Purpose of sex

[BothWings]

Nature, God...or WHATEVER...made sex pleasurable so that we would do it and make more of us. That way it's assured that we get the job done. Sometimes a species will indiscriminately abuse it for simple pleasure, for the purpose of just getting off and relieving stress. And that usually happens when something is amiss with the population....such as too many. Rats and other creatures in captivity frequently turn to homosexual relief when there are too many, or when there are not enough members of the opposite sex, or of so something happens to destroy one specimen's trust in the opposite sex. FACTS. Embrace the truth or run from it.

 

[JohnDB]

Nature, God...or WHATEVER...made sex pleasurable so that we would do it and make more of us. That way it's assured that we get the job done. Sometimes a species will indiscriminately abuse it for simple pleasure, for the purpose of just getting off and relieving stress. And that usually happens when something is amiss with the population....such as too many. Rats and other creatures in captivity frequently turn to homosexual relief when there are too many, or when there are not enough members of the opposite sex, or of so something happens to destroy one specimen's trust in the opposite sex. FACTS. Embrace the truth or run from it.

There isn't too many people.
Just cities that are too big.

Move to the country....normal lifestyles are a requirement there.

 

[Midnight FM]

Nature, God...or WHATEVER...made sex pleasurable so that we would do it and make more of us. That way it's assured that we get the job done. Sometimes a species will indiscriminately abuse it for simple pleasure, for the purpose of just getting off and relieving stress.

It wouldn't be "abuse", because the human purposes of sex go beyond mere survival and reproduction. If we look at Maslow's hierarchy of needs, for example, mere "survival" is low on the hierarchy. So it's conceivable that sex and be "repurposed" from it's survival unitality in the service of higher needs.

You're implying there is some "obligation" to use sex in a certain way, but there isn't. Some aspects of the biological urge to procreate are a holdover of our evolutionary past, and don't serve a useful purpose in contemporary life, and there are many ways to reduce the likelihood of pregnancy occurring during sex. You'd also run into absurdities such as saying that people who are infertile or elderly shouldn't have sex simply because it won't potentially result in procreation.

And that usually happens when something is amiss with the population....such as too many. Rats and other creatures in captivity frequently turn to homosexual relief when there are too many, or when there are not enough members of the opposite sex, or of so something happens to destroy one specimen's trust in the opposite sex. FACTS. Embrace the truth or run from it.

That sounds inaccurate, because larger populations are more likely to result from people who are intentionally trying to produce more offspring, not from people who are just trying to "relieve stress".

 

[merrill]

Orgasm gives a boost to the immune system ......... remember no semen no children

 

[Monoculturalist]

And who decides what God says?

If we're specifically talking about Christianity, historians, theologians, and linguists should make the determination of what a passage originally meant. When translating the oldest versions available of the 10 Commandments, the word for murder was used in the Commandment you referenced, rather than the word for simply killing.

If you want to imply that humans ultimately make the call, I agree in practical terms. But again, this is where faith comes in.

 

[frigidweirdo]

If we're specifically talking about Christianity, historians, theologians, and linguists should make the determination of what a passage originally meant. When translating the oldest versions available of the 10 Commandments, the word for murder was used in the Commandment you referenced, rather than the word for simply killing.

If you want to imply that humans ultimately make the call, I agree in practical terms. But again, this is where faith comes in.

The problem here is the question "what is the word of God?"

Is the original Bible the word of God? Why would God let humans change it? If humans could change it now, without God's approval, then perhaps the same thing happening before, and that the Bible isn't God's word, it's humans's words.

Yes, faith is "I believe this", doesn't matter whether it says "murder" or "killing", it only matters what people think it says.

 

[merrill]

This is my general view on sex:

Sex and reproduction are not the purpose of life. Cavemen were more than capable of reproducing, but if everyone believed that was the only purpose of life, we wouldn't have modern civilization. Sex and reproduction may play a role in most people's lives, but the purpose of life is far more nuanced than that.

While the primary biological function of sex is reproduction, it isn't the only purpose of sex, and intimacy is arguably a superior purpose. While biological reproduction serves a survival function, the reality is that it is rare for people in the modern world to have to reproduce in order to survive, and most people who decide to have children don't do so in order to "perpetuate the human race" - they do so for more nuanced personal reasons.

So in essence, sex is something that people do simply because they're biologically hardwired to, but it doesn't always serve a specific purpose (such as in the case of people who have unplanned children), and if sex results in children being born into less-than-ideal circumstances, there can be consequences. And while the human race will always need some people to be having children in order to perpetuate itself, theoretically, many people could choose not to have children, and the human race would still continue to survive. A downsize in population wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, just as how people in the developed world are already having fewer children than they did in more primitive times where factors such as life expectancy were lower and rates of infant mortality were higher.

sexual orgasm is good for the immune system.........damn right

 

[Monoculturalist]

The problem here is the question "what is the word of God?"

Is the original Bible the word of God? Why would God let humans change it? If humans could change it now, without God's approval, then perhaps the same thing happening before, and that the Bible isn't God's word, it's humans's words.

Yes, faith is "I believe this", doesn't matter whether it says "murder" or "killing", it only matters what people think it says.

While different denominations interpret Biblical text differently in terms of what qualifies as "God's word", my personal interpretation is that the original oral and written versions of parts of the Bible were most accurate. Over time, translations can lead to deviation from the original intent. As a result, while I believe the Bible is very important, I don't believe that the current translations available are necessarily infallible. Also, parts of the Bible are abstract enough that it is hard to determine the original intent. The 10 Commandments are a bit simpler to understand.

The exact wording of the Commandment we've discussed is easier to pin down, since we do have access to very early transcriptions of that part of the Bible. The distinction between murder and killing overall is consistent with the rest of the Bible as well.

 

[braalian]

Yes, the reason sex is so pleasurable and the reason men in particular have such a strong sex drive is, in purely biological terms, because the goal of all organisms is reproduction. That’s why orgasms exist. To make us want to have sex as much as possible.

But very few men have sex because they want to make babies. To be a little crude, we do it because we’re horny and want to bust a nut.

The invention of birth control is relatively recent in human history. Humans can now have almost as much sex as they want purely for the pleasure of it without having to worry about an unwanted pregnancy.

They can obviously also have sex with the intention of having a baby. Equally obviously, many still are and birth control isn’t a sin or a danger to the continuation of the human race.


Anyone who doesn’t think this is a good thing is a ridiculous person.

 

[MayorQuimby]

They can obviously also have sex with the intention of having a baby. Equally obviously, many still are and birth control isn’t a sin or a danger to the continuation of the human race.

It's not as simple as that.

Usually the ones who know how to use birth control, tend to be more intelligent people. So, in a sense, these people are selecting themselves, and their intelligent genes, out of the gene pool. Unless they actually put in a conscious effort to reproduce, which a lot of them don't. We as a society should be encouraging these people to reproduce more.

That said, I don't believe that intelligence is the single most important trait responsible for the continuation of civilizations. I could get into it probably some time later, if people are interested.

 

[braalian]

We as a society should be encouraging these people to reproduce more.

How on earth would we do that?

 

[MayorQuimby]

How on earth would we do that?

Hmm, good question.

I have some ideas, but I think that it would be better, if we could have an open dialogue, where we invite the public and talk about this issue.

 

[fncceo]

Purpose of sex​

It’s more fun than watching TV.

 

[frigidweirdo]

While different denominations interpret Biblical text differently in terms of what qualifies as "God's word", my personal interpretation is that the original oral and written versions of parts of the Bible were most accurate. Over time, translations can lead to deviation from the original intent. As a result, while I believe the Bible is very important, I don't believe that the current translations available are necessarily infallible. Also, parts of the Bible are abstract enough that it is hard to determine the original intent. The 10 Commandments are a bit simpler to understand.

The exact wording of the Commandment we've discussed is easier to pin down, since we do have access to very early transcriptions of that part of the Bible. The distinction between murder and killing overall is consistent with the rest of the Bible as well.

And what happens if God wanted the meaning to change?

 

[Monoculturalist]

And what happens if God wanted the meaning to change?

I suppose you could say that a change of meaning is manifested by a change in religion. The New Testament effectively nullified aspects of the Old Testament, like the practice of animal sacrifice, for example.

In other words, if God wanted us to interpret the Commandment against killing in a new way, that would likely require the appearance of a new Messiah.

 

[BackAgain]

Procreation and often delightful recreation.

 

[frigidweirdo]

I suppose you could say that a change of meaning is manifested by a change in religion. The New Testament effectively nullified aspects of the Old Testament, like the practice of animal sacrifice, for example.

In other words, if God wanted us to interpret the Commandment against killing in a new way, that would likely require the appearance of a new Messiah.

So, perhaps he wanted the meaning to change in the modern era too, by having languages change and meanings change between translations.

Or perhaps God doesn't care at all and it's just humans creating things and changing things.

 

[MarathonMike]

So, there's a God, and he doesn't care about us, doesn't do anything at all. You can pray to him and he doesn't listen, you can murder people and he doesn't notice the difference between you and the holiest of nuns....

So what's the point of all this religion then?

The point of religion in my opinion is for humans to make sense of this biological existence and whatever comes next. I don't know why it is so upsetting to think that God creates life and just observes and then welcomes you back "to the fold" at the end of biological life.

 

[frigidweirdo]

The point of religion in my opinion is for humans to make sense of this biological existence and whatever comes next. I don't know why it is so upsetting to think that God creates life and just observes and then welcomes you back "to the fold" at the end of biological life.

I'd say you're not wrong. We try and make sense of something that is so complex we will probably never understand it. The reason I don't oppose religion is because I think a lot of people benefit from it.

However, I think it is wrong. I think it is "ignorance is bliss". If you want to be ignorant, fine. However I don't. I can cope (more or less) without thinking there is some dude up in the sky who is controlling things and if I pray to him, then perhaps he won't kill my family today.

 

[Monoculturalist]

So, perhaps he wanted the meaning to change in the modern era too, by having languages change and meanings change between translations.

Or perhaps God doesn't care at all and it's just humans creating things and changing things.

I think the story of the Tower of Babel gives the best insight into God's view of language.