Marriage and Sexuality by Saint Paul - Essay Example

Module Module ID: Marriage and Sexuality The present paper aims to discuss Corinthians 7:25-40, which manifestly elaborates the concepts of marriage and sexuality in the light of the Christian set of belief. The verses discuss the permission of marriage have been granted to the virgins and unmarried on the one hand, and the same to the widowed on the other for the blessings of the Lord in this world, and in the world Hereinafter as well. Since marriage between two members of opposite genders is the only source of reproduction and arrival of new generations, the Scripture determines the ways to perform the same within the limitations imposed by the Lord. Somehow, St. Paul, in his Epistle, appears to be arguing against people’s entering into marital union, as marriage and sex, according to him, push humans away from spiritual uplift. It is therefore St. Paul supports the idea of refraining from sexual activities, including marriage, to remain committed to religious activities and the service of church only. Since hunger and sex serve as two basic human instincts, and it is hard for humans to completely avoid any of the two, the Lord has taught the manners to satisfy both the instincts according to His holy commandments. “The Bible presents marriage as a divine institution. If marriage were of human origin, then human beings would have a right to decide the kind of marital relationships to choose. Marriage, however, began with God. It was established by God at the beginning of human history when He "created the heavens and the earth” (Gen 1:1). It is therefore the Scripture declares marriage as a sacred association between man and woman due to the very reality that it not only satisfies the carnal desires of the humans in an adequate manner, but also gives birth to the concept of family and blood relationship in its wake. Marriage is actually a sacred way to carry on nature’s system of sending new generations to replace the old ones that has been the order of the day as well as law of nature since man’s arrival on the face of the earth. Further, marriage keeps the souls pious and save the individuals from going astray by getting indulged into lustful activities including adultery, fornication, sodomy, rape and other forms of immorality and indecency; as the Bible states that “having one’s own husband or wife should keep one from doing something immoral.” (Corinthians, 7:2) Additionally, the children produced out of the wedlock also enjoy the status of legitimate offspring, where they maintain social position and respect, and share in the inheritance of their parents. Besides, children also carry on the mission and talent of their parents, which is equally beneficial for the humanity at large. Moreover, children are also recognized as belonging to some particular caste, clan, tribe, ethnicity, religion and family. Consequently, they are the responsibility of their parents, and society can force them to feed, clothe and protect them according to their income and resources. Somehow, St. Paul, through Corinthians 7, considers celibacy and maintenance of virginity as the most admirable thing. The Epistle views marriage as a burden on the very back of the individuals, which drifts them far away from their spiritual duties and obligations. Hence, married people get involved into worldly pursuits and run amuck after pelf, property, power and possessions in order to feed their family and brought up the young ones in a better way. Since materialism and spirituality are absolutely two contradictory issues, pursuit of one creates and increases distance from the other. Corinthians 7:25-27 vehemently suggest the men and women to avoid marriage and sex, as it is superior to getting involved into sexual activity. Although, according to St. Paul, the Lord has not forbidden it, yet he himself recommends celibacy as it is (spiritually) better than marriage. Control of carnal desires is certainly more blissful than displaying them to one’s heartiest yearning. In addition, marriage pushes humans to the vale of worries and concerns, and man becomes aficionado to worldly life, and hence domestic chores, familial responsibilities and financial worries keep him engaged into worldly pursuits only. On the other hand, a single man has little to get worried, and thus is in a position to pay due heed to his religious obligations, and even can travel wide to teach and preach others the verses from the Holy Scriptures. Somehow, it is not actually the Christian belief, for all the holy personalities, including Noah, Abraham, Lot, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Solomon, Zechariah and others, entered into matrimonial relationship. The saints including Perpetua, Augustine and others also got married and had children. St. Augustine declares marriage as natural, for it fulfills natural human desires by uniting the members of both the genders. “And this seems to me not merely to be on account of the begetting of children, but also on account of the natural association between the two sexes.” (PL 40, 375: quoted in Burke, 2006: 3) Man’s life and promised stay on the earth, according to St. Paul, is short (for prayer and meditation), and people’s remaining involved into the affairs related to husbands and wives may put their religious obligations in grave jeopardy. Consequently, they would, he submits, be unable to fulfill their real mission they have been sent in the world, which is mortal and temporary. (Corinthians, &: 29-31) Hence, married life divides the concentration of the people and shatters their focus. St. Paul urges the people to remain focused and unconcerned to the worldly pursuits. An unmarried man has plenty of time to perform anything; it is therefore he can spend more time to lead a life in the service of the religion. Celibacy does not let the thoughts go astray; on the contrary, it associates man with the spiritual activities and man surrenders himself entirely to the Lord. On the other hand, a married man neither pays heed to church, nor to his domestic life properly, as his spiritual obligations force him to walk in the way of the Lord, while the domestic duties urge him earn money, making shopping and pay time at home in the service of wife and children. Hence, in the pursuit to keeping both church and home happy, the married man loses the both subsequently. However, St. Paul also proposes getting married to those, who are unable to control their feelings, which is actually the main objective of marriage. (Corinthians, 7:36) Thus, instead of observing malpractices and perversion, the people should get married, so that they cannot break the law of God. “If God had left us no instructions about marriage after establishing it, then marriage could be regulated according to personal whims. But He has not left us in the dark. In His revelation contained in the pages of the Bible, God has revealed His will regarding the nature and function of marriage.” (Bacchiocchi, 1992:5-6) Had the institution of marriage any contradiction to the word of God, the Almighty would have not arranged marriage between Adam and Eve in high heavens. St. Paul recommends marriage with a divorced or widow, as it is better to involve a virgin to matrimonial knot. Though marrying a virgin is neither taboo nor sin, but is also good, yet marriage with widow is far better an act, for it does not seduce an unmarried to break his/her virginity. (Corinthians, 7:37-38) Somehow, the Scripture does not impose any limitation of this type on the people. Instead, only incest marriage is prohibited according to Christianity. St. Paul reiterates the widow to marry a Christian, after the demise of her husband (Corinthians, 7:39-40), though the Scripture has not introduced any condition to its followers regarding matrimony. On the other hand, the Christianity allows both men and women to choose the spouse of their choice without having any discrimination of caste, class, race, ethnicity and religion of the spouse. Somehow, Scripture clearly and strictly condemns marrying or having sex with the person of same gender, as it is vehemently a curse and worst possible sin committed on the very face of the earth at large. To conclude, it becomes evident that maintenance of celibacy and virginity and escaping marriage and consummation of the same is absolutely based on the recommendations presented by St. Paul in order to motivate the Christian community to dedicate their unconditional services to the spread of religion and church, so that man cannot absorb himself in the worldly pursuit, which could make him forgetful of his Creator. Although Corinthians enjoys the status of a magnificent Epistle, yet it does not reflect the true spirit of Christian belief that motivates the humans to multiply through the sacred way of marriage. Christianity lays stress upon the followers in respect of remaining chaste and virtuous, but does not forbid them from fulfilling their sexual and carnal desires through the institution of marriage. Works Cited Bacchiocchi, Samuele. “Marriage Covenant Biblical Study on Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage.” Biblical Perspectives January 1992 1-11 Retrieved from http://www.biblicalperspectives.com/books/marriage/1.html Burke, Monsignor Cormac. “Saint Augustine and Conjugal Sexuality” 29th May 2006 Retrieved from http://www.churchinhistory.org/pages/booklets/augustine.pdf Krell, Keith Single-Minded (1 Corinthians 7:25-40) Retrieved from http://bible.org/seriespage/single-minded-1-corinthians-725-40 The Intimate Couple “Scriptures on Marriage and Sex” in Songs of Solomon Retrieved from http://www.the-intimate-couple.com/scriptures-on-marriage.html Bible Gateway “1 Corinthians 7:25-40” Retrieved from http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+7%3A25-40&version=NIV Read More