SINS AGAINST CHASTITY



(Q): Why is lust a sin?
(A): Lust is a sin because is it a major source of temptation. The temptations of lust can lead to fornication, masturbation, adultery and other perverted desires. Lust can be daydreaming about sexual acts with someone, or staring at someone thinking of what it would be like to have sex with them. This is why it is important that both sexes dress appropriately in all situations because inappropriate dress can lead to lust in someone who is weak and does not have this vice under control.

(Mt. 5:28) - But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.(1 John 2:15) - Do not love the world or the things in the world. If any one loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. (16) For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not of the Father but is of the world. (17) And the world passes away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides for ever.

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, "Lust is disordered desire for or inordinate enjoyment of sexual pleasure. Sexual pleasure is morally disordered when sought for itself, isolated from its procreative unitive purposes."

(Q): What is an example of dressing inappropriately?
(A): It is hard to say exactly what set of clothing can send a man or woman into lustfulness, it could be different with each individual. The most obvious temptations for a man is women with low-cut shirts showing cleavage, tight shirts clinging to the breasts, tight jeans, short skirts or shorts revealing the legs. As for women, they may be attracted to men in tight jeans, or men not wearing a T-shirt, however, woman do not have the same overwhelming desires with regarding to clothing as men do when they see a woman dressed in an inappropriate manner.

(Q): In what other ways can one acquire lustful desires?
(A): Women or men who read romance novels have a tendency to lust about what they read. Also, men and women both are moved to lust by reading magazines or seeing movies or film (pornography) that deal with sexual situations, etc.

What does the Bible say about lust?

(1 Cor. 5:1) - It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and of a kind that is not found even among pagans; for a man is living with his father's wife.

(1 Cor. 6:18-20) - Shun immorality. Every other sin which a man commits is outside the body; but the immoral man sins against his own body. (19) Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? You are not your own; (20) you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

(2 Cor. 12:21) - I fear that when I come again my God may humble me before you, and I may have to mourn over many of those who sinned before and have not repented of the impurity, immorality, and licentiousness which they have practiced.

(1 Cor. 7:1) - Now concerning the matters about which you wrote. It is well for a man not to touch a woman. (2) But because of the temptation to immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband.

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MASTURBATION

(Q): What is wrong with Masturbation?
(A): It was not God's intent that the sexual organs be used for self-enjoyment. God designed sexual organs for the use of procreation. Masturbation is unnatural to God's intent.

There are individuals who through no fault of their own can not stop this behavior, it is a psychological problem that may have originated in the individual's youth due to rape, incest, or childhood sexual experience with other children. In such cases, these individuals should seek help from a psychiatrist or priest who is trained in this area.

Such individuals must learn how to forgive themselves from the guilt of these acts and turn to God for help in order to cease this activity.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that "Masturbation is to be understood as the deliberate stimulation of the genital organs in order to derive sexual pleasure. Both the Magisterium of the Church in the course of a constant tradition, and the moral sense of the faithful have been in no doubt and have firmly maintained that masturbation is an intrinsically and gravely disordered action. The deliberate use of the sexual faculty, for whatever reason, outside of marriage is essentially contrary to its purpose. For here sexual pleasure is sought outside of "the sexual relationship which is demanded by the moral order and in which the total meaning of mutual self-giving and human procreation in the context of true love is achieved.

What does the Bible say about masturbation?

(Rom 1:24-25) - Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, (25) because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever! Amen.

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FORNICATION

(Q): What is wrong with fornication (sexual intercourse)? Everyone is sleeping together--it is the norm.

(A): No, sleeping together is not the norm. There are still those who treasure the gift of virginity that the good Lord requested until the union of a couple in marriage. Sleeping together cheapens the woman and the man loses respect for her. Yes, he gets a chance to test out the produce (intercourse) before he buys it (marriage) but he is missing the most important part. A solid loving relationship is never built on sex. No, a solid loving relationship is built on love and commitment. Intercourse is not what it is about; it is about someone who loves you for who you are, someone you can grow old with.

(1 Cor. 7:8-9) "To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is well for them to remain single as I do. (9) But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to be aflame with passion."

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states the following: "Fornication is the carnal union between an unmarried man and an unmarried woman. It is gravely contrary to the dignity of persons and of human sexuality, which is naturally ordered to the good of spouses and the generation and education of children. Moreover, it is a grave scandal when there is corruption of the young."

What does the Bible say about fornication?

(Col. 3:5) - "Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. (6) On account of these the wrath of God is coming."

(Gal. 5:19) - "Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, (20) idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, (21) envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God".

(Mk. 7:20) - "What comes out of a man is what defiles a man. (21) For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery, (22) coveting, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. (23) All these evil things come from within, and they defile a man."

(1 Cor. 5:1) - "It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and of a kind that is not found even among pagans; for a man is living with his father's wife."

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PORNOGRAPHY

(Q): What is wrong with watching a movie with a few naked people having sex? It doesn't hurt anyone.
(A): Yes it does! It hurts YOU and the participants! Those who watch pornography do not have a healthy state of mind and they need a life. Watching or participating in pornography cheapens the sexual union, which is an act that should be shared in private in the union of marriage--a union of love--not a union of lust!

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states the following:

"Pornography consists in removing real or simulated sexual acts form the intimacy of the partners, in order to display them deliberately to third parties. It offends against chastity because it perverts the conjugal act, the intimate giving of spouses to each other. It does grave injury to the dignity of its participants (actors, vendors, the public), since each one becomes an object of base pleasure and illicit profit for others. It immerses all who are involved in the illusion of a fantasy world. It is a grave offense. Civil authorities should prevent the production and distribution of pornographic materials."

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PROSTITUTION

(Q): Does a person have a right to sell his or her own body?
(A): Prostitution is older than the Bible, but that does not mean that it is ok. Prostitution not only destroys the self worth of the prostitute, but it ruins the personal lives of those who seek it.

(Q): How does prostitution ruin the lives of the participants?
(A): Prostitution degrades a person to the level of an object, a thing, or something for pleasure. The person who is a prostitute no longer knows who she or he is anymore. The innocent person of long ago has disappeared. The person, who buys such favors, endangers spouses or future spouses with the possibility of infectious diseases and endangers the future of any offspring conceived at another time in their life. The prostitute also disfigures the body, the temple of Christ, in which God created them.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states the following:

"Prostitution does injury to the dignity of the person who engages in it, reducing the person to an instrument of sexual pleasure. The one who pays sins gravely against himself: he violates the chastity to which his Baptism pledged him and defiles his body, the temple of the Holy Spirit. Prostitution is a social scourge. It usually involves women, but also men, children, and adolescents (The latter two cases involve the added sin of scandal.). While it is always gravely sinful to engage in prostitution, the imputability of the offense can be attenuated by destitution, blackmail, or social pressure."

What does the Bible say about prostitution?

(1 Cor. 6:19-20) - "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? You are not your own; (20) you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body".

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RAPE

(Q): What does the Catechism of the Catholic Church say about rape?
(A): "Rape is the forcible violation of the sexual intimacy of another person. It does injury to justice and charity. Rape deeply wounds the respect, freedom, and physical and moral integrity to which every person has a right. It causes grave damage that can mark the victim for life. It is always an intrinsically evil act. Graver still is the rape of children committed by parents (incest) or those responsible for the education of the children entrusted to them."

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