Sephiroth1Ripley8 asks:
“But then again, are the old ways so wrong?
What about the days when both the men and the women
were chaste?
Lyra: I actually don’t believe there was ever a time when both men and women were chaste. How did that saying go? “Prostitution is the oldest of professions?” And those forcibly denied all sexual contact inevitably tend to find other methods of satisfying their natural inclinations.
Classic case, (geez I hope no one takes serious offense to this…) those Catholic priests you hear about in the news all the time. The abuse of nuns and other people, sometimes children, is a story I’ve heard far too many times.
In the book, “Princess Sultana’s Daughters,” written by Jean Sasson, the story of a real Saudi princess’s life and world in the 21st century, she tells of how the unbearably strict rules imposed by religion and/or culture causes men to congregate with men and women to congregate women. Since men and women are forbidden social contact with each other outside of the family structure, many people seek underground relations with the people they can have contact with – the same sex.
In fact, one of her daughters began down this road, and
terrified, she took her daughter to see a Western doctor in
When something is forbidden, people find ways to get around obstacles. And the only way to keep everyone chaste is to forbid sex because we’re certainly not going to go out and do it ourselves for no good reason.
Now those people, like several of my friends, will say, “I’m
not being forced to remain chaste and virgin minded” or whatever. Certainly no
one is holding a gun to their heads and telling them not to have sex, unlike in
That’s not to say that every single person will eventually crack and have sex outside of marriage. Certainly not. But humans as a whole don’t seem capable of being truly chaste.
Seph1Rip8: “Are we really nothing more than animals who can't control our own basic urges? But then there's the flipside. Why is it considered wrong or dirty, in a logical manner?”
Lyra: There’s actually a VERY good reason why it has been considered wrong or dirty for so long. Think about it, what happens when everyone goes and has sex before marriage and outside marriage? 2 things – STDs and the breakdown of the family.
In the past, there was no way to prevent the spread, unlike today with the wonderful invention of *latex condoms. Also, in the past, the structure of society, the hardships of surviving without modern technology, made families necessary. Without a father to work and a mother to keep house and raise the kids, children wouldn’t have been able to survive. But that’s not the case anymore. Single parents families are surviving just fine now. And so with changes in life come changes in beliefs. That’s just how it works. It just takes time for us to properly leave the past behind.
*I once found this comic on one of those supremely messed up Fundamentalist Christian sites wherein a teenage girl went to her older friend who told her that as long as she used protection she couldn’t get STDs or get pregnant. So she went and had sex with some vile man and contracted a disease. And then the doctor said, “Science has LIED to you Suzy. Condoms don’t [blah blah blah]” “So what will I do?!” “Turn to God and all will be good”
Fool. Those ancient lamb intestine condoms are only good for birth control, yes, but modern Latex DOES protect very well against STDs as long as you use them properly. I should think a DOCTOR would know that. Just remember kids, no oil based lubricants. You have to buy that special water-based stuff or else the condom will fall apart. ^_^
-Lyralina