- Feb 5, 2002
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Fr. Dwight Longenecker
I must plead guilty to a click bait title for this blog post, but I wanted the title to be arresting because there it is an important question to be asked.
The question was prompted by a story I heard recently from a youth worker. A certain youth organization was being sued because on one of their outings an eight year old boy offered to perform a sex act on an older boy in return for a favor purchased from the camp store. This scandalized a group of parents who, in turn, brought a lawsuit.
My question was, “Did the child have any idea that what he was doing was wrong?” He was eight years old. Given the hyper sexualization of our society, the availability of inappropriate contentography and the lack of Christian teaching on morality–did the eight year old have any idea that what he was doing was wrong? Maybe not.
It then raises the further question, “If they had gone through with their deal and both boys were consenting and both boys enjoyed what happened, was it wrong? If it was wrong, why was it wrong?
There are some who would contend that it is not wrong at all and turn a blind eye. “Boys play sex games. It’s no big deal.” Is it a big deal? If so, why is it a big deal?
I’m asking these questions because. if anyone dares to ask this question, most people would have a problem articulating just why such an encounter is wrong, and their confusion is understandable. We have already been conditioned to accept that sexual activity outside of marriage between consenting adults is just fine, so why not consensual sexual activity among minors? We have already been conditioned to accept that consensual sexual activity between two men is okay, so what’s wrong with consensual sexual activity between two boys?
Please be assured that I am not posing these questions because I think this activity is okay. Of course I think it is wrong, but I know why it is wrong, and here’s why:
Continued below.
Child Sex: What’s Wrong With That? | Fr. Dwight Longenecker
I must plead guilty to a click bait title for this blog post, but I wanted the title to be arresting because there it is an important question to be asked.
The question was prompted by a story I heard recently from a youth worker. A certain youth organization was being sued because on one of their outings an eight year old boy offered to perform a sex act on an older boy in return for a favor purchased from the camp store. This scandalized a group of parents who, in turn, brought a lawsuit.
My question was, “Did the child have any idea that what he was doing was wrong?” He was eight years old. Given the hyper sexualization of our society, the availability of inappropriate contentography and the lack of Christian teaching on morality–did the eight year old have any idea that what he was doing was wrong? Maybe not.
It then raises the further question, “If they had gone through with their deal and both boys were consenting and both boys enjoyed what happened, was it wrong? If it was wrong, why was it wrong?
There are some who would contend that it is not wrong at all and turn a blind eye. “Boys play sex games. It’s no big deal.” Is it a big deal? If so, why is it a big deal?
I’m asking these questions because. if anyone dares to ask this question, most people would have a problem articulating just why such an encounter is wrong, and their confusion is understandable. We have already been conditioned to accept that sexual activity outside of marriage between consenting adults is just fine, so why not consensual sexual activity among minors? We have already been conditioned to accept that consensual sexual activity between two men is okay, so what’s wrong with consensual sexual activity between two boys?
Please be assured that I am not posing these questions because I think this activity is okay. Of course I think it is wrong, but I know why it is wrong, and here’s why:
Continued below.
Child Sex: What’s Wrong With That? | Fr. Dwight Longenecker