Stifling Joy!

[Jenny A]

The Judeo-Christian god, especially the Christian one seems to be against many forms of harmless human enjoyment---sex being at the top of the list of things we oughtn't enjoy.

No, the Christian god invented sex and wants us to enjoy it within the bounds of marriage. Paul specifically says that married people should have sex regularly.

ETA: Read Song of Solomon, or at least the wiki entry on it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Song_of_Songs

...it celebrates sexual love. It gives "the voices of two lovers, praising each other, yearning for each other, proffering invitations to enjoy". The two are in harmony, each desiring the other and rejoicing in sexual intimacy; the women (or "daughters") of Jerusalem form a chorus to the lovers, functioning as an audience whose participation in the lovers' erotic encounters facilitates the participation of the reader.

I'm not really concerned about what the Christians SHOULD think based on scripture. You can argue that up down and sideways and Christians do and reach very different conclusions too. I'm concerned about how some of them do think now and in the past. My story was not about ideal "good" Christianity. My story was about main stream Christianity at the time Mom was growing up and Christianity as it is taught by some Evangelical Churches today.

What is it about sex?

[John V]

I'm not really concerned about what the Christians SHOULD think based on scripture. You can argue that up down and sideways and Christians do and reach very different conclusions too. I'm concerned about how some of them do think now and in the past. My story was not about ideal "good" Christianity. My story was about main stream Christianity at the time Mom was growing up and Christianity as it is taught by some Evangelical Churches today.

Then perhaps you should have led with "Some Christians..." rather than "The Judeo-Christian god..." In that case I wouldn't have responded. Yes, some theists - and believe it or not, some atheists - have hangups about sex.

[Jenny A]

I'm not really concerned about what the Christians SHOULD think based on scripture. You can argue that up down and sideways and Christians do and reach very different conclusions too. I'm concerned about how some of them do think now and in the past. My story was not about ideal "good" Christianity. My story was about main stream Christianity at the time Mom was growing up and Christianity as it is taught by some Evangelical Churches today.

Then perhaps you should have led with "Some Christians..." rather than "The Judeo-Christian god..." In that case I wouldn't have responded. Yes, some theists - and believe it or not, some atheists - have hangups about sex.

Um, mainstream and "some" have rather different connotations yes? And Christianity has a long history in this regard. During the Middle Ages the number on holy days in which you weren't supposed to have sex, actually lowered the birth rate at a time when people were have trouble maintaining population.

Many of the victimless sins of Christianity are sexual. You may be more enlightened and more power to you. But I look at Christianity historically and as it impinges on secular society today.

Banned birth control in Ireland, banned sex toys in several U.S. states, anti-pornography laws, etc. are Christian motivated. So are abstinence only sexual education programs and often anti abortion laws. Taken as a whole it's a sexual misconduct obsessed religion.

[John V]

Um, mainstream and "some" have rather different connotations yes?

Possibly.

And Christianity has a long history in this regard. During the Middle Ages the number on holy days in which you weren't supposed to have sex, actually lowered the birth rate at a time when people were have trouble maintaining population.

We're not in the Middle Ages.

Many of the victimless sins of Christianity are sexual. You may be more enlightened and more power to you. But I look at Christianity historically and as it impinges on secular society today.

Many studies show that married people are happier than singles, and conservatives are happier than liberals. Here's one that also shows that those who follow the typical religious plan of waiting until marriage for sex report better sex and better marriages:

Banned birth control in Ireland, banned sex toys in several U.S. states, anti-pornography laws, etc. are Christian motivated. So are abstinence only sexual education programs and often anti abortion laws. Taken as a whole it's a sexual misconduct obsessed religion.

Problem is that you're assuming that things like birth control, sex toys, and pornography lead to greater sexual happiness. Here's a study on porn and sexual satisfaction:
"After consumption of pornography, subjects reported less satisfaction with their intimate partners—specifically, with these partners' affection, physical appearance, sexual curiosity, and sexual performance proper. In addition, subjects assigned increased importance to sex without emotional involvement. These effects were uniform across gender and populations."

[fr0d0]

The biblical ideal is healthy sex.

People adopt Christianity and typically rise up the social ladder. They then take on middle class snobbery and suddenly sex is a taboo subject at afternoon tea.

[John V]

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.10...6MPtfldVZs

Similar to earlier findings, there were no significant differences in sexual satisfaction between women with high‐frequency and low‐frequency church attendance.

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.10...6MQFPldVZs

Age and relationship status were significant predictors of sexual satisfaction, with older women and singles reporting a higher incidence of sexual problems. Educational level, religious affiliation, and employment status were not predictive of sexual dysfunction in the present study.

[Ryantology]

Many studies show that married people are happier than singles, and Here's one that also shows that those who follow the typical religious plan of waiting until marriage for sex report better sex and better marriages:

All this says to me is that you have a much easier time in life if:

married people are happier than singles,

...Christians aren't allowed to define marriage for everyone,

conservatives are happier than liberals

...you get to enjoy undeserved privilege,

those who follow the typical religious plan of waiting until marriage for sex report better sex and better marriages

...your sexual appetite is extremely vanilla and you don't care about variety (and are willing to risk an entire lifetime of bad or no sex).

[John V]

All this says to me is that you have a much easier time in life if:

"All"? You act as if having a much easier time in life is a trifling matter. As a Christian I appreciate an easier life, and I would think an atheist, with no thought of an afterlife, would appreciate it even more.

...your sexual appetite is extremely vanilla and you don't care about variety (and are willing to risk an entire lifetime of bad or no sex).

The interesting question now is why, despite the evidence offered, do you want to believe that Christians have bad sex?