Sexual Morality in Christian World
Lingqi Huang
Sexual morality is a very subjective understanding of sex in the aspect of morality. Therefore, 1 Corinthian by Paul and Confessions by Augustine, written by different authors, may embrace different ideas about sexual moralities. However, after careful analysis, I can find that those divergent ideas are not actually competing each other; instead, they are expressing the same idea of sexual morality, and most of these seemingly different ideas can work together as a organic entirety to illustrate the most central idea of Christian sexual morality, effectively and clearly. 1 Corinthian is a suggestion, a guideline for Christian sexual morality, and Confessions is the practice of the guideline: …show more content…
For instance, “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I therefore take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never!”(The Holy Bible, RSV, 1 Corinthian, 6-15). When talking about prostitution, without denying, Paul is a strong objector. However, in reality, to solve the problem that not all people are sages and they cannot easily avoid “temptation to immorality”(Bible, 1 Corinthian, 7-2), Paul is therefore quite open-minded about marriage, even if it’s the remarriage for a widow, considering that marriage can prevent men and women from immoral sexual activities, such as prostitution. Even though Paul is open-minded about marriage, he still intentionally points out that if one has sufficient self-control, remaining single is a better option, “To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is well for them to remain single as I do”(Bible, 1 Corinthian, …show more content…
Between book 2 of Confessions and 1 Corinthian, I can find the start of the divergence in sexual morality, “But my love went beyond the affection of one mind for another, beyond the arc of bright beam of friendship. Bodily desire like a morass, and adolescent sex welling up within me exuded mists which clouded over and obscured my heart, so that I could not distinguish the clear light of true love from the musk of lust”(Confessions, Book III-2, p.43). The key world for Augustine at that period is “immature”. At an age of youth, disliking school education like any other teenage at his age, Augustine’s view about the world has not formed yet. Therefore, his understanding of the world, including sexual morality, largely bases on his direct felling from the surrounding environment and from his own body. Under such circumstances, in that period, his view about sexual morality is immature; according to how he feels and to his idea of “love”, he takes “Bodily desire” above any other
Lingqi Huang
Sexual morality is a very subjective understanding of sex in the aspect of morality. Therefore, 1 Corinthian by Paul and Confessions by Augustine, written by different authors, may embrace different ideas about sexual moralities. However, after careful analysis, I can find that those divergent ideas are not actually competing each other; instead, they are expressing the same idea of sexual morality, and most of these seemingly different ideas can work together as a organic entirety to illustrate the most central idea of Christian sexual morality, effectively and clearly. 1 Corinthian is a suggestion, a guideline for Christian sexual morality, and Confessions is the practice of the guideline: …show more content…
For instance, “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I therefore take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never!”(The Holy Bible, RSV, 1 Corinthian, 6-15). When talking about prostitution, without denying, Paul is a strong objector. However, in reality, to solve the problem that not all people are sages and they cannot easily avoid “temptation to immorality”(Bible, 1 Corinthian, 7-2), Paul is therefore quite open-minded about marriage, even if it’s the remarriage for a widow, considering that marriage can prevent men and women from immoral sexual activities, such as prostitution. Even though Paul is open-minded about marriage, he still intentionally points out that if one has sufficient self-control, remaining single is a better option, “To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is well for them to remain single as I do”(Bible, 1 Corinthian, …show more content…
Between book 2 of Confessions and 1 Corinthian, I can find the start of the divergence in sexual morality, “But my love went beyond the affection of one mind for another, beyond the arc of bright beam of friendship. Bodily desire like a morass, and adolescent sex welling up within me exuded mists which clouded over and obscured my heart, so that I could not distinguish the clear light of true love from the musk of lust”(Confessions, Book III-2, p.43). The key world for Augustine at that period is “immature”. At an age of youth, disliking school education like any other teenage at his age, Augustine’s view about the world has not formed yet. Therefore, his understanding of the world, including sexual morality, largely bases on his direct felling from the surrounding environment and from his own body. Under such circumstances, in that period, his view about sexual morality is immature; according to how he feels and to his idea of “love”, he takes “Bodily desire” above any other