Thursday, 29 January 2009
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Why Do People Think That Catholics Hate Sex?
Guest post by QuantumStorm
I find it funny how Catholics are often portrayed as people who revile or abhor sexual activity. I think it has to do with the fact that we emphasize abstinence before marriage, and view premarital sex as a serious sin. However, non-Catholics tend to focus on the "sex" part and not the "premarital" part and begin to assume that "sex" in and of itself is a serious crime, which then leads to the sorry portrayals of Catholics we see today in regards to sexuality.
- Maybe it's because I'm Catholic, but everytime I hear that I feel like those people have it totally backward.
- Maybe they forgot that Catholics view human sexuality as one of the pinnacles of communion with God, other than the Eucharist.
- Maybe they forgot that it is meant to be a taste, just as the Eucharist is, of the Beatific Vision, of a future of pure contentment and union with the Logos.
- Maybe they forgot that sex is actually meant to model the Trinity.
- Maybe they forgot that the Vatican constantly urges married Catholics to "do it" more often, because it is the truest expression of love between the spouses, and not because they want more kids and thus more followers.
- Maybe they forgot that the Church's stance on sex is: "Without sex, there can be no marriage."
- Maybe they forgot that in the Catholic Church, sex is viewed as a requirement for the Sacrament of Matrimony.
- Maybe they forgot that in the Latin/Western Catholic Rites, sex is viewed in the form of a contractual obligation. Emphasis on "obligation."
- Maybe they forgot that in the Eastern Catholic Rites it is viewed similar to a form of martyrdom, where the spouses sacrifice their modesty and expose their vulnerabilities to each other in exchange for the taste of eternal bliss, just as the early Christians sacrificed their lives for eternal life.
Maybe they forgot all of this. I'll give them that much. But even if they did forget all of this, it doesn't change the fact that contrary to popular non-Catholic views, the Catholic Church is very much confident in her beliefs in the necessity - and the beauty - of human sexuality.
How do you view the Catholic Church's stance on sex?
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- From: QuantumStorm@xanga
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Comments (79)
So Revelife actually features a post by a Catholic and this is what it is about?
I didn't really have anything to say about the content, you're right, of course. Great post, Quantum!
just catholics??? please... many of my protestant folk are finding sex to be detestable...
yes, i'm talkin the marrieds are just not coming together the way Scripture prescribes...
from what I now of according to the Word... sex is not gross, it's not to be worshipped, but to be viewed as a gift... and I for one will appreciate this gift as God has granted us...
Y'all must hate sex to have kept Mary a virgin her entire life.
The majority of what you wrote applies to all Christians, not just to Catholics.
But, I would hope we aren't seeing as being anti-sex, just anti-premarital sex. I wish people would listen to what we have to say rather than jump at the first buzzword and assume the rest. :(
Do people really limit it to just Catholics? And if they did, I'd think it would have more to do with their view on the usage of contraception.
@SwordAndSacrifice@xanga - LOL! That's such a Reformed joke...
Look people, Catholics CELEBRATE sex. Its fun, its pleasurable, and its the greatest sign of love you can give to your significant other. Its just that such an act is seen by the Catholic (and other Christian faiths) as one that should be saved for marriage between two people.
It's my opinion that Christians should have better sex, because they should understand the true essence of what it's about. It's not just for pleasure...it's to mimic union and intimacy with God! And within the covenant of marriage it's the most beautiful thing I can imagine. Sigh...how lovely.
Anyone who thinks Catholics have anything against sex (within marriage, of course) should read Pope John Paul IIs "Theology of the Body," or any of Christopher West's work stemming from it. The Church is definitely pro-sex (again, within marriage).
@SwordAndSacrifice@xanga - And we didn't keep her a virgin her whole life; she kept herself a virgin. Even Luther believed in her perpetual virginity:
"It is an article of the Faith that Mary is the Mother of the Lord and still a virgin...Christ, we believe, came forth from a womb left perfectly intact." The Works of Luther, by Weimar, translated by Pelikan.
I'm not sure it's that people have forgotten those things. I suspect that they just never learned them. But hey, not everybody is quite so horribly nerdy as we are. :)
The Church works far more diligently at opposing sexual sin than it does at promoting healthy sexual expression, which I think has a lot to do with the (largely inaccurate) perception of the Church as repressed and anti-sex.
I like how you bring the focus back to the virtues of healthy sexual expression. Kudos.
I'm Catholic, but I think this can apply to other Christian groups as well. Yet, when I think of a typical (practicing) Catholic girl I think of a girl who has a stance on waiting... and she has rosary swinging mother who might seriously hurt you. But Catholic's dig sex too. We have needs, we get the urges. We wait, fall in love, get married, and then have a pretty good honeymoon.
Personally, I'm waiting. Faith has a big thing to do with it, and it's hard. There are moments I have had to greet my teeth and say "no".
Think of it like this, what does the Church spend more time/effort doing? Naysaying anything it doesn't see as sexually moral (sexually deviant actions, contraceptives, pre-marital sex, etc), or promoting the stuff that it gives the thumbs up to?
i think people have this notion of 'catholics are anti-sex' cus
A) priests can't get married, and therefore can't really enjoy sex. Pastors, on the other hand, usually do get married, and presumably have a ton of sex.
B) the whole anti-birth control thing. ie. let's not put on a condom cus sex is for the purpose of procreation.
@yikuan@xanga - I think a lot of people think that men become priests and then there is a conversation at the ordination like this:
Bishop: "Hey, by the way, you know you can't have sex, anymore dude."
Priest:
"Whaaaaaaaaa????"
Bishop: "Yeah, dude, no sex. The whole vow of celibacy thing"
Priest: "Dude. Get me the heck out of here. Put that oil down, dude!!"
Bishop: "Too late!!! Hahahahahahaha!!"
Priest: "Nooooooooooooooooooooo"
Anyway, it's not quite like that. Priests are called to celibacy before entering the priesthood. It is a vocation that one who conscientiously chooses to be celibate is called to. The Church does not tell people they cannot get married, it chooses priests from among those who freely decide they don't want to get married. The Church loves marriage!!!
@SwordAndSacrifice@xanga - ary wasn't a virgin her whole life, she had sex after marrage, unless Jesus' half brothers were born from a virgin to.
@Sa4oth@xanga - Well, if they were his half brothers, then they could have been born of someone other than Mary. That's sort of the meaning of the term "half brother"...brother from another mother.
@scramBledmegZntoasT@xanga - Then that would mean Joseph had to get another woman pregnant
but then they would be step brothers, because Mary is the only "Earthly" lineage in Jesus. The only other reasonable answer for James' origin would be that Joseph and Mary had kids after Jesus, which would be normal for families at that time. Having one kid was abnormal back then. But I really don't want to get into this right now. Let's stick to the entry at hand. And I can't tell if you're joking or not.
@FOXHOUND_HQ@xanga - No I was not joking about what I said; little joke with the brother from another, but my point is not a joke.
And it's sort of lame to bring something up, then not really be able to defend yourself, and run away saying lets stick to the issue at hand, don't you think?
Of course the other "reasonable" answer would be that the word was "brethren", not "brother" and had nothing to do with actual relationships to Jesus at all.
Why would anyone be anti-sex. That's silly.
I think it's just more ignorance stemming from what people mistakenly hear about Catholicism. If it's not about being anti-sex, then it's pedophilia. When that fad is over, they jump to alcoholism. And when that's done, it's trying to debate the Virginity of Mary ((oops. Seems some posters are already there)). I'm sure after that, it'll likely be the same old "Oh, they pray to statues" bs that they clearly didn't actually read up on. Hate inspired, fueled by ignorance. Not surprising in the least. Often times I find Americans are the ones that take such a violent stance against Catholocism, when after looking deeply, I see it's just because of their own insecurities stemming from their religion. It's like they need to condemn others who aren't members of their cult...I mean church. Truly sad.
@scramBledmegZntoasT@xanga - I really don't like Internet arguments, and won't get into one unless I absolutely feel compelled. They tend to go in circles with no definate ending. I said what I said as a way to get my point of view out there on a side issue that already appeared to be discussed.
Wasn't St. Augustine like...really promiscuous?
And every Catholic I've met has had a lot of babies, so I think it's the birth control and the premarital sexing that they don't like, not the sex itself.
Interesting post. I've never really heard that Catholics disregarded sex. I just figured we were all the same when it comes to sex - that would be what you posted.
Although, I'm thinking that whomever thinks what they do about catholics and sexuality, didn't "forget" those points - they never heard about or knew those points in the first place! So this was a great post education-wise.
Traditionally Catholics are only allowed to use natural birth control which limits sex--or increases children, which could also limit sex.
Yes, it's a big misunderstanding between Catholics and non-Catholics.
It is not the sex that we avoid, it is the act of being lustful or submitting oneself without the act of matrimony. According to the Bible, if we cannot avoid the lust of doing so, it is better to enter into marriage. The sex, therefore, is an accepted part of marriage. It is not something that we despise. How can you despise something that is beautiful, the union of 2 people who love each other. This of course has to be supported by God's blessing.