-panky? 'cause I hate to break it to you, but he's seen it all. I can't imagine I'd be capable of shocking him.

[mockingbird]

The more involved you are in serving Christ, the greater vested interests Satan has in destroying you and God’s work in and through you.

So... I guess the solution then would be to become less Christian? And then you would become less tempted by Satan because he won't care about you anymore? I love fundies sometimes.

[Maude]

Last time I checked, no one owned me, God included.

[RosyDaisy]

11. If you have sexual intimacy with someone outside marriage, you are stealing from God and the other person.

Since he or she belongs to God, not you, that means you are borrowing this person for the evening. Be careful what you do with what doesn’t belong to you. You’ll be held accountable to his or her Owner

WTF are we....slaves? Nobody owns anybody. This is some crazy logic.

[Guest Anonymous]

I'm off the hook. My husband and I were sleeping together before we got married, so whatever we "borrowed" from each other, we got back.

[Avalondaughter]

I hate that kind of language where you tell people Satan is constantly out to get you. That kind of thing can be truly terrifying for children. One of the reasons I turned to Christianity in my younger years was that I was worried that Satan might be trying to come after me. It wasn't even the fear that he would lure me to sin, I was afraid my head would come unscrewed and. I would vomit pea soup and I'd go to Hell for not being a good enough Christian. Conversion by fear is powerful, but the converted pay a price.

[Kitty]

What I can never get from these batshit sexual purity treatises is why virginity is so precious. It's supposed to be some wondeful gift, but nobody ever explains why its so wonderful. I guess its like a pretty paperweight, its pretty enough that everyone will notice it but an ultimately useless item that does nothing but weigh everything down.

[outrunningzombies]

"11. If you have sexual intimacy with someone outside marriage, you are stealing from God and the other person."

How is sexytimes stealing? The definition of stealing is takin something that isn't yours, so there is no damn way having sex is stealing.

[FlorenceHamilton]

I think I understand why sexual purity was so important in ancient religions. If a woman is a virgin when her husband has sex with her the first time...as evidenced by the vaginal bleeding from the hymen tearing. (which does not always happen, but is common), then any resulting child is by definition the responsibility of the man who does so. That is also why, the rather horrible tradition of needing to marry a woman to her rapist.

Remember that these ancient religions were using the best evidence available at the time to hold people accountable for their actions. People did not live much past child bearing years, even in the best of circumstances. Women were truly the weaker vessel because they were always potentially pregnant or had very young children to care for. Men did not want to share that burden, so the rules were set forth to (a) ascertain paternity and (b) give them a supernatural force that will take action if the try to shirk their responsibility.

Sexual purity as a virtue was an outgrowth of the economic reality of childbearing. It was actually the first step to recognizing that women have value. Using the only tools available at the time, it became obvious that a woman who never had sex was more likely to get support from a man if he was her first. Virgins then became a symbol of perfect womanhood. (They did not have the media to define attractiveness to them)

The ancients did a really admirable job of taking the superstitions of the people and blending it with economic reality using the best evidence at the time to create a functional set of rules. This allowed society to flourish, often at the price of many individuals.

The thing is that the best evidence available has changed. The energy expenditure to obtain food, clothing and shelter has changed, the ability to travel and observe/experience cultures at great distances has become an every day reality. Even in the biblical texts, there is evidence that the people were gaining new knowledge and changing the rules as new information became evident.

Satan, of course is the fail-safe. Any evidence to the contrary of the superstitious belief system is by definition, the work of Satan. It is the answer that covers any and all doubts. Not only that, but Satan is scary, horrifyingly scary. Certain people jus cannot get past that. Even today, it is still effective to certain emotional makeups. They simply cannot let go of it.

As for the rest of us, Satan is a real as the tooth fairy. And we really don't think that our personal private sexuality is the purview of imaginary judgment makers.

[Terrie]

I'm reminded of a speaker at my high school (I went to a private Protestant school) who admitted that he'd always been creeped out as a kid by adults telling him that God was watching him. He said he tried to go to the bathroom really fast, because he didn't want to think about God seeing him do his business there.

[JaChelle Sugar]

WTF are we....slaves? Nobody owns anybody. This is some crazy logic.

Oh yes we're God's slaves and we're supposed to love it. God owns all of us, husband's own there wives bodies and vice verce. (Though wives owning there husbands bodies only applies pre-marriage so as to guilt horny teenage boys with no sexual outlets into not masturbating as that would be stealing from their future wives. After marriage, the wife has to submit her body, but the husband doesn't have to submit his.)

[Kailis]

4. Your sexual purity is essential to your walk with God.

You know, I think my "walk with God" (rather, my equivalent of that fundie phrase) improved after I lost my virginity. I realized my fundie-lite church did not have all the answers. I realized I didn't believe in a God who would send me to hell for having sex. And once I got past that mental block, God suddenly seemed more accessible.

7. Your body belongs to God, not you.

I'm pretty sure I was thought that my life and therefore my body was a GIFT from God. That whole Jesus-dying-for-the-sins-of-the-world-thing? GIFT. I don't know about you, but I was taught that you should give gifts without expectations of receiving anything in return.

14. Satan will lie to you about sex, but Jesus tells you the truth.

So, does this mean I need to blame Satan for all of the unsatisfying trysts, and thank Jesus for the mind-blowing ones?

[desertvixen]

What I can never get from these batshit sexual purity treatises is why virginity is so precious. It's supposed to be some wondeful gift, but nobody ever explains why its so wonderful. I guess its like a pretty paperweight, its pretty enough that everyone will notice it but an ultimately useless item that does nothing but weigh everything down.

QFT! I get why it would have had a point in the past, but not so much now.

Personally, I (and my partners) have had much more fun playing with the box it came in...