Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu!linac!att!princeton!njin!paul.rutgers.edu!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: ac3p+@andrew.cmu.edu (Alison R. Carter) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: Masturbation, Wet Dreams, and keeping your eyes to yourself Message-ID: Date: 3 May 91 07:13:35 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Lines: 73 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu ROBERT@kontu.utu.fi (Robert W. Johnson) writes: >Looking at the Neew Testament, we can be even clearer. Anybody that >has >eve been involved in these things knows that the lust of the flesh is >involved, and that usually one visualizes some woman (in the case of a >man) >or some man (in the case of a woman) when committing these sins. Is it really a sin, or a genuine biological need to release the genetic material within one's testicles? It is impossible to stop sperm buildup and glucose buildup within the prostate. Release must happen sometime, or else your genitals start to ache and the "sin" must inevitably happen...due to the inordinate amount of testosterone and fluid that build up due to the chastity belt of spirituality. >What could be more clear? The flesh is strong, and I know that for a >healthy unmarried man or woman (especially men) that this is a very hard >burden to bear. As a young Christian seeking God with all my heart this >sin would occassionally get me. Thank God we have the blood of Christ >that >we can claim over all sin and with repentance we are forgiven. The flesh is strong because we have evolved as flesh for the past four billion years. We've only been sentient spirits for the past million or so. >I know from personal experience that it is entirely possible to keep Matt. >5:28. After i got married, I determined tht i would not even look at >another women. I did this more to honor my wife than to keep Matt. 5.28 >(I don't think I was even aware of Matt. 5:28 at the time). If you >practice "walKing in the Spirit," so can you, and thus honor God. It's possible now because you have an actual outlet for the flesh, a woman you can look at lustfully because it's allowed by marriage. If the spirit and the flesh are synonyms for good and evil, then why are you "walking in the spirit" and married at the same time? >but i say unto you, That whosoeve looketh upon a woman to lust after her >hath comitted adultry with her already in his heart. All sex is lust. Sex is an activity of the flesh, and the flesh is evil. Having sex with your wife is an activity of the flesh. The statement above says "woman", not "any woman except your wife." Does this mean that lust for, and sex with, your wife is less than human, and definitely not a spiritual thing? I seem to find a lot of head-aching contradictions over this in the bible. First Adam and Eve are supposed to be one flesh, FLESH, mind you, then masturbation is supposed to be a sin in Leviticus, then Christ says lust for a woman is sin, and then Paul goes on to say later that it's better for men never to marry. What is this? It seems that the only way one can actually keep from taking part in any of these sins is to be castrated. But then, in Leviticus, no man without testicles can go into the holy places, because he is then less than a complete human. Please, I'm confused!!!!! ---------------- A. Carter The Darwin's advocate [It's hard to be clear what things you are seriously asserting here. The concept that the body is evil is considered by almost all Christians to be a heresy. When Paul contrasts spirit and "flesh" it seems pretty clear he's using "flesh" somewhat metaphorically. See particularly Eph 5:22, where marriage is seen as a model of the relationship with Christ and the church. I'm going to assume you are not serious when you identify lust with all sex. If you are, we need a discussion abuot what chastity means to Christians... --clh]