Isn’t that exactly what we do when God doesn’t live up to our expectation that He will protect us from suffering? Things go wrong in their lives and people decide to leave their family and move in with someone new. Disappointment comes and alcohol or clubs / dancing seem to be such a relief. Your wife is pulling away so porn seems the logical choice.
The one whose only desire is to destroy us holds out alternatives to reality, alternatives that can only hurt us and we grab on to these alternatives as though they are life preservers rather than the life destroyers they are.
Humans consider themselves so very intelligent yet when put into a difficult situation, we actually decide to sleep with the very enemy whose sole desire is to separate us from the only Love this universe knows.
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I'm sure I'm one of the last people you would take advice from regarding God, but as practice for some stuff I'm working on, I want to take a crack at formulating the appropriate Christian answers:
ReplyDelete- We cannot expect God to shield us from suffering. The Bible reminds us that we are surrounded by sin, not only that of those around us, but of the very Earth itself. Luckily, this is merely finite birthing pains for the eternal life promised:
"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time." (Romans 8:18-22)
- The when relationships face complications, is merely the inevitable consequence of the complexities inherent in human love. Perhaps these dramatic confrontations are a primary reason for celibacy movements throughout Christian history. From Paul's letters to modern monks of several religions even beyond Christianity, detachment from the attractions and affections of others appears to be the steep price one must pay to avoid the pain one feels when they see a loved one faltering or departing.
- I honestly wonder which is a worse sin: viewing porn or masturbating. I'm going to guess porn, because there's less explicit condemnation of self-gratification (though I think the latter is still not in the spirit of Christianity).
Hang in there.
“We cannot expect God to shield us from suffering. The Bible reminds us that we are surrounded by sin, not only that of those around us, but of the very Earth itself. Luckily, this is merely finite birthing pains for the eternal life promised:”
ReplyDeleteBecause I don’t know what you are working on, I am not sure how careful I need to be. For example, you come quite close in this comment to saying that the earth itself is evil or sinful.
Some make that suggestion; that the material is evil.
The Bible does not say that. Everything, including the universe / earth is affected by sin / evil. To go beyond that is to go beyond what Christianity teaches.
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“The when relationships face complications, is merely the inevitable consequence of the complexities inherent in human love.”
Not sure what that sentence means. I think there are some typos or words missing?
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“Perhaps these dramatic confrontations are a primary reason for celibacy movements throughout Christian history.”
I can’t speak for other belief systems. I do know that Paul “allowed” for a time of celibacy IF both persons in the marriage agreed and IF it was to understand the will of the Lord better and IF it was temporary meaning there would be a return to normal sexual relations so that neither partner feels deprived or ignored. Of course the Bible is clear that if one is not in a marital relationship then the expectation of celibacy is a given.
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“From Paul's letters to modern monks of several religions even beyond Christianity, detachment from the attractions and affections of others appears to be the steep price one must pay to avoid the pain one feels when they see a loved one faltering or departing.”
Again, I can’t speak to what other beliefs teach but I do not get that from the letters of Paul - at all. Christianity is emphatic about NOT running from or hiding from relational pain but facing it head on. For example, Hated without cause, mocked, lied to and lied about. Jesus, our example and character goal, came to earth knowing in advance that He would be abused, misunderstood, mistreated, rejected, insulted, betrayed and ultimately have humanity do our absolute worst to Him. Yet He entered into a covenant relationship with us anyway because He loves us. And then Jesus said, “Pick up your cross and follow Me (be like Me, do what I did, act like I did, relate to others like I did).
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“I honestly wonder which is a worse sin: viewing porn or masturbating.”
I think the problem from our Creator’s perspective is that both result from or include viewing another human being as an object of our lust; as a means of satisfying our lust. That is not loving our neighbour as ourselves.
"The when relationships face complications, is merely the inevitable consequence of the complexities inherent in human love."
ReplyDeleteought to read:
"When relationships face complications, it is merely the inevitable consequence of the complexities inherent in human love."
Regarding the evil nature of the material world, sometimes I forget how much Plato and gnostic material I've read. I will look for Biblical support, but you may be right.
I might be right? I MIGHT be right? :-)
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