sex

[_Tarski]

Inspired by YahooBot's complaint that porn subverts the reproductive act (or somethig like that), let me tentatively try this notion out for size:

Sex is not for procreation.

Boom!

Oh sure, sex might be "for" reproduction as far as nature is concerned (in some free floating sense of "for"). Nature is "red in tooth and claw".

However, I have put off the natural man.

(See what I just did there?)

Sex for me is an end, not a means. I won't be having any more children but there will be plenty more erotic activity for me.

I don't look to nature or to my genes to find my purposes. Sometimes, I have my own purposes. I often outsmart my genes (apparently my genes want me to eat a lot of sugar).
As far as sex is concerned, I am taking the pleasure (thank you genes) but subverting the reproduction (since I'm done with that).

I have a friend who has no children and probably never will. He still has purposes and those include sex. Good for him.

Nature, or rather my genes, may "want" me to impregnate as many females as possible but I am not cooperating.

The point here is that evolution has produced many things but being blind could not foresee that many of these things (intelligence for example) would take on a life of their own. Oh sure, humans cannot be uniformly at complete cross purposes with the selfish gene project of propogation or we will die out- but so what? That does not completely constrain us or define our purposes and meanings. Humans seem to act against nature as much as with it and we act orthogonally to nature as well.

Nature did not invent hands for guitar playing either but that is another story--another one of my purposes.

[_bcspace]

Sex is not for procreation.

No problem. The scriptures imply as much. Proverbs 5:18-19.

Nature did not invent hands for guitar playing either but that is another story--another one of my purposes.

Here's a bass line for you:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYZs0S9-AN0

Or do you prefer Spanish guitars?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFufY5CVxMg

[_moksha]

Bonding, procreation, fun and England.

[_bcspace]

Bonding, procreation, fun and England.

Some funny maps for you:
http://politicartoons.livejournal.com/2200424.html

Joke I saw recently:

Heaven is: English house, Chinese food, Russian wife, American salary.
Hell is: Chinese house, English food, American wife, and Russian salary.

[_Buffalo]

Mormonism still hasn't got a handle on whether it's better to be natural or unnatural. It seems to condemn both.

[_Fiannan]

It is way more complicated that anything mentioned here in the thread so far:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/hottopics/love/

We desire to have sex to reproduce our genes. Our brains produce chemicals that bond us to our partners so we will help take care of the offspring.

If the Mormon Church wants to reduce porn as well as divorce they need to encourage married members to find more time for having hot and heavy sex. You will bond a marriage much more that way than reading scriptures together -- unless you and your wife/husband spend a bit of time thinking about how those ancient Nephite women actually dressed most of the time, or what life in David's harem was like.

[_Some Schmo]

Mormonism still hasn't got a handle on whether it's better to be natural or unnatural. It seems to condemn both.

Tarski's post got me thinking the same thing.

If we take our cues from nature, we should be going around raping every female we see. That's natural. Saying sex is just for procreation (based on its natural outcome... well, sometimes) is like saying women are just for raping. It's ridiculous.

By this logic, food is just for nutrition, LDS. So quit eating sweets and all the other crap that makes you fat and unhealthy. Stop having potlucks and picnics. Eating's not for pleasure. As soon as your hunger leaves, stop eating, ya damned sinners.

[_bcspace]

Mormonism still hasn't got a handle on whether it's better to be natural or unnatural.

Sure it has. "Natural" in LDS parlance is a condition of giving in to our every desire where such conflicts with God's commands. We are to control our appetites to within the bounds the Lord has set.

[_SteelHead]

Except when speaking of sex we are counseled not to perform unnatural acts.

[_bcspace]

Except when speaking of sex we are counseled not to perform unnatural acts.

To what specific "unnatural act" might you be referring to? Anything published in LDS doctrine?