He has convinced us that God is a killjoy.
Actually, God's position is that sex outside of the guidelines is NOT FUN, JOYFUL
Cheap sex is ultimately not cheap, not joyful and a hideous, bleak paradoy of sex as designed.
Sadly, the enemy has also torpedoed intimacy in general so much that even relatively few married couples enjoy the robust joy designed in.
The Song of Solomon is not a bored, dull, moaning wail. . . . but an exhaltation. . . yes, also as an analogy of Christ's Love for The Church--but not only. . . . it's also a celebration of sex as designed. . . . a dance of communication. . . . a dance of caring, thoughtfulness, tenderness, intimacy . . . heart to heart, being to being, personhood to personhood. . . .spirit to spirit. . . .
When the standard is set as cheaply as evidently it has been at Penn State, it's not surprising that bleakness leads to a grasping group grope for greater grins.
But most experienced hedonists know that greater numbers of conquests, partners, victims doesn't yield a proportionately greater thrill and certainly no greater joy. Going from Playboy to snuff movies vicariously or literally doesn't increase any lasting satisfaction, joy or even greater quality thrill.
But such progressions do increase pain, death, isolation, hopelessness. . . feelings and existences of wasted, used-up, terminal shallowness, terminal hollowness, terminal angst, terminal depression, terminal self-loathing, terminal joylessness, terminal isolation, walking and imobile, terminal. . . . death.
And media and entertainment industries pretend the opposite is true. . . . and the Pied Piper's song SEEMS interesting enough masses of the population are led around by the puppet strings tied to their genitals . . . . and to certain regions of their brains.
I think God is more angry that his creation takes the priceless diamonds of the buckets and oceans of true Joy offered--and chooses instead the thimblefulls of poison offered by trenchcoated figures in dark allies. . . . than He is that we are rebels. Let me try again.
I think God is more angry that when He offers His kids gifts of unmeasured Joy and fulfillment, they throw the priceless gift in the sewer and go off and play with used toilet paper instead.
The rebellion is serious enough. But I think it's sadder to any father for his kid to cast aside authentic treasures tailored to the individual's unique joy-buttons--and for the kid to then, in a drunken stupor to go play with rattle snakes and scorpions--in denial pretending that's fun.
The rules are not because God is anal retentive.
The rules are for our Joy. The Designer knows how we are made and how we are best thrilled.
Compared to God, when it comes to thrills and joy, we are infinite, sawdust chewing idiots.
The rules are for our Joy. The Designer knows how we are made and how we are best thrilled.
Thanks for taking the time to post. There are so many things which seem to be paradoxes that are simply conflictsbetween our natural (physical) inclinations and spiritual truths. Many are amazed, once they experience them, of the subtlety and sophistication hidden in the "Thou Shalt Not"s in the Bible. They are guides to joy, not prohibitions of it.
Outstanding post.
One of the best movies I have ever seen is "Bedazzled." I'm talking about the original Dudley Moore and Peter Cooke film. I haven't seen the remake with Elizabeth Hurley and I don't plan to. The premise of the original was that Dudley Moore sold his soul to the devil (Peter Cooke) for seven wishes. The point of the movie was that each wish would be slightly skewed by Satan so that it never brought the fulfillment that was promised. It always ended in frustration and pain.
That's what sin is about. It looks like life, but it is really death. It looks sweet, but it is really sour. As a very wise man said once, "There is a way that seems righ to a man, but the end thereof is death."
Shalom.