Animals
VERSUS
Angels...
I finished a book last week called SEX GOD and it's all about PORN! Just kidding, it's about relationships with each other and what God intended for those relationships. It mainly focuses of dating relationships and marriage but does through in some friend ones from time to time. Probably not the most appropriate book for me read currently being neither in a dating relationship nor married but it gave some great perspectives on such material and I just liked what it had to say. I think one of the biggest chapters that stuck out to me was this one. Angels versus Animals. I'll do my best to sum it up but if you want a better explanation check the book out.
So in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. In the heavens were angels. God created angels first. The God created the earth with a suitable habitat so life could live. So God created animals. First angels, then animals. Then God created Adam. Then of course Eve. The point to see is that God created angels, animals, and humans all differently, not the same, not for one to become like the other but for each group to be what they were created to be.
Physical=Sexual
Angels are souls with no bodies, well as this book describes. Angels are all spiritual with no physical/sexual; all soul with no body. Angels can't indulge in physical pleasures such as affection, touch, sex, eating, etc because they have no body.
Animals are all body with no soul. Animals are all physical/sexual with no soul; all soul no body. Animals can't indulge in spiritual pleasures of salvation, prayer, relationships, love, worship, etc.
Humans are bodies with souls; souls housed in bodies. Humans are spiritual and sexual able to have a relationship with God and enjoy the pleasures of the body; pleasures that God gave to humans. Pleasures that have been taken out of context, taken advantage of, and that have been obsessively abused.
See here's the problem in the world today. Humans are either trying to be animals or angels. Their are a lot who are trying to be human, but the majority of the world and especially our culture are trying to be animals, with a majority of Christians trying to be angels.
What does it look like for a human to be an animal? Well, when they have no spirituality, no relationship with God and seek only the pleasures of the body whether it be sex, eating,drinking, whatever. When we only focus on the physical aspect of life, the sexual aspect of life we are trying to be animals that only eat, sleep, and reproduce. We hear several of these phrases like "He's such a sex animal" or "She's a drinking machine" whatever. We were created for more than that. Not to be animals but to be human; to not only focus on the sexual aspect of life but also the spiritual.
Trying to be an angel is the opposite. These are Christians that only focus on the spiritual and to not indulge in any of the physical gifts from God. These are people that won't ever kiss anyone unless it is their spouse, afraid of touch and affection, afraid to be physically close or do anything physical even if it is a kiss on a check to a friend on their wedding night. This extreme is just as harmful as the animal extreme and again, humans were not created for this. We're not angels, we're humans with both the spiritual and physical.
The funny thing is that the thing that is considered a sin the animal extreme, when people seek out physical pleasures only such as sex before marriage, drinking alcohol, eating gluttonously, being lazy and doing nothing all the time, etc. This is what the generally opinion of the church thinks is sinful. It is but they are also missing the other extreme, the angel extreme which is just as sinful, just as destructive, just as harmful. You barely hear any sermons about that; about how avoiding physical affection in a relationship will definitely cause a division and ultimately harm and how it is sinful. Why is it sinful? Because we weren't created to be angels nor animals, but to be human. To have a relationship with God and with each other and to enjoy the physical gifts that God has given when God intended them to happen for instance to have sex when married. For I believe that when you're in a dating relationship or married it is the physical/sexual pleasures that shows and celebrates the spiritual, the relationship. But that's just me, the book it's interesting, I didn't agree with everything in it but thought this chapter was pretty interesting and right on.
8 comments:
hmm, this is interesting. I've never heard this theory or opinion before. I like the image at the begining of your post of God giving angel's souls with no bodies, animal's body with no souls and humans both. However, I believe that since God did give humans both bodies and souls that they are both intimately intertwined and can't be seperated this side of heaven. I think you kind of said that at the end but when you were talking about humans acting like animals it contradicts the end of the post. Because we are both body and soul everything we do with our physical bodies has some relation to our soul: be it drugs, sex out of marriage, gossip, tv, what we read, our religiousness whatever. When you have sex, you don't have to be married for it to be spiritual. Sex out of marriage is just the result of something spiritually wrong: the person feels alone, needs sex to feel powerful, looking for something other than God. That goes for any sin... and I don't believe that sin is animalistic but evil. Animals aren't evil... but that's besides the point.
Also, the point about people who don't engage in physicalness... I think it depends on the circumstance. Monks who are celebate I wouldn't consider angel-like and I wouldn't think they are tyring to be. I think it's a choice that they made to honor God. Some people give up things for God permanently and I think that can be very glorifying. Couples who choose to kiss on their wedding day do so to further glorify God. Some people give up things or fast to look religious or to win God's favor or to appear like they have it all together and I think that is the exception. I don't belive that we do require physicalness to worship and honor God. We can use physicalness to honor Him, and he enjoys it, but it's not required.
there is a happy medium, if you would consider it a medium rather than perfection, but only Jesus accomplished it and so in turn we can only accomplish it through his grace.
i'm rambling now and i no longer have a point... if i even began with one. sounds like an interesting book nonetheless.
I concur with the wife.
i dunno about lack of physical being just as bad as over-physical. people who don't kiss one another or touch or hug aren't really doing anything to offend God, I believe. They aren't using that in a way to seek fulfillment away from God like over physical people are. I think those people are weird, but that their actions cannot be evenly weighed with those who jump on anything that moves.
"Animals aren't evil..." I think Ashley is a card carrying PeTA member.
I failed to explain this chapter very well and if read it you'd probably understand what the author was trying to say but to Ashley's comment, this chapter was only talking about people who were in a dating relationship. This didn't really include monks or priests which he writes a completely different chapter about and which goes along what you stated. But I have to apologize for failing to explain it better, I don't have the book with me, and I don't think animals are evil anyways it's when we try to act like animals totally avoiding the spiritual i.e. when we become something besides what we were created for (being fake, etc.) is what he is saying is evil, not animals. Also, something that is a general theme in the book is that people try to avoid tense spots in life, instead of working through them they totally avoid it all together and by doing so miss out on the gifts of life. In this case it would either be afraid of having a physical relationship while having a spiritual or the opposite, only wanting the physical when afraid of the spiritually. This chapter was saying that they go hand in hand, one a display for the other. You make a valid point, it has to be looked based on each situation but I just don't how not kissing can glorify God, yet I can see how kissing can not glorify God too, except that being able to be phsycial is a gift from God since that was what we were created with... I just don't understand if you have a deep relationship with someone and it is focused on God how the lack of the pshyical can be healthy or glorify God. This doesn't mean "jump on everything that moves" (quote from steve) but I guess I can see why a person would do that because they are afraid of what a kiss or hug might lead into. But instead of working it out it seems to me, that they avoid the whole confrontation all together instead of trying to find some middle ground. But again, like you said, it is based on circumstance and where the heart is for each person.
In response of Steve's post, yeah I see your point it's just that lack of affection CAN lead to a terrible division between the two but like Ashley said it's situational. Now to call that sin? Well...starting to re-think that towards a no, that's not really sin because I believe that sin is anything that drives you away, gets in the way, keeps you away from God or like you said seek fulfillment in something other than God then this wouldn't really be considered sin. I just believe that in a dating relationship you were created to have the relationship first, the spiritual part as you well, and the physical as a compliment to the relational like frosting on the cake. I think a healthy relationship needs both because we were created with both. I disagree with people that totally avoid it all together. Besides cakes sucks with out frosting and isn't cake. Neither is cake only frosting, because that's just frosting. I like cake :)
I don't think that a dating relationship requires physical interaction, i never chose to eliminate physical interactions in my dating relationships just as a side note. A dating relationship is not joined by God. They are not bound together in any way and sin creeps through dangerously with physical touch and each person is differnt with what htey struggle with. I believe purity in any form can be glorifying and pleasing to God especially when you preserve personal and intimate things inside covenants, like marriage. besides, not saying kissing or whatever is bad at all, but who's to say to what extent of being physical outside of marriage isn't sinful? I think it's easy for us to say that what we don't struggle with other people shouldn't either.
I may not think animals are evil, but I sure do love a good filet mignon cooked medium. mmmm :)
I'm not trying to say that dating relationships are joined by God nor to have sex while dating and I agree with you that sin does creep in dangerously close through physical and true, we all struggle differently, a point that I know and acknowledge and if I came off as trying to say "because I don't agree with that, that everyone else should either" that's not my intent at all. I agree with you on purity and intimacy being private in a covenant like marriage, cuz that's what marriage is the joining of man and woman spiritually and physically which is why God says have sex after marriage because that is the "joining of the bodies" as it were, the physical action of you all joining, the celebration of it, etc. This may sound like I'm advocating for sex, and I'm not, but it just seems to me that a relationship needs both parts, like 90% relationship or spiritually and 10%physical or something like that. I guess what I'm saying is that when I'm dating a girl I'm going to want to give her kiss every now and then or hug her or hold her hand because I think that displays my affection for her and how much I care for her besides words. Don't get me wrong, communication and getting to know her comes first and that is the core of it and the kissing and hugging is complimentary to that. I don't believe that it is right to have sex before marriage because of what you said and it being a covenant and the joining of the two but I won't say that kissing a girl or hugging her is necessarily sinful either because it is never really addressed in the Bible to not kiss someone although it depends on how you look at sex and what that includes. But again, like you said it depends on the person and their heart behind their actions.
urgh, I hate steak although love hamburgers. :)
I think a lack of physical makes a relationship less complicated... lets say you are with someone for a couple months and nothing has happened (kissing, making out, cuddling, whatever) well at least you know that you are still with this person for other reasons outside of physical fulfillment. I don't think in a dating relationship you need the physical to be successful, I think you both need a strong vision on God and where He wants to take you. A kiss isn't going to twist the will of God or sex for that matter, it'll just make it more difficult dealing with your physical desires later.
I don't like cow period, in fact the Hindus love me. I'm a chicken and turkey person. Basically I'm black with a white coat.
aww crap, you made another good point. True and that's what dating should be about not about physical fulfillment. But is less complicated better? Maybe in this situation it is but life is tense and complicated and to try and avoid that can get messy. I dunno, you've both made very good points and I'm starting to re-think my beliefs, which seems to be the generally trend right now with everything in IV, but for now I'm going to stick my argument....for now.
hahaha, cow's amazing. You're missing out.
Post a Comment