A Post on Sexuality

I have been quite tied up with work lately. The end is getting closer, though. Less than a month to go. In the mean time, I found this post on a friend's site and thought it was pretty good. I decided to post it here as well. Let me know what you think. Talk to you later, everyone.

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I just got out of an amazing class, Christian Life and Ministry. We had a guest speaker. The subject was sexuality. He started off by having the class define this, and then together we defined the bases. The bases (according to my class):

1. Kissing, hugging, making out

2. Touching and doing things with clothes on

3. Clothes off, touching, messing around

3 1/2. Oral sex

Home run. Sex

We went through this and talked about how far is too far. Most everyone, (although I know some of them personally) didn't say the truth about themselves. Almost everyone said first base is the farthest you should go.

Then we talked about what happens when you go beyond that--whether it be the bases or sex--and how it affects you in your future marriage. The divorce rate in the church is 53% and the world divorce rate is 60 percent (or close to that). I was shocked. He talked about how the baggage of past relationships can affect our marriage. When we do things, we are giving part of ourselves away--something we can't get back. He mentioned how people will think about past relationships or sexual partners while being with others. He did say that there are ways to correct this. First, asking forgiveness. Second, telling the truth (meaning your partner/spouse has the right to know everything). Honesty is the only way to rectify this.

He spoke about how love is a choice--a choice you make everyday. It's not a feeling or an emotion, although it does include those. We must choose to love someone. You can't fall out of love, but you can choose not to love anymore.

His basic message was: With all of this, how can we have a good marriage? The answer: Honesty, telling the other person our past, accountability, and making the choice to love.

He asked the class who was in love. One person raised their hand. I was shocked because there were a few others that were supposedly engaged. That's scary.

He spoke about what to do if you have made the mistake of having sex and know it was wrong but want to stay together. First, you must ask for God's forgiveness. Then you must forgive each other. He then said, "Go to your parents, church (your community) and tell the truth. This way they can be of support and hold you accountable."

All in all, it was a good class. My motto is, "If you wouldn't do it with Jesus in the room, you ought not be doing it."

Being physical leads to taking something away from your future spouse, so we need to be careful how we act.

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Thanks to Amy Leigh Anderson for contributing. Spell check and grammar check were run at her (and probably her sister's) suggestion. LOL.

More Controversy...

Just what this Blog needs. LOL.

I recently saw "End of the Spear" at the Guthrie Theater in Grove City. I went to school at Grove City College and never made it over to the well-known one screen theater uptown. Can you believe that?

Anyways, "End of the Spear" is a real-life portrayal of perhaps one of the most dramatic and unheard of stories of martyrdom in our time. The film is based on the the murder of Nate Saint, Jim Elliot and three other American missionaries by spear-wielding tribesmen in the Ecuadorian jungle on Jan. 8, 1956. In an effort to still reach the Waodani after the killings, many of the widows and children still went to live with the tribe--eventually adopting some of the very same people who speared their husbands/fathers to death.

Every Tribe Entertainment--the Christian-funded film company who directed the movie--casted Chad Allen, a practicing homosexual and advocate of gay rights, in the lead role of missionary Nate Saint. It's caused an uproar in some Christian circles. I've included some links discussing the controversy below. You'll have to let me know what you think.

With all of that aside, at times the movie was both inspiring and disappointing. The overall message of the film is very touching, but I was left with the impression that people not knowing the story would seriously wonder what the missionaries were trying to accomplish (like, "were they trying to befriend the savages?"). Possibly a ploy to get non-Christians to watch the movie, but it doesn't seem like a good enough reason to me. The intent in reaching the Waodani people is not clearly spelled out in the movie and the gospel message isn't explicitly mentioned. There are a few implicit references to Jesus and heaven, however.

Links to more information:
-The 'End of the Spear' Dilemma
-Nate Saint Played by Gay Activist in "End of the Spear"
-The End of the Spear and Chad Allen Controversy
-End of the Spear
-"End of the Spear" inspires, falters (this one most closely resembles my view)

Well, that is all for today. I'll have to fill you in on what I have been up to lately. Another busy week is in store. Peace.

P.S. - I'll leave you with this quote:

"True peace--everlasting peace--can't be achieved because we haven't found a way to change the human heart."
Steve Saint, in "End of the Spear"