When it comes to SEX, all bets are off

SMOKING
BINGING
ALCOHOLISM
RECKLESS DRIVING
COCAINE 
BULIMIA
OBESITY
TRANS-FATS
SUGAR
CARBS


As a society we speak up against ALL of these things and recognize them as unhealthy for an individual as well as society.  Obesity  is practically a federal crime, trans-fats outlawed, and carbs are otherwise known as the white devil!


But when it comes to SEX, ALL BETS ARE OFF!  We're handing out condoms to first graders!  In an age where relativism has taken over, we are so afraid of being judgmental that we have lost all common sense.  (Wondering if there is objective truth?  Go HERE.)  And so it's "anything goes".   We defend fornication, masturbation, contraception, divorce, sodomy and homosexuality.  The result?  Hearts are broken, families are destroyed, diseases are spread, and babies are murdered.  


Peter Kreeft writes,

The moral revolution is confined to sex. We are not allowed to steal another man's money without being put into jail, but we can steal another man's wife. You cannot betray your lawyer without being severely penalized, but you can betray your wife, and SHE is severely penalized. You cannot kill bald eagles or blue whales without being a criminal but you can kill your own children as long as you do it a second before the two blades of the scissors meet in the middle of the umbilical cord rather than a second after, or a second before the body emerges from the birth canal rather than a second after. What kind of logic is this? (Christian Anthropology verses the Sexual Revolution)

The reason we issue warnings about the initial list is because we care about the well-being of a person.  We don't judge a smoker as evil, we recognize that he is engaged in an unhealthy lifestyle and urge him to make choices that will better himself.  


The same is true for sex.  We do not judge a person engaged in fornication or homosexuality as evil.  We care about the person, and recognize the act as objectively disordered.  The actions do not define the essence of the person.  It is not their identity any more than my sins are my identity.  


Let's look at the consequences of male homosexual activity specifically.


But before we do- again I want to stress that I am focusing on the actions- not the person.  The Catechism states, "They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God's will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord's Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition" (CCC 2358).


The G.ay & Lesbia.n Medi.cal Associat.ion warns gay men of ten common issues.  

1. Increased risk for HIV/AIDS. (Also reported by the CDC here.)
2. Substance abuse- commonly marijuana, Ecstasy, and amphetamines
3. Higher rates of depression and anxiety- particularly adolescents and young adults
4. Increased risk of hepatitis which can be potentially fatal.
5. STDs occur in sexually active gay men at a high rate. 
6. "Gay men may be at risk for death by prostate, testicular, or colon cancer."  
7. Higher alcohol use in the gay community.
8. Much higher rates of tobacco use (nearly fifty percent) 
9. Fitness and obesity 
10. Anal Papilloma- increased rates of anal cancers in gay men.  "The rate at which the infection can be spread between partners is very high."  

Can we objectively look at this list and say with love, that this is not a healthy lifestyle?  Extending recognition and benefits to same-sex unions encourages more same-sex unions.  More people might feel free to engage in this dangerous and destructive life-style.   


A similar list of negative consequences could be written for heterosexual activity outside of marriage.  Contraceptives in the pill form come with a list of warnings from the medical community.   When sex is not used as it is intended- for a man and a woman in marriage to be open to life and unity- there are dangerous consequences.  


This is because sex is holy, and holiness is powerful.  As I wrote about in my last Marriage Monday post, sex is holy because it allows us to participate in the Blessed Trinity and reflects our total, faithful and fruitful giving of our body to another as Christ gives His body for us.  

Sex images God because it makes new images of God...Sex is like religion not only because it is objectively holy in itself but also because it gives us subjectively a foretaste of heaven, of the self-forgetful, self-transcending self-giving that is what our deepest hearts are designed for, long for and will not be satisfied until they have, because we are made in God's own image and this self-giving constitutes the inner life of the Trinity (How to Win the Culture War, pg. 95).  

This subject is hard.  It is one that I have sat on for months now, feeling called to write about, but not knowing how.  In almost all sinful relationships, there is real genuine human love, and it seems hurtful to call the relationship sinful when there is love.  But loving a person means to do what is best for them.  Sometimes that means speaking up.  Sometimes that means pursuing a chaste relationship.  Sometimes that means writing a blog post that you're scared to publish!  


We do not stand in judgment of souls, but as compassionate friends reaching out a hand.  The Manhattan Declaration states, “We stand with them, even when they falter...We are also sinners who struggle and fall short of the good God has for our lives.  We are also in need of God’s patience, love and forgiveness."