FacePalm of the Day #101 - Islam and Christianity A Common Word: Sex, Sensuality in the Christian Heaven.

thegrandverbalizer is at it again. This time he attacks what Christianity has to say about human sexuality and instead of showing what the Bible actually says, he twists scripture into a pretzel  to get what he wants out of the text.

It truly is unfortunate when one reflects upon early Christian attitudes towards sexuality. It reflects an almost Gnostic (anti-human) and (pro being) stance.

I'd be one of the first to admit that the Christian church has historically done a poor job in it's attitude towards sexuality. I find little of the idea that something is wrong with sexuality in the Bible but it's all over church history. Sexuality is a gift from God to humanity. And like any gift it's awesome when properly used and respected. Too bad we, as people, have really screwed that up

Islam is a reflection of the reality of what the Creator actually made. Allah has made us as Human/Beings.

We are animals (human) with a soul (being). In Islam you do not nurture or neglect one aspect of your reality to the detriment of the other.

Um, denying sexual feelings and desire is not a part of what the Bible teaches either. The Bible does not say we are animals either. Animals don't have souls. Animals have spirits. I realize that some people a long time ago got it into their heads that denying themselves the joy of sex within marriage somehow brought them closer to God. They didn't get this idea from the Bible so basing a polemic on it is dishonest.

The Noble Prophet Muhammed said, "Who ever does not marry is not of us." He is talking about people who have taken upon themselves monasticism; of which Allah says was never ordained for human beings.

"Whomever marries has completed half their faith now let them complete the other half by fearing Allah and doing what is right" -Noble Prophet Muhammed.

"Then We caused Our Messengers to follow in their footsteps; and We caused Jesus, son of Mary, to follow, and gave him the Gospel, and placed compassion and mercy in the hearts of those who followed him. But monasticism they invented-We ordained it not for them-only seeking Allah's pleasure, and they observed it not with right observance. So We give those of them who believe their reward, but many of them are evil-doers." ( Holy Qur'an 57:27)

Notice the difference between what God inspired Muhammad to say and what He inspired Paul to say:

²⁶ Because of the present crisis, I think that it is good for a man to remain as he is. ²⁷ Are you pledged to a woman? Do not seek to be released. Are you free from such a commitment? Do not look for a wife. ²⁸ But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this.
 ²⁹ What I mean, brothers and sisters, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they do not; ³⁰ those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; ³¹ those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away.
 ³² I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs—how he can please the Lord. ³³ But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife— ³⁴ and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world—how she can please her husband. ³⁵ I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord.

 ³⁶ If anyone is worried that he might not be acting honorably toward the virgin he is engaged to, and if his passions are too strong and he feels he ought to marry, he should do as he wants. He is not sinning. They should get married. ³⁷ But the man who has settled the matter in his own mind, who is under no compulsion but has control over his own will, and who has made up his mind not to marry the virgin—this man also does the right thing. ³⁸ So then, he who marries the virgin does right, but he who does not marry her does better. - 1 Corinthians 7:26-38 

The Bible says that you can be married or not be married and still be righteous in the eyes of God. Now grant it, if you ain't married you will be celibate, but that does not make one better worse than the other. Look at how thegrandverbalizer twists Jesus' words.

"For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it." (Matthew 19:12)

No doubt this is a continuation of an earlier admonishment reported to have been given by Jesus where he is to have said,

If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. (Matthew 5:29-30)

Um, no. And these are in two different contexts at two different times. 
Matthew 5 came before Matthew 19. The quotation in Matthew 19, Jesus was talking about why you should not divorce your wife for any reason other than adultery. Beats "hitting her lightly in the face" like Muhammad commanded right? Matthew 5: 29-30 is about avoiding sin.

"If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. (Matthew 18:18)

Matthew 18:18 is  the wrong reference. Matthew 18:8-9 is what was quoted and it is in reference to avoiding sin..

So we can see here it was not necessary for Jesus to say "If your penis offends you, if your ears offend you etc... people pretty much got the ideal.
 
 I find it hard to believe that Jesus would say the same thing in two different passages in the same book, by the same author but  means something different. IT's not at all obvious that Jesus is expecting anyone to castrate themselves either physically, emotionally, or in anyway. Jesus came to make us whole. I don't think anyone who was listening to Jesus at the time got that idea. Can anyone name a single follower who knew Jesus personally do that?.

Of course this can become quite morbid when one reflects upon 'The City of God' -Augustine. I mean after all didn't God say to Adam and Eve: "God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." (Genesis 1:28)

 Which is why the Bible can't mean thegrandverbalizer thinks that the Bible is saying.

Now it should be clear that NO WHERE is there an explicit text in the Bible that says 'There will be NO SEX' in heaven! Again your going to have to go into the warped thinking of Augustine to come up with this kind of nonsense. Even though the Creator says that the creation 'is good' these people can only see it as evil! A legacy from earlier gnostic influence rest assured.

Before we move further through thegrandverbalizer's "argument" it would make sense that he would want to prove that there is sex in heaven because many Muslims believe heaven is a place were pious men get 70 virgins

So let us look at the text that are most often used to try and conclude that there is no sex in marriage.

23That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. 24“Teacher,” they said, “Moses told us that if a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and have children for him.25Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children, he left his wife to his brother. 26The same thing happened to the second and third brother, right on down to the seventh. 27Finally, the woman died. 28Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since all of them were married to her?”

29Jesus replied, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. 30At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. (Matthew 22:23-30)

Note the above says absolutely nothing about sex. It simply says that people will not marry and they will not be given in marriage. 

 In order for the argument to fly, we have to ask: "Do angels have sex?" Jesus tells us that we will be like the angels and angels do not get married. By in large, I have no problem with sex being in heaven, but if sex outside of marriage is a sin on earth, I don't know why it'll be okay in the afterlife.


Remember asking your Priest/Deacon/Pastor/Bishop how Adam and Eve were married? Remember hearing those cool little stories about how they were 'married in the sight of God'?

Alright, here comes the Nephilim. 

"and sons of God see the daughters of men that they are fair, and they take to themselves women of all whom they have chosen."(Genesis 6:2 Young's Literal Translation).

"the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose."(Genesis 6:2 New International Version)

Now notice that the Young's Literal Translation basically says that the Sons of God 'took the women'. While the other translations say that the 'married' the women. So how actually did they get married? Was it in the 'sight of God' as well? If these beings 'angels' are law breakers and transgressors why get married?

Looks like someone has been reading the Book of Enoch! Easy the "sons of God" in Genesis 6:2 were not supernatural angels they were men.  Much has been written about who these "sons of God" were but  given that we see no other examples of angels taking human form  apart from doing God's business and we don't see any demons in the Bible doing it either I don't think it's plausible to think that that angles married women.  Nice try though. .

Furthermore note that it says 'SONS of God' and I already mentioned the Christian heaven is not for FEMALES! It is for men only, any woman deemed worthy enough will be turned into a SON OF GOD. Never ever a daughter of God! Note it doesn't say 'The Daughters of God' saw the sons of men were beautiful. (http://www.acommonword.net/2011/01/does-christian-heaven-have-place-for.html) < Article entitled "Does the Christian Heaven Have A Place For Women"?

And I completely disagreed with him.  http://mmcelhaney.blogspot.com/2011/01/facepalm-of-day-52-islam-and.html


Mark 12 and Luke 20 basically have the same story as the one above.

Remember in the Bible resurrected beings enjoy all kinds of sensual pleasure!

"And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have you here any meat? And they gave him a piece of broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And he took it, and did eat before them. (Luke 24:41-43) Apparently Jesus was able to eat some tasty tidbits as the 'firstborn' of the resurrection.

Eating fish and honeycomb is not the same thing as having sex.  Of course we will be able to eat in heaven. Jews, Christians, and Muslims agree to that. 

We also have this curious vision.

"On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine--the best of meats and the finest of wines." (Isaiah 25:6)

So move over Augustine looks like fine dining and great wine will be on the menu in heaven but no sex!

And what is so unbelievable about that? You can sin using food just as well as you can via sex. Sex isn't a sin.. Squandering sex is a sin - abusing the gifts God gave us.

Now even though the passages in Matthew 22, Mark 12 and Luke 20 do not explicitly say there is no sex in heaven some Christians reason that only by way of analogical deduction. They don't stop and ponder that maybe the whole idea of marriage (with it's laws and ordinances) will no longer be a necessity in heaven.

Why does thegrandverbalizer think that sex will be a necessity in heaven? Near as we can tell, no one will be born and no one will ever die.

Another passage that Christians especially those who have an Augustine slant could use is the following:

"Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads." (Revelation 14:1)

"No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. 4. These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they remained virgins (parthenos). They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among mankind and offered as first fruits to God and the Lamb. (Revelation 14:3-5)

Now this text is probably the strongest AGAINST the idea of having sex in heaven. Because if the translation is rendered correct these men remained VIRGINS and they did not DEFILE themselves with women (outside of marriage or INSIDE of marriage). Now think about that for a moment especially if your a woman! Also it's quite sad that not a single woman out of all of Earth's women will be singled out to be among the privileged 144,000 that get to learn this special song! 

Only if you are Jehovah's Witness would you even consider such an argument  as strong. 

I guess there will be no sex in heaven after all, in fact it's kind of hard for that to happen when THERE ARE ONLY MEN IN HEAVEN.. (http://www.acommonword.net/2011/01/does-christian-heaven-have-place-for.html)....unless...wait... I better not go there!

Good news is thegrandverbalizer is wrong. http://mmcelhaney.blogspot.com/2011/01/facepalm-of-day-52-islam-and.html


Islam and Christianity A Common Word: Sex, Sensuality in the Christian Heaven.