Sex is—have you noticed?—a big deal in our world. It seems to be a truism that every person has a right to whatever sexual experience they want, and that putting limits on sexual practice is somehow offensive to humanity. Maybe Freud is to blame for sexualizing our world and persuading our culture that sexual “repression” was a form of neuroticism. While the theistic consensus regarding morality was eroding away, the Freudian imperative arose to take its place as our source for behavioral norms. This—along with the obvious pleasures of sex—added up to making sexual expression a virtual imperative while removing most limits on what form that expression might take.
Yes, there world was entirely innocent to sex prior to the 1880s. Prior to Freudian Theory, no one ever desired sex or enjoyed sex or lusted at all. Babies were produced as part of a perfunctory act not unlike washing the dishes in level of desirability or enjoyment. It wasn't until Freud thought up penis envy that the people of the world realized that they liked sex and wanted sex. Nobody paid prostitutes for sex prior to that, no one was gay prior to that, and . . . look, not even I can keep that up. The theory that Frued sexualized the world is so insane, I'm flabbergasted. I know thinking about people in the past doing it is a bit weird, given our general views on the past, but I assure you, the world was plenty sexualized prior to Freud.
Psychologists and psychiatrists who follow Freud’s sexual theories have become hard to find. The Freudian framework has been discredited by its utter lack of scientific testability and its poor clinical effectiveness. Yet individuals in Western culture still think they must express their sexuality. So when we Christians tell homosexuals they cannot unite in same-sex “marriage,” and that they should not fulfill their sexual preferences, we’re not just being spoil-sports. It’s as if we’re saying they must deny their own person-ness and stunt their own humanity. They can’t join in the game everyone (and if you look at popular media, we mean everyone) else gets to play.
It's not so much that one "must" express one's sexuality, it's that one cannot avoid expressing one's sexuality. Sexuality is deeply rooted and essential to humans. That is, in fact, why there are humans today. Our ancestors just couldn't stop "expressing their sexuality".
You know how I can prove this? Step outside of America, where it's far from easy to be gay, but it usually isn't deadly, and take a visit to Uganda, where "expressing one's sexuality" (or merely being suspected of being gay) means your picture in the paper and a beating and possible killing to go with it. Think about this logically for one moment. If that's what "expressing one's sexuality" as a choice means, why would anyone do it? If it were possible to deny one's sexual nature long term, wouldn't every gay person in Uganda be doing just that? Since they're not, I think we can reasonably say that denying one's sexuality simply isn't possible long term.
Now, the author does admit that "reparative therapy" (google "Exodus International" if you must, but I'm not linking to that) is a crock, but what is his answer? Replace your sex drive with Jesus.
Jesus demonstrated joy (Luke 10:21, John 3:29), taught joy (Matthew 5:12, Luke 10:17-20, prayed for joy (John 17:13), gave reason for joy (Matthew 28:8, Luke 24:41, John 16:22). All of life is available for us to find joy. This is the message of the most misunderstood book of the Bible (in my opinion), Ecclesiastes, whose theme can be summarized as, There is much pleasure in earth that we may justly pursue, yet ultimate delight is in God himself.
Okay, you do it. Seriously, you give up sex altogether and pray instead. Tell me how it goes 80 years from now. Actually, I don't need you to do that. I just need to look at all the "chaste" priests and their multitudinous sex scandals to know that doesn't work. It's not just the sexless Catholic priests, either, it's married Protestant preachers, who can presumably get some at home, boinking their secretaries and doing meth off the asses of prostitutes. Hello, your own holy men can't hack the prayer instead of sex diet, why do you expect that to work for the rest of us? Logic, anyone?
Why do I even ask? This is religion, we don't need no stinkin' reason.
The theory that Frued sexualized the world is so insane, I'm flabbergasted.
ReplyDeleteThe other night Colbert had an Egyptologist on talking about King Tut's missing penis. Colbert was trying to get the guy to put the time of Egypt in terms of what was happening in the US at the time (which was brilliant, really). Finally the Egyptologist was like, "You know Ben Franklin? It's like Ben Franklin, but if he had been alive 3300 years ago."
What I'm saying is, maybe Ben Franklin took Freud with him. I mean, they were both alive before 1900, so they must have been buddies.
Anyone who thinks Freud invented sexuality (especially "immoral" or "deviant" sexuality as defined by Christianity) has never read St. Augustine.
ReplyDeleteUzza captured my exact thought the first time I accidentally saw a penis at age 6.
ReplyDeleteAnd I will see your St. Augustine and raise you one Origen.
Firstly: "It’s as if we’re saying they must deny their own person-ness and stunt their own humanity." Yep. Got it in one. Just take out the "It's as if" part.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, we were a family of 9 with one bathroom, and I had two younger brothers whom I helped diaper, so I saw penises at a young age. The only time I had "penis envy" was when we all went camping, and I had to squat to pee in the woods!
Okay, I've had that sort of penis envy. Being able to easily pee standing up or into a water bottle would be fab! The only thing I can say about being a woman in that situation is short, tight skirts are best, pants virtually ensure you will be wearing your own pee.
ReplyDeleteAnd I will see your Origen and raise you an Ezekiel.
ReplyDeleteEzekiel 23:20 There she lusted after her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of horses.
Also, Solomon.
*snicker* Good lord. Between that and the "your breasts are twin gazelles" thing, I'm not sure how there was never a bestiality heresy.
ReplyDeleteFreud? Freud? Seriously, we're back to looking at Freud as shaping the modern view of sexuality? Dude, Freud isn't the father of modern psychiatry because he was right... about anything. He's the father of modern psychiatry because he was so brilliantly wrong that people came up with an entire science of human behavior just to refute him.
ReplyDeleteAnd... "popular media"? No, I'm sorry, it's not just the popular media promoting some misguided idea that everyone and their cat expresses their sexual identity. That would be "living around people" that's expressing that uniquely radical idea.
What century are you living in, anyway?
"everyone and their cat expresses their sexual identity"
ReplyDeleteIt's true. I grew up having a cockatiel who expressed his sexual identity. To his mirror.