sex and marriage

Chapter 6 Christian Morality (1)
Westmark believes: "Marriage originates from family, but family does not originate from marriage." This view was a matter of course before Christianity came into being.But since the birth of Christianity, this concept has become an important issue that needs to be elaborated.Christianity, especially St. Paul, imported a brand-new view of marriage into people, that is, the existence of marriage is not to have children, but to prevent adultery.

St. Paul's concept of marriage has been fully expounded in "5 Corinthians".It was a strange practice among the Christians in Corinth at that time that many had committed incest with their stepmothers (1 Corinthians [-]:[-]), and St. Paul felt that this situation could not be condoned and ignored.He stated the following points:
1. Talk about the things mentioned in your letter.I think it's best if men don't approach women.

2. But to be free from fornication, each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband.

3. Husbands should treat their wives appropriately; wives should do the same with their husbands.

4. A wife has no right to control her own body, except her husband; nor does a husband have a right to control her own body, except her wife.

5. Husband and wife should not disappoint each other, unless they are willing to separate the room for a while, only to concentrate on prayer; in the future, they must still have the same room, so that Satan will not tempt you when you can't help it.

6. I said this to warn you, not to command you.

7. I want everyone to be like me; but everyone receives the gift of God, which is different.

8. I said to unmarried girls and widows, if only they were ascetic as I am.

9. If you can't help yourself, you can marry.It is better to get married than to get angry.

As can be seen from the above passage, St. Paul does not mention children at all, and for him the procreative purpose of marriage is entirely irrelevant.Because he believed that the second coming of Jesus was in the works, and that the end of the world would happen in an instant.At the second coming of Jesus, human beings will become sheep or goats, so the first thing at this time is to enable ourselves to be among the sheep of human beings.St. Paul believes that sexual intercourse is an act that hinders salvation, even legal sexual intercourse in marriage is no exception ("I Corinthians" chapter 7 verses 32-37).Of course, those who are married can still be saved, but adultery is a felony punishable by hell.As for the unrepentant adulterers, they are destined to be among the goats.I remember one time when the doctor asked me to quit smoking, he said that if you take a sip of vinegar when you are addicted to cigarettes, it will make you quieter and it will be easier to quit smoking.This is the spirit of marriage advocated by St. Paul.Although he denied that marriage and adultery had the same pleasure, he believed that marriage could save the weak-willed from temptation.He never thought that there could be anything positive in marriage, or that the relationship between husband and wife was a beautiful and valuable thing.He had no interest in family life, and adultery occupied the highest place in his mind, so all his sexual ethics were related to it.It's just as some people think we bake bread just to keep people from stealing the cake.But St. Paul does not tell us why he considered fornication to be sinful.It has been speculated that the promotion of asceticism was probably intended to show that his morals were as strict as those of the orthodox Jews.Therefore, he needs to emphasize strongly the ascetic element of his creed.

Against all adultery is a new idea in Christianity. The "Old Testament", like most legal codes in early civilizations, forbids adultery, but adultery in the "Old Testament" refers to sexual intercourse with married women.Anyone who takes a serious reading of the Old Testament can clearly understand this.For example, when Abraham brought Sarah to Egypt, he told the Egyptian king that Sarah was his sister, and the king believed his words and married Sarah into the harem.But later, when the king found out that she was Abraham's wife, he was horrified, because he knew that he had sinned without knowing it, and accused Abraham of not telling him the truth.The general law of antiquity was that a woman would be considered a crime if she had sexual intercourse outside of marriage; and a man would only be condemned if he had intercourse with another man's wife, because he committed the crime of violating another's property.According to the Christian concept, all sexual intercourse outside of marriage is immoral. We already know this in St. Paul's words above.This idea is based on the idea that all sexual intercourse is sinful, even within marriage.Such a notion is contrary to physiology and would only be considered a morbid state of mind by those of sound mind.This idea is an integral part of Christian ethics, and it is the reason why Christianity has developed, throughout its history, a disturbed and incomplete outlook on life.

The ancient church not only valued but deliberately exaggerated this concept of St. Paul.Celibacy was considered holy, and men retreated into the wilderness to fight Satan, who filled their minds with lustful fantasies.

The Church objected to the custom of bathing, on the grounds that everything that beautifies the body is liable to sin.So what they bless is filth, and the reputation of holiness grows deeper and deeper.St. Paul said: "The cleanliness of the body and clothes means the uncleanness of the soul." Lice are known as the pearls of God.Moreover, if one is to be a saint, he must be covered with lice, for this is an indispensable sign.

The hermit Saint Abraham lived a total of 50 years after he converted to religion. However, from the first day of his conversion, he began to refuse to wash his face and feet.It is said that he was so handsome that one of his biographers said whimsically, "His face reflects the purity of his heart." St. Ann's never saw himself naked.An old maid named Sylvia, though she was sixty years old and sick with her own habits, still obeyed the religious rules and steadfastly refused to scrub any part of her body except her fingers.St. Euphrasia joined a convent of 60 nuns who are said to have never washed their feet and trembled at the mention of bathing.Once a hermit was taunted by the devil in vision, for he saw a monster, black from dirt and perennial nudity, naked with white hair blowing in the wind, running across the field before his eyes. .Saint Mary of Egypt was originally a beautiful woman, but in order to avoid her sins, she refused to take a bath for 130 years.If the monks occasionally violated their noble customs, they would be much censured.Alexander, the abbot of the friar, mourned when he recalled his life before conversion: "Our elders never washed their faces, but we often go to public baths."

There is such a story, there is a monastery in the desert, and the monks there are extremely miserable because they have no water to drink.After the prayer of the abbot Theodosius, a small river with abundant water appeared.Soon, some monks were tempted, gave up their original dignity, and tried their best to persuade the abbot to use this small river to build a bathhouse.Once, and only once, after the baths were built, the monks enjoyed their baths.But after that, the water stopped coming in a steady stream.The prayers, tears and fasting of the monks were irreparable.A whole year passed before the abbot at last leveled the bathhouse of God's wrath, and the water gushed out again.

It can be seen that wherever such a sexual concept prevails, even if there is a sexual relationship, this relationship is almost animal and vulgar, just like drinking alcohol under the law of prohibition.For in such places the art of love is forgotten, and marriage is brutalized.

Those ascetics have left an indelible mark on the minds of the people, convincing them that chastity is a matter of vital importance.Great though the work of these ascetics was, they did society a great injury, because they had a very bad influence on marriage.In the vast works of the godfathers.Though two or three fine papers may be found on this institution, on the whole it is generally considered to be but a most vulgar and repulsive institution.

Such a noble purpose for human beings to make up for the loss of death.Of course, a relationship should be stipulated. According to Linna, this kind of relationship will exist even in the world of flowers, but people generally think that marriage is almost the worst result, because this kind of relationship is the result of Adam's fall. the result of.As for the tender love that marriage makes people enjoy, and the holy and beautiful families that come with marriage, they are insignificant in the eyes of ordinary people.

The purpose of the ascetic is to lead people to a life of true purity.Therefore, marriage is a very vulgar thing in their eyes.They also admit that marriage is indeed necessary, and therefore justified, for the succession of the human family and for the freedom from greater sins.But marriage is still an inducement to degradation from which all who are truly holy and who would become truly holy should get rid of.In the passionate words of St. Jerome, the aim of the saints is to "fell down the tree of marriage with the great ax of holiness."Even if he allows others to praise marriage, it is only because it produces holy virgins.Even if they are married.The ascetic passion still retains its edge.

We have clearly seen how the passion of the ascetic brings pain to the other relations of family life.And the Holy Ones brought ten times more pain to these relationships.Religious zealotry, on either side of the couple, has the first effect of destroying the happy union.The more religious partner will at once think of a life of solitary asceticism, or, if not obstinately demanding a divorce, at least of a life of marital separation.The teachings of the church fathers, as well as the legends of the saints, are full of this idea, and it is familiar to anyone who understands this literature.

Let us give some more examples: after having two children, St. Nairus suddenly developed the ascetic desires that were prevailing at the time, and after a bitter cry, his wife was persuaded to divorce him.On the wedding night, St. Ann's greets his bride with an enumeration of the evils of marriage, causing the two to immediately agree to part.After long and earnest persuasion of her husband, Saint Melania was at last allowed to leave his bed.St. Abraham abandoned his wife and ran away from home on his wedding night.It is said that St. Alexis had the same experience, but many years later, he returned from Jerusalem to his father's house, and his wife was still in his father's house, weeping for her abandonment.St. Alexis, after much begging, was given a place of refuge that resembled a charity.There he dwelt, despised, unaccompanied, and silent until his death.

(End of this chapter)