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SecretMethod70 · 07-03-2004, 01:19 PM

I am Catholic. Went to a Catholic gradeschool, go to a Catholic college, and did those once a week confirmation class thingies for 2 years in high school.

Despite all that involvement with Catholicism, it has never been beaten into me that sex is bad or anything like that. In fact, I've only been taught that sex was a good thing. Sure, in Catholic education there's going to be some references to "no sex before marriage," but that's a differnt viewpoint than saying that sex and sexuality is a bad thing. We were always taught that sex was a wonderful thing.

Then there's myu parents too. They're pretty open about the subject. No conversation about sexuality tsicks out to me because they're not an unusual occurance. Sometimes it comes up and it's just discussed. I know how they feel about things, and beyond them preferring that I don't have sex before marriage, they're pretty open about sexuality. They also do not think that sex is some bad thing.

So, I guess that's why I never understand it when I hear about people thinking religions, esp Catholicism, suppress the goodness of sexuality and make it out to be some necessary evil. Perhaps I was just lucky and got good, open-minded Catholic teachers and parents, but I tend to think the misonception is simply caused by a vocal, closed-minded minority in any religion.

So, how has all this affected my views on sex in relation to religion? Well, I do think that waiting until marriage is a good thing, but not because of any religious reason really. I think sexuality is a beautiful thing and I also recognize that it can involve serious emotional bonding. I also fully believe in the importance of the promise made in marriage and I think going into it with anything other than 100% full intentions to keep that promise is a bad thing. So, with that in mind, I think waiting until marriage is simply good for emotional health. Most people are not capable of making sex meaningless and it therefore complicates things greatly if a couple who has had sex ends up breaking up. Once you're married, breaking up is something that will not happen unless under significant circumstances - ones that will trump the emotional bond of sex.

Of course, that doesn't mean I think sex before marriage is "bad" either. Can't really say WHAT I think, other than it's up to the individual. There are EASY arguments to be made for both sides, it's just a matter of which applies more to you.

07-03-2004, 01:19 PM	#10 (permalink)
SecretMethod70 Human Administrator Location: Chicago	I am Catholic. Went to a Catholic gradeschool, go to a Catholic college, and did those once a week confirmation class thingies for 2 years in high school. Despite all that involvement with Catholicism, it has never been beaten into me that sex is bad or anything like that. In fact, I've only been taught that sex was a good thing. Sure, in Catholic education there's going to be some references to "no sex before marriage," but that's a differnt viewpoint than saying that sex and sexuality is a bad thing. We were always taught that sex was a wonderful thing. Then there's myu parents too. They're pretty open about the subject. No conversation about sexuality tsicks out to me because they're not an unusual occurance. Sometimes it comes up and it's just discussed. I know how they feel about things, and beyond them preferring that I don't have sex before marriage, they're pretty open about sexuality. They also do not think that sex is some bad thing. So, I guess that's why I never understand it when I hear about people thinking religions, esp Catholicism, suppress the goodness of sexuality and make it out to be some necessary evil. Perhaps I was just lucky and got good, open-minded Catholic teachers and parents, but I tend to think the misonception is simply caused by a vocal, closed-minded minority in any religion. So, how has all this affected my views on sex in relation to religion? Well, I do think that waiting until marriage is a good thing, but not because of any religious reason really. I think sexuality is a beautiful thing and I also recognize that it can involve serious emotional bonding. I also fully believe in the importance of the promise made in marriage and I think going into it with anything other than 100% full intentions to keep that promise is a bad thing. So, with that in mind, I think waiting until marriage is simply good for emotional health. Most people are not capable of making sex meaningless and it therefore complicates things greatly if a couple who has had sex ends up breaking up. Once you're married, breaking up is something that will not happen unless under significant circumstances - ones that will trump the emotional bond of sex. Of course, that doesn't mean I think sex before marriage is "bad" either. Can't really say WHAT I think, other than it's up to the individual. There are EASY arguments to be made for both sides, it's just a matter of which applies more to you. __________________ Le temps détruit tout "Musicians are the carriers and communicators of spirit in the most immediate sense." - Kurt Elling Last edited by SecretMethod70; 07-04-2004 at 12:39 PM..