Can Sex Bring Us Closer to God?

Dear Sir/Madam,

I was appalled to see comments by Mr. Stephen Prothero, who happens to be chair of Department of Religion at Boston University, at his ignorance about other faiths. I am especially offended by his comments about marriages of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the fact that Muslims are embarrassed by it. The facts are that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) married a widow at age 25 and his wife at that time was 40 years old. And he only had one wife until age 55. From age 55 to his death at age 63, he married six other wives. One can imagine that at that age the intentions cannot be ascribed to sexual gratification only. We are discussing about an age where people used to have hundreds of wives and these ladies who married him never married again after his death and actually one of them, Aisha, lived forty nine years after his death. She was able to guide the faithful about his life and teachings throughout that period. His second comment that Muslims believes Jesus will come to earth and marry again is a view that is held by a large body of Muslims, but now there's a growing evidence that Jesus Christ, though a true prophet of God, actually died a natural death and will never come back again physically because dead people don't come back. For further information, I recommend to Mr. Prothero this website: www.alislam.org.

Lol. I just caught something. Prof Prothero, you write, "And only Hinduism and Buddhism have much tolerance for celibacy." And Catholics.

Do you realize that Buddhists, Hindus, and Catholics easily make up 3-4 billion of the world's 6 billion people? Do you realize how many people that is to say "only they" have tolerance for celibacy. So HALF of the world's population that thinks celibacy is a valid state of life are supposed to abandon their beliefs because a few thousand or tens of thousands of Jewish rabbis beg to differ? Of course it's not a numerical question, but you seem to think so by raising the point, and I just had to point out how silly that was of you, since most people apparently think you are mistaken... or, if not most, at least 3 billion.

"Celibacy is restricted to wandering ascetics, who make up only about two million of the one billion Hindus in the world..."

As an interesting note, you might notice that there are about the same proportion of vowed celibates without the Catholic Church. A millionish priests, and probably about a millionish others, in a total population of about a billion Catholics: religious brothers and sisters, and lay people living vows of celibacy in one way or another in the workaday world.

Maybe rather than assume that we are all dumb, you might note such a congruence among religions that are big on tradition and ask why the ratio appears in at least two of them. That might yield some interesting anthropology.

"I am working on a book on the world's religious traditions, and it's interesting to see how off on their own Catholics are on this question. Early Christians were influenced by the Greek philosophers, who famously sided with the mind in what they saw as a mind/body battle for supremacy over the person. So Paul's strong preference for celibacy over marriage has made its way into today's Roman Catholic rules for the priesthood."

Gee, Doc, that'll be a real original book.

Seriously, though, aside from observing that your observation is so second-hand and cliche that it is ludicrous for you to present it as your own, I would like to ask one question.

Why is it that someone reads a bit of Plato or Plotinus and suddenly decides that THIS is the real, deciding factor in why those weird Catholics don't let married men become priests? I grant that such folks always say, "Don't let priests get married," which has the whole thing backwards in the first place. But seriously, why don't any of you actually read what we ourselves have written about the topic, rather than deciding who you think influenced our decision and then arguing with them? Maybe because Plato and the gang are dead and won't argue back.

But I'll argue, Prof. Prothero, if you like. Pick up a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, read what it says about priestly celibacy, and then let's argue. But please, hold the "Greek influence," and let's just argue the arguments.

Catholic prudery, Mr. Prothero? Catholicism practically luxuriates in the body, cherishes sex, marital love and family life; this is orthodox Christian and Catholic belief. But your comments are irrelevant, because we're talking about marriage in the context of the PRIESTHOOD, a special and exclusive vocation. Celibacy is a discipline (not a dogma) within the Roman Rite, and arises out of many reasons other than "prudery", fear or hatred of the body. I will not list them here, but simply refer you to 1 Corinthians 7:32-35.

Steve, I hope your book touches on the irony that the Roman Church both denigrates the body (Greek-philosophical soma/sema [body/tomb]) & sanctifies human flesh ("the sanctity of life"). / Thank you for factoring in Jesus' incarnation.

I remember with pleasure & gratitude to God
our 1:1 conversation at a Cape Code clergy luncheon during your early days at BU.

Can Sex Bring Us Closer to God?

Yes, when you have sex with your own wife and think rest of the women a prohibition, as upon them is the right of someone else.

Sex becomes a sin when you steal the right of the others and inflict problems such as of a illegitimate child on the society.
Sex becomes a sin when you cheat eachother and do not have good intentions in this matter.

Can Sex Bring Us Closer to God?

Yes, when you are have sex with your own wife and think rest of the women a prohibition, as upon them is the right of someone else.

Mr. Prothero,
Obviously you have no familiarity with Pope John Paul II's "Theology of the Body" nor the encyclical which preceded it, "Humanae Vitae" by Pope Paul VI. These documents illustrate the gift of sexuality in the proper context. The problem with your view, along with secular society, is that the view and purpose of sexual union between is misplaced and distorted. The Catholic Church places the highest esteem on God's gift to mankind. However, mankind would rather abuse that gift in ways that it was not intended. So long as articles like this are being written I know with certainty that the Catholic Church has got it right. The Catholic Church has been and always will be counter-cultural and that speaks volumes especially in light of so many denominations and sects that compromise truth for the sake of unity.

Stephen Prothero, I don't know about that "Catholic prudery." Evidently, you did not attend a Catholic high school, during the 1950s. Even the non-Catholic boys at the public high school knew which girls best to date.

Us-conscience

Right:
Celibacy isn’t biblical
The papacy isn’t biblical
Infant baptism isn’t biblical

Wrong:
The priesthood is biblical
Mass has its roots in the bible

None of this makes the Catholics bad, just off-target.

However I am no longer catholic for a reason, some of them are listed above.

Mark
Always seek the truth.

celibacy isnt biblical, priesthood ( continuing today ) isnt biblical, what they do in the mass isnt biblical, the papacy isnt biblical, praying to saints isnt biblical, Mary worship isnt biblical, infant baptism isnt biblilcal....so, the catholic church has made up their own religion with their own gospel....so...let them make their own rules since they are evidently not concerned about being biblical.