Prog's Most Controversial Lyricist

Neal Morse in SB album "The Light" with his infamous F-word song section

Black Widow (obscure British band from 70thies) with ther satanism and mock sacrifice of naked woman

Arthur Brown / Kingdom come stage acts

I agree, sex is every bit as natural as eating, sleeping, and defecating; but it is also natural that sex should be kept between a married couple.  Throughout history, the institution of marriage has existed, and throughout history there has been at least some standard for marital faithfulness.  In most ancient cultures, this standard was that men could philander and sleep around all they wanted, while their wives had to remain faithful and bear legitimate children for their husbands.  The "misogynistic old men" you speak of, the Jews and Christians, were actually the ones who elevated the status of women by applying this standard to both men and their wives.  It's not hard to see why sex should be kept between a married couple; as I said before, it's the most intimate act two people can participate in.  Countless studies have shown the effect that sex has on those who engage in it; the hormone oxytoxin is going crazy during the sex act, and that is the hormone that fosters attachment between people.  When two people have sex, they are bound together emotionally and hormonally in a profoundly strong way.  For a few minutes, two people have quite literally become one, and that leaves a lasting effect on both of them.  If the sex is purely casual, this can lead to emotional complications and depression; if the couple is in a relationship but unmarried, premarital sex can cause extreme emotional pain if the couple breaks up, since they have never made a binding commitment to each other (not to mention the fact that it leads to the use of sex as a conflict resolution; bad idea).  As one of my teachers once said, "sex is the super-glue of marriage."  It binds a couple together, but if they are separated, it makes the separation much more painful.  This is why pornography is addictive and harmful; it fosters a connection between the viewer and some distant, imaginary partner, a longing that can never be fulfilled, leaving the viewer emotionally scarred and always wanting more, just like a drug.  

Sexual immorality isn't just wrong.  It's flat-out stupid.

Yes, I am.  All the ancient civilizations we know of had marriage, from the Hebrews to the Babylonians.  

Originally posted by HarbouringTheSoul Originally posted by Ambient Hurricanes if the couple is in a relationship but unmarried, premarital sex can cause extreme emotional pain if the couple breaks up, since they have never made a binding commitment to each other And if the couple is married and has made a binding commitment to each other, breaking up doesn't result in extreme emotional pain? Don't you think the extra commitment makes the breakup harder rather than easier?

Yes, I do, which is why divorce is also a terrible thing.  Our culture doesn't treat marriage vows as binding anymore, and that's a tragedy because it causes the same thing that premarital sex does (and makes it even worse).  You can't solve that problem, though, by encouraging another one in premarital sex/cohabiting. 

Originally posted by HarbouringTheSoul Originally posted by Ambient Hurricanes This is why pornography is addictive and harmful; it fosters a connection between the viewer and some distant, imaginary partner, a longing that can never be fulfilled, leaving the viewer emotionally scarred and always wanting more, just like a drug. I think most people who have ever watched pornography can back me up that this is nonsense. There is absolutely zero emotional connection in pornography. In fact, it's quite the opposite: sex stripped down to its most animalistic.

Maybe I phrased that badly.  You may be right in that there's no real emotional connection in pornography.  What it does is leave an unfulfillable longing for that emotional connection, because it is an empty version of sex that leaves the viewer sensually satisfied but emotionally empty.

Well, we don't have any records of that except for Scripture.  I believe that mankind began with the first humans, Adam and Eve, who were also the first husband and wife.  If you believe humans evolved from animal ancestors...well, you'll arrive at completely different conclusions.  But still, if we admit that marriage is as old as civilized history, we can still see the advantage of it from an evolutionary perspective.


Edited by Ambient Hurricanes - August 14 2012 at 22:13

Mikael Akerfeldt