Where did your doctrine on sex, marriage and eroticism come from? Did it come from the Bible or perhaps, have you been taught something that appears to be from the Bible, but is not?
Since the time of St. Augustine, the church has had many problems with the issue of sex and eroticism. To give you an idea, there was a time when it was said that it was a sin to have sex with your wife in daylight. It was a sin to have sex with your wife for anything other than procreation. It was a sin for you to undress her (now try to figure that one out)! If I read you the whole list, you would be shocked and astounded. People were actually put to death for such actions, literally!
Were these doctrines of God? Or perhaps, where these doctrines of demons, as was prophesied in 1 Timothy 4? Would it shock you to realize, that you have had a doctrine and philosophy ingrained in you that might just be literally something the devil thought up? Would it shock you to know in the early days of America, people actually invented devices to keep young men from having hard-ons? Contraptions to put on your son's body to cause him pain? Does that not strike you as twisted? Or would it shock you to know that Kellog's corn flakes were invented to curb sexual appetite? Where did this obsession with controlling people's sex life come from? It has the intensity of a Jehovah's witness on your doorstep or even a Mormon trying to convert you. Could such a motivation be from God or is it more likely a doctrine of the Devil?
Doctrines of the Devil? Whoa. You never heard that one before did you? Yes, believe it or not, the doctrine that St. Augustine brought forth has been a cancer in the church since his time. You see St. Augustine, when he was a young Christian, still had not given up his sexual vices. He was a man who, prior to becoming a Christian and also a bit into his Christian walk, was obsessed with sex, even partaking in orgies. Before Augustine became a Christian, he was of a certain Gnostic sect called the Manicheans. The Manicheans condemned marriage and procreation, but participated in fornication, orgies and incest (Basically, they considered sex evil, as it is part of physical world, however, they considered themselves enlightened in the spirit, so it did not matter what they did with their bodies. Yes, twisted..). So, instead of taking a balanced approach to the topic of sex, he turned his life into a Crusade against sex. He turned his theology into one where sex is always shameful or sinful in every instance. Basically, he took the Gnostic philosophy to a more pure form, saying and living as if ALL sex is evil (as it is physical), and the spirit is good (avoid sex, even in marriage) (see Gnostic Dualistic Heresy / Manichaeism / Docetism / Etc). Further, he taught that Adam and Eve's sin in the garden of Eden was sex. However, anyone who actually studies the scriptures and is honest, knows that is not correct. Quite literally, St. Augustine taught all people should be celibate and that if you even think about sex (with even your wife), you should ask God for forgiveness. Is it too hard to conceive of the possibility that St. Augustine still had a problem with doctrine after becoming a Christian and tainted all Christian doctrine ever since? I believe this passage here underscores this point. (Reference Reading)
So, we know the root all any theological mindset is where we should look. And Augustine is the father of this theology, which he derived from a non-Christian source: Plotinus. If we look at 1 Timothy 4, we see that it says:
1 TIMOTHY 4:1 - 5
4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
4:2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
4:3 Forbidding to marry, [and commanding] to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.
4:4 For every creature of God [is] good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:
4:5 For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
And also..
COLOSSIANS 2:20 - 23
2:20 Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,
2:21 (Touch not; taste not; handle not;
2:22 Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men?
2:23 Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.
Now, these are going to be our scriptures to cut at the root of this deeply ingrained philosophy and doctrine taught indirectly within the church today.
If you research church history, you discover that through the Catholic Church, sex became a sin, and also people were told not to marry. Priests who were married even had concubines at one time and multiple wives (polygamy), until Pope Benedict VIII issued a rule prohibiting children of priests from inheriting property. Pope Gregory VII banned marriages for priests ( Second Lateran Council held in 1139 - forbidding priest from marrying). Further Pope Innocent II voided all the current priests' marriages and forced all new priests to divorce their wives. I believe this is the beginning of this prophecy and the "Second Lateran Council" eerily fulfills this prophecy to perfection. Why did the Pope through this Council bann priests from marrying? Because he was afraid they would have children who could inherit church property. Quite literally, it was for reason of MONEY that marriage was condemned. Further, declaring sex a sin made for a lot of people sinning and having to repent, which also gave the church another way to make money. For Augustine provided the framework for sex being intrinsically sinful, which led to many in the church being celibate. And, as you can see in the prophecy, this is a doctrine of the devil. (Further Reading) Consider the fact that the greatest persecutor of true Christians was the Organized Catholic Church, so why is it we accepted their doctrine on sex, hook, line and sinker? Protestants are called by this name because they were "protesting" against Catholic Church doctrine and teachings. So, I don't leave anyone out, there is also the Orthodox church, which the Catholic church split from and then from there, Protestant churches split from the Catholic church. I have relatives and friends who are Orthodox (nothing bad to say there).
So, this doctrine of the devil has continued to pervade itself within the church in various forms. This is why, ironically, Christians are so anti-pornography, yet end up hypocritical as they watch it. I just recently read a statistic from the Barna Group who did a biblical worldview survey. It said that only 0.5% of Christians with a biblical worldview consider pornography not a sin, in word. But, when it came to deed, Christians with a biblical worldview watch pornography HALF AS MUCH as non-Christians! What happened to that 0.05%? Also, if you look at the statistical links above, you will also notice, people are far quicker to condemn pornography than just about any other sin that was in the survey!
HERE IS THE MATH:
99.95% of all Christians with a biblical worldview believe pornography is evil. 0.05% think it is acceptable.
61% of all other people believe pornography is evil. Or, in other words, 39% of other people think it is acceptable.
Christians with a biblical worldview are "two times less" likely to view pornography.
Assuming the "other people" watch pornography in consistance with their viewpoint of it being OK, it would mean that 19.5% of all Christians with a biblical worldview watch pornography.
As an alternative and possibly more accurate assumption, lets say that 60% of all "other people" watch pornography (even though only 39% said they approved of it), it would mean that 30% of all Christians with a biblical worldview watch pornography.
Now, I have taken a myriad of very advanced mathematical classes, so you can be assured the above is very correct, assuming the statistics provided by The Barna Group are correct.
What can we conclude? Obviously, many people are not consistant in their beliefs on this topic.
I am not here to condemn you. But, the fact is, you are watching it, and tell everyone you are against it. That is a contradiction. And, you have to ask yourself, WHY are you doing it? To be honest, I recall doing it myself a couple times, particularly one time while I was in college.. Telling people I do not watch it, but I was playing word games. Depends on what the word "is" is, right?
Well let me help you out here.. As you already know, sex is something that God created a desire for inside everyone of us. It is very similar to our desire for food or sleep. The Devil knows this. That is why he decided to steal sexual fulfillment from Christians by declaring all sexual activity a sin. What better way to screw you up? Its like the Devil convincing you it is a sin to eat or sleep! You are guaranteed to loose! And do not the statistics above allude to this very point?
You have been taught that if you merely look at any woman with any sexual thought, you have committed adultery, correct? Yet, this is not what the passage actually says.. Your own theology has crept into your understanding of scripture. I discuss this passage and many others here: Matthew 5:27
Why would the Devil desire to change Christian doctrine on sex? Could it be, he wants to use something God has created against you and God, to cause problems? Think about it for a minute. Why would God make desires within you and then tell you it is a sin to look at a nude woman? Ask yourself, other than the common scriptural stance you have been taught, what other argument causes you to believe this? Really, ask yourself this question. Wouldn't it make sense that the Devil would want Christians anti-sex and then for non-Christians tell them all types of sex is good? Who sounds like they have the better deal in that scenerio and do you honestly think that the Devil wouldn't tempt Christians to make extra rules, seeing that is exactly what he did to the pharisees in Jesus' time?
