Tuesday, June 01, 2004
Sexual Appetite
I have reached that point in C.S. Lewis' "Mere Christianity" where he discusses sexual morality. I must say, this is the book the schools should be using for sex-ed.
Lewis compares our sexual appetite with our appetite for food. He wonders what we would think of a society where people treat food the way we treat sex. Can you imagine all the teenagers tuning in to MTV to see juicy pictures of lamb chops or roast beef or self-rising pizza? Through this comparison, Lewis makes it clear how different the human sex drive is from our normal hungers and thirsts. "How many people," Lewis says, "want to eat things that are really not food or do other things with food instead of eating it. But perversions of the sex instinct are numerous and frightful. We have all been told that sexual desire is in the same state as any of our other natural desires, but the moment you look at the facts, you see that it is not true."
Lewis goes on to say, "When people say that sex is nothing to be ashamed of, they really mean that the state into which the sexual instinct has now got is nothing to be ashamed of. If they mean that, I think they are wrong. I think it is everything to be ashamed of. There is nothing to be ashamed of in enjoying your food: there would be everything to be ashamed of if half the world made food the main interest of their lives and spent their time looking at pictures of food and dribbling and smacking their lips." And this is from the 1950's!
Well, what happened over the weekend? A group of people wore colored sashes to church in Chicago, sashes that represent just what their mind is focused on, sashes that represent just exactly where they'd like to put different parts of their bodies. They were denied communion. In Minnesota, the sash wearers were allowed communion, but they had to climb over Catholics who were kneeling in the way. How soon until those who are divorced start wearing scarlet sashes and kicking their way to the front?
I struggled with a cough on Sunday morning, trying my best not to interrupt the service. How tightly wound must people be to their desires to disrupt the Mass and display themselves in front of all the unknowing little kids in church? How tightly bound must they be to their desire to have their church change based on their own, personal beliefs. And, of course, if the Church did change, how many of those who seek the change would remain? How many of these people are attracted more to the fight to be accepted and less to acctual acceptance?
Lewis compares our sexual appetite with our appetite for food. He wonders what we would think of a society where people treat food the way we treat sex. Can you imagine all the teenagers tuning in to MTV to see juicy pictures of lamb chops or roast beef or self-rising pizza? Through this comparison, Lewis makes it clear how different the human sex drive is from our normal hungers and thirsts. "How many people," Lewis says, "want to eat things that are really not food or do other things with food instead of eating it. But perversions of the sex instinct are numerous and frightful. We have all been told that sexual desire is in the same state as any of our other natural desires, but the moment you look at the facts, you see that it is not true."
Lewis goes on to say, "When people say that sex is nothing to be ashamed of, they really mean that the state into which the sexual instinct has now got is nothing to be ashamed of. If they mean that, I think they are wrong. I think it is everything to be ashamed of. There is nothing to be ashamed of in enjoying your food: there would be everything to be ashamed of if half the world made food the main interest of their lives and spent their time looking at pictures of food and dribbling and smacking their lips." And this is from the 1950's!
Well, what happened over the weekend? A group of people wore colored sashes to church in Chicago, sashes that represent just what their mind is focused on, sashes that represent just exactly where they'd like to put different parts of their bodies. They were denied communion. In Minnesota, the sash wearers were allowed communion, but they had to climb over Catholics who were kneeling in the way. How soon until those who are divorced start wearing scarlet sashes and kicking their way to the front?
I struggled with a cough on Sunday morning, trying my best not to interrupt the service. How tightly wound must people be to their desires to disrupt the Mass and display themselves in front of all the unknowing little kids in church? How tightly bound must they be to their desire to have their church change based on their own, personal beliefs. And, of course, if the Church did change, how many of those who seek the change would remain? How many of these people are attracted more to the fight to be accepted and less to acctual acceptance?
