Dear Kalin
your response to my post raises an important issue.

I think our guideline can be worked out irrespective of a faith position, but that guideline does depend on divine truth to be really valid.

"Love your neighbour as yourself" (L.Y.N.)

The first moral point is 'lust' as opposed to 'attraction'.
Attraction (with a view to marraige and maybe reproduction in the normal scheme of things) is quite legitimate. "Lust" on the other hand is that which objectifies and degrades a person into an object of self gratification. (Lust can be mutual, but still wrong)

If we apply the simple rule above (L.Y.N.) all will be well until some bright spark challenges it with "but this IS how I 'love' my neighbour.. I drool over his daughter, and I don't mind if he drools over mine" aah.. then we have a problem. Its what I was alluding to about moral 'opinion'.

10 people, maybe 10 opinions. Someone will try to re-define 'lust' as something without negative connotations.

I shudder to think what an already degraded person might suggest as being 'love for your neighbour'.

So this is where "L.Y.N" needs the first great commandment "Love the Lord your God" to have a framework where its meaning can be suitably derived.

Unfortunately, here we have another problem. Belief in and love for God, must always be a matter for the individual heart. So, our society tends to sway between 'degradation' and 'illumination' (spiritual revival/renewal).

I don't really have an answer on the social level. I can only point people to Christ, and trust that in Him, more and more of us, will seek to relate our lives to the Almighty and each other in such a way that we have no doubts about this issue.

"Attraction (with a view to marraige and maybe reproduction in the normal scheme of things) is quite legitimate. "Lust" on the other hand is that which objectifies and degrades a person into an object of self gratification."

Ahem David this where your defintions run into a problem. You can
love your wife, but without some lust for your wife, you will be
battling to have an erection, so she's your friend. Lust is
in fact also something quite normal, deal with it :)

Boaz,

You haven't answered the point about what we do with different interpretations of devine "truth".

Even if, and it is a huge if, we were to acecpt that the true religion is Christianity (and then what do we do with non-Christians?! force them to convert? force them to follow a religion that they do not believe in because "we" know it is the truth? and how? by force? sounds a bit self-defeating not to mention oppressive...)

But even if we say, ok, Christianity is the true religion, the question stands, Christianity according to whom?

I imagine you may be tempted to say Christianity according to Christ, but all Christians claim to follow Christ's teachings, but even within each Christian denomination theological debate is very lively, let alone between Christian denominations (religious wars in Europe?!)

So what is it going to be? Aren't we back with 10 people 10 opinions

Boaz - we have to be careful what we reap...

We also have to be careful what we reap when sexuality is repressed and people are made to feel guilty about having sexual feelings. It is possible that the incidence of rape may go down where ADULT pornography is freely available because people (including young adults) are being shown how to have healthy and consensual sex - without feeling bad about it. The more normal something becomes, the less threatening it tends to become.

Sexual repression leads to scenarios as seen in Pennsylvania this week.

Some of the comments about porn and the stereotypes involved are worth considering.

One older OLO article may be worth a visit for those who think they know all about porn based on their last visit to a service station.

http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=334

R0bert

Dear Shmuck
you raise crucial questions which it gives me joy to respond to for the sake of all.

‘Which’ version of Christianity is the correct one ?

It is this one. Where 2 or 3 are gathered in the name of Jesus, He is there in the midst of them.
It is where you and I join in humble confession of our need for forgiveness and grace, and stand together singing praises to God such as

O Lord my God! when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made,
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed:

The true church of Christ was found yesterday morning, it happened to be at my own fellowship, but that was an accident of geography. We had a prayer meeting to which other local churches were invited.
There was the Church of Christ pastor, who shared about things in their area, and the Anglican who fondly related about the ‘blessing of the pets’ (not something I feel a great spiritual urgency for but thats ok) then, he ‘read’ some prayers from their prayer book, using beautiful sculpted words, which captured the essense of our heartfelt plea’s so well, and we all said “Amen”

It was when the Baptist deacon stood up and related about their fellowship and hopes.
So, there, was the true church of Christ, one body, many members, various diverse traditions held together in spiritual unity by the love of God in Christ.

Kevin and others ...LUST and PASSION. are different. Legitimate sexual desire is passionate and compelling, joyful and fulfilling. Sexual Passion in its right place, between (married) lovers is guiltless, ‘lust’ is the desire for sexual use of another, without love, except the love of selfish pleasure. Pornography feeds lust.
Yabby,erectile function is related to sexual desire and in marraige its not ‘lust’ but passion and love.

Roberts link is VERY interesting. Well worth a read.