I think "for most of human history" is quite untrue. The Romans (and, I think, many others) practiced infanticide, rape was an instrument of war and terrorism, prostitution and the sexual use of slaves were both expected or sometimes encouraged whether in personal life or as part of religious devotion. Sex was cheap but only "freely" practiced by the powerful. Marriage as social technology is a good point, but it seems like it was functionally different from sex as an act by many in society. Family and kinship networks tied by children were very true, and I read this article in appreciation, but the evils present in human history are different in exact expression but similar (or even the same!) in kind.
Maybe better – "for most of [Christian / Western] history" would be better, and truer, and better reflect the ideals of Them Before Us. If those practices I listed above are distasteful (or, truer, "evil," as I know and believe) then that shows a Christian ethic has been dominant in recent history, or – sex has been expensive, recently, due to the dominance of a Christian ethics.
This is an extremely valuable analysis. The society-wide aspect of the cheapening of sex is enormous but poorly comprehended because "we see what we want to see." We'd rather not think about the demographic implosion, that society is going to disintegrate, because we're not producing enough children. Most mid-life adults are living for themselves - the pursuit of pleasure, career, or wealth. We "baby boomers" are retiring or already retired, and there aren't enough young people to replace us. We need to wise up, stop being stupid, folks!
Overall, really appreciate the article and the thesis espoused and the attempt to help folks see the value of sex in loving relationships! 2 points where I differ...1) The economic, responsibility and risk factors in the past did not "give rise to marriage." Marriage was formed by God in the Garden before sin ever entered the picture. That's what we, especially in the churches need to remember and recapture! Which leads to my second exception; 2) Sex has always been sacred according to The One Who designed us and gave it to us. The problem is that man, in His sin, pride and selfishness (after the Fall) was tainted and "destroyed" in every way. So, what was meant to give life, bonding, and pleasure and give glory to God by declaring His image in one man/one woman marriage, decided to practice sex for his own pleasure. We now, millennia later, see that we are reaping all that we've sown as God's design and plan have essentially been tossed aside for man's selfish pleasure and that has permeated our entire society and culture...education, psychology, media/social media, healthcare, government and much more! May God have mercy on us and may we return or continue to uphold His Word and plan and begin to reap the beautiful benefits He promises! God bless in Christ!
An excellent essay. I would claim that sex today has been psychologically made cheap and demeaning through the false and often violent portrayal in modern day pornography which permeates the consciousness of western society, in media and culture.
Well articulated. While I too disagree with some of the historical, the core argument cannot be broken. It is God’s design. Covenant marriage. 1 Corinthians 7
Thank you for this. It is so true. My parents raised their family of daughters to understand that "you will be taken at the price you put upon yourself". Both believed that women should be gate-keepers, which benefits both men and women in the long run. It was the best advice, and we have passed it on to our own children.
The pill is not fully understood I think. It caused a seismic culture wide cognitive shift almost immediately. Within a very short time, sex was so totally disconnected from children that whether people understood that there was a connection in an abstract, technical or academic sense, they didn't in any other sense. The # of abortions that followed was, in many cases, the result of a failure to connect the act with the creation of a person who would have gargantuan resource demands for the next -- oh -- Idk, 20-30 years. The disconnect of sex from how human beings exists at all generated thousands of subsequent disconnects. The technology that allowed the act to have little to do with the natural result couldn't have been more globally significant on every level, but most significantly, cognitively. I'm not sure we can connect those two dots again in anyway that isn't either considered religious or arbitrary. The world changed. The only way to care about that disconnect, I think, is to be personally motivated to see how much devastation can be laid at the door of the sexual revolutuion.
The author opens with the line, "Sex used to be sacred." However, I am confident that he would agree with me that it still IS sacred.
We have treated sexual acts in degrading manners, instead of honoring the uniting of one wife and one husband in always open to life maritall acts.
I think "for most of human history" is quite untrue. The Romans (and, I think, many others) practiced infanticide, rape was an instrument of war and terrorism, prostitution and the sexual use of slaves were both expected or sometimes encouraged whether in personal life or as part of religious devotion. Sex was cheap but only "freely" practiced by the powerful. Marriage as social technology is a good point, but it seems like it was functionally different from sex as an act by many in society. Family and kinship networks tied by children were very true, and I read this article in appreciation, but the evils present in human history are different in exact expression but similar (or even the same!) in kind.
Maybe better – "for most of [Christian / Western] history" would be better, and truer, and better reflect the ideals of Them Before Us. If those practices I listed above are distasteful (or, truer, "evil," as I know and believe) then that shows a Christian ethic has been dominant in recent history, or – sex has been expensive, recently, due to the dominance of a Christian ethics.
"Judeo/Christian" would be even more accurate and with a much longer history.
This is an extremely valuable analysis. The society-wide aspect of the cheapening of sex is enormous but poorly comprehended because "we see what we want to see." We'd rather not think about the demographic implosion, that society is going to disintegrate, because we're not producing enough children. Most mid-life adults are living for themselves - the pursuit of pleasure, career, or wealth. We "baby boomers" are retiring or already retired, and there aren't enough young people to replace us. We need to wise up, stop being stupid, folks!
Overall, really appreciate the article and the thesis espoused and the attempt to help folks see the value of sex in loving relationships! 2 points where I differ...1) The economic, responsibility and risk factors in the past did not "give rise to marriage." Marriage was formed by God in the Garden before sin ever entered the picture. That's what we, especially in the churches need to remember and recapture! Which leads to my second exception; 2) Sex has always been sacred according to The One Who designed us and gave it to us. The problem is that man, in His sin, pride and selfishness (after the Fall) was tainted and "destroyed" in every way. So, what was meant to give life, bonding, and pleasure and give glory to God by declaring His image in one man/one woman marriage, decided to practice sex for his own pleasure. We now, millennia later, see that we are reaping all that we've sown as God's design and plan have essentially been tossed aside for man's selfish pleasure and that has permeated our entire society and culture...education, psychology, media/social media, healthcare, government and much more! May God have mercy on us and may we return or continue to uphold His Word and plan and begin to reap the beautiful benefits He promises! God bless in Christ!
An excellent essay. I would claim that sex today has been psychologically made cheap and demeaning through the false and often violent portrayal in modern day pornography which permeates the consciousness of western society, in media and culture.
Well articulated. While I too disagree with some of the historical, the core argument cannot be broken. It is God’s design. Covenant marriage. 1 Corinthians 7
Thank you for this. It is so true. My parents raised their family of daughters to understand that "you will be taken at the price you put upon yourself". Both believed that women should be gate-keepers, which benefits both men and women in the long run. It was the best advice, and we have passed it on to our own children.
The pill is not fully understood I think. It caused a seismic culture wide cognitive shift almost immediately. Within a very short time, sex was so totally disconnected from children that whether people understood that there was a connection in an abstract, technical or academic sense, they didn't in any other sense. The # of abortions that followed was, in many cases, the result of a failure to connect the act with the creation of a person who would have gargantuan resource demands for the next -- oh -- Idk, 20-30 years. The disconnect of sex from how human beings exists at all generated thousands of subsequent disconnects. The technology that allowed the act to have little to do with the natural result couldn't have been more globally significant on every level, but most significantly, cognitively. I'm not sure we can connect those two dots again in anyway that isn't either considered religious or arbitrary. The world changed. The only way to care about that disconnect, I think, is to be personally motivated to see how much devastation can be laid at the door of the sexual revolutuion.
This is an excellent article, but sex cannot be sacred if it evolved through merely natural processes.
The lady doth protest too much, methinks.
What lady?