Sex

• Sex and friendship

  • Adam and Eve were married at the time of the fall but were also friends, they equally and mutually participated in the friendliness of God - Augustine
  • sex is secondary to friendship, it is for reproduction and would occur without lust
  • true friendship is only possible for those who love Christ first
  • God sent women for procreation - Augustine
  • Genesis 2:18 - 'It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.'
• Lust and selfish desires after the fall

  • people, before the fall, were rational and in complete control of every bodily part - Augustine
  • every sin is an act of rebellion against God’s will, and so we deserve punishment - Augustine
  • Sex as sinful due to the organs being active when the mind is not, no control due to lust - Augustine
  • original sin is passed through sex - Augustine
• Concupiscence (lust)

  • sin through sex is transmitted by lust
  • lust is present in all sexual intercourse, even in marriage - Augustine
• Sex and human nature

  • Augustine to blame for social guilt about sex
  • the libido (sex drive) is a vital and natural element of human development, sex is not merely to reproduce but is the defining factor in human relationships - Freud
  • Freud rejected the notion that humans fell from grace
  • Freud believed that psychological problems can be traced back to earlier events in peoples lives
  • Freud accepts that sexual neurosis (a lack of sex drive) can be passed on through culture and society
  • Freud believed that belief in God only increases as a persons sense of guilt