lust

[Nathan David]

If lust is a sin, why did God create us with such a powerful sex drive?

 

[Holyjoe]

I think that all the good things God has given us can also be used, changed and can come against us for works of bad things as well...sex is a good thing, yet it has been used by opposing forces to create evil desires such as lusting and such like...so its not really that God created us with lust, he created us to Love one another, but it is through human nature and the sinful self, this is counter opposed to this goodness by lust and other sinful things...

 

[Nathan David]

But didn't he create human nature?

 

[Holyjoe]

Yeah God created everything...but his purpose was that we would live Godly lives, not ungodly lives...unfortunately man chose to live an ungodly life, and has done throughout the course of time. It's only when you become a christian that your life is transformed, meaning your spirit becomes alive to God as his Holy Spirit lives in you...as we start to live according to the Spirit then wrong desires actually start to pass away and you start to pursue a Godly Life...

 

[ZiSunka]

If lust is a sin, why did God create us with such a powerful sex drive?

Lust isn't normal sexual attraction.

Lust is the raging, uncontrolled desire to get what you want without regard to how it affects others. Lust says, "take it no matter who gets hurt."

Lust is what drives rape, greed, and other unhealthy behaviors.

Lust is sin because it is a total disregard for the wellbeing of others, and a desperate rage to satisfy self.

 

[foolsparade]

despite what lambslove incorrectly writes, I enjoy my lustful nature. For me lust can be something as private as my own imagination.

 

[Annabel Lee]

Main Entry: 1lust
Pronunciation: 'l&st
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English; akin to Old High German lust pleasure and perhaps to Latin lascivus wanton
Date: before 12th century

1 obsolete a : PLEASURE, DELIGHT b : personal inclination : WISH
2 : usually intense or unbridled sexual desire : LASCIVIOUSNESS
3 a : an intense longing : CRAVING b : ENTHUSIASM, EAGERNESS

 

[Nathan David]

I guess I misunderstood what some people said in a masturbation thread. So it's not a sin to fantisize about an attractive woman, as long as you keep it private and it doesn't turn into an uncontrollable desire.

 

[tcampen]

Lust isn't normal sexual attraction.

Lust is the raging, uncontrolled desire to get what you want without regard to how it affects others. Lust says, "take it no matter who gets hurt."

So you're saying I'm incapable of lusting after my wife in a healthy way? Webster's dictionary has a very different definition of LUST: obsolete a : PLEASURE, DELIGHT b : personal inclination : WISH
2 : usually intense or unbridled sexual desire : LASCIVIOUSNESS
3 a : an intense longing : CRAVING b : ENTHUSIASM, EAGERNESS

hmmmmmmmmmm.

Lust is what drives rape, greed, and other unhealthy behaviors.

Uh, not exactly. Rape is about power and control and violence. Not desire.

Lust is sin because it is a total disregard for the wellbeing of others, and a desperate rage to satisfy self.

I can't lust to satisfy my wife too? Hmmm. Might want to refer to the dictionary again.

 

[Polish Guy Wo Loves God]

I dont know the exact verse, but the Bible says "He who lusts after a woman in his thoughts has commited sin, since he has ....". I can't remember the rest, but basically says if you think lustfully toward a woman, you have sinned. Isn't that sort of like thought crime in Orson Wells1984, even though the Bible was written hundreds of years before? Kind of eerie, isn't it?

 

[tcampen]

I dont know the exact verse, but the Bible says "He who lusts after a woman in his thoughts has commited sin, since he has ....". I can't remember the rest, but basically says if you think lustfully toward a woman, you have sinned. Isn't that sort of like thought crime in Orson Wells1984, even though the Bible was written hundreds of years before? Kind of eerie, isn't it?

I think it was lusting after a woman who was not his wife is just as bad as actually committing the physical act with that woman. I don't think he was referring to romantic feelings between a husband and a wife.

tho I wouldn't be suprized if some took it that way.

 

[deleeuw]

Webster's definition of lust is irrelevant in this debate. Biblical scholars used the word based on its meaning at the time.

 

[Blindfaith]

{{Let's keep sarcastic jibes out of this discussion or it will be closed. This does not necessarily reflect on the above post.

Thank you.}}

 

[ZaraDurden]

In Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis asserts that lust and the incredibly strong sex drive of humans is not a natural thing that God has given us, but it is brought about by our culture and things like television and adversiting. Different types of propaganda make us develop our strong sex drive and feelings of lust.

I, an atheist, disagree with this view. My very good friend, who is a born again christain and extremely strong in his faith agrees with me as well.

I think that our feelings of lust and extremely strong sex drive actually point away from god, and are more evidence of the likelyhood of evolution. Animals must have a strong sex drive in order for them to reproduce and avoid extinction... anyone who has every had their leg humped by a dog knows this. Although we are vastly different from animals, lust im humans is one of the things that has not changed all these millions of years.

 

[foolsparade]

ZaraDurden, you are correct. C.S. Lewis was wrong. Here we have a man so highly regarded by so many yet did not seem to understand humans at all.

 

[ZaraDurden]

Thank you, foolsparade.

Do you really think he simply misunderstood humans? In this case I think rather he was trying to make sense (from a christain point of view) of something that does not make sense to either christians or non-christians.

Mere Christianity as a whole is a book written with the purpose to make any christian who was unsure about his faith, but didnt wish to delve deeply into it, feel better and more confident about christianity.

To everyone else i apologize for derailing the thread. Any other thoughts on why the christian god would make humans feel lust and then condemn the very thought of it?

 

[foolsparade]

Yes, he made the fatal mistake of basing his philosophical thesis on an assumption. Like Emmanuel Kant did. In other words, they started with "god exists".

 

[revolutio]

Frankly as long as both parties are concenting I usually regard sex as a good thing, with or without emotional attachment. I agree that lust does contribute to rapes and other sex-related crimes but not without a healthy seasoning of stupidity.

 

[admtaylor]

Uh, not exactly. Rape is about power and control and violence. Not desire.

You can lust after power control and violence. You can lust after anything. As said before, lust is unrestrained over reaching, all consuming, ravenous desire for something without regard for anyone else it affects.

 

[feral]

i don't believe in the christian concept of sin. if we are created with a sex drive, then it should not be evil to follow those instincts. the idea of a god that wants us to behave outside of natures patterns is strange concept, and likely untrue.