Christianity

Christianity on Love and Sex

March 1, 2022

I'm addressing my post on love and sex to my Christian friends in a predominantly Christian country in response to the question raised by my lady friend: "How does Applied Cosmic Anthropology view love and sex?"

All of us have been brought up, educated, and trained how to be a good Christian. I presume that you do not need me lecturing to you what it means to be Christians. For all I know you might have a deeper understanding on the philosophy and practice of love and sex.

It is in this respect that I do not wish to discuss Christianity’s view on love and sex here because the Universal Christian Churches has also so many traditions—Roman, Byzantine, Egyptian, Armenian, Coptic, Gnostic, New Age, etc.

Also, the Philippine soil has given so many Christian denominations that are continually gaining millions of membership across the globe. The major ones are led by Apollo Quiboloy, Felix Manalo, Eli Soriano, and Mike Velarde. They have their own unique and distinct teachings about the philosophy and practice of sex that are influencing the world’s population.

But we cannot also ignore the many cases of those families cited in the Christian scriptures. Take, for example, the case of Sarah, Hagar, and Abraham (Genesis 15:1-5; Genesis 16: 1-11, 13-16, Genesis 17: 1- 5, 15-16; Genesis 21: 1-3, 6, 8-19 - New Revised Standard Version).

Let me discuss on this subject in great detail for our non-Christian kindred. The narrative is quite interesting because it involves love and sex outside marriage that was in fact not only tolerated by the Lord but also protected, encouraged, and promoted it, promising abundance to their offspring who were born in and out of wedlock, but in the end, both loved by the father.

Sarah was childless until she was 90 years old. God promised Abraham that she would be “a mother of nations” and that she would conceive and bear a son. But Sarah did not believe.

She had an Egyptian slave-girl whose name was Hagar, and Sarai said to Abram, "You see that the Lord has prevented me from bearing children; go in to my slave-girl; it may be that I shall obtain children by her." And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.

So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her slave-girl, and gave her to her husband Abram as a wife. He went in to Hagar, and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress.

Then Sarai said to Abram, "May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my slave-girl to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked down on me with contempt. May the Lord judge between you and me!" but Abram said to Sarai, "Your slave-girl is in your power; do with her as you please. Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she [Hagar] ran away from her [Sarai].

But this is where the twist and turn begin.

The angel sent by the Lord found her by a spring in the wilderness, on the way to Shur. And he said, "Hagar, slave-girl of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?"

She said, "I am running away from my mistress Sarai." The angel of the Lord said to her, "Return to your mistress and submit to her." The angel of the Lord also said to her, "I will greatly multiply your offspring that they cannot be counted for multitude."

And the angel of the Lord said to her, Now you have conceived and shall bear a son; You shall call him Ishmael [God hears] for the Lord has given heed to your affliction.

Interesting, mind-blowing, and baffling for modern Christians. A case of permissiveness especially for today's millennials?

I will no longer discuss the case of Noah, or the Sons of gods marrying the daughters of Man, or even the case of Adam and Eve.