No-Guilt Sex should be the Norm

I was reading a blog the other day in which the author claimed that people in America were becoming less religious and, as a result, this country was becoming less moral. The post lamented that morality was quickly becoming a casualty of ecumenicalism.

But when Christians talk about morality, what they are really talking about is sex. Nobody disputes the fact that things like theft, rape, and murder are immoral. If it’s a felony, it is probably also immoral. But most Christians will also add premarital sex and homosexuality in as immoral behavior. They may also even toss in masturbation and lusting in one’s mind as sins worthy of the immoral label.

I was struck with the notion that the blog I was reading took it as a given that sexual promiscuity of any kind was a behavior that everybody agrees is sinful. After all, the bible is clearly anti-sex, (except for parts of the Old Testament where raping your drunk father is perfectly fine).

I take issue with that assumption. Sex is normal and natural. Although parents are well advised to caution their teenagers about having unsafe and promiscuous sex for reasons of their immaturity, once you reach a certain age (whether it be 17 or 22, depending on one’s maturity level) having sex is fine and should be practiced without the religious baggage of guilt.

There is nothing wrong with having sex before marriage, if that’s what you choose to do. There is nothing wrong with having sex with someone you care about, or even having sex with someone you don’t. There’s nothing wrong with having sex just because it’s fun. As long as you take precautions against unwanted pregnancy and STDs, a person should have all the sex they want without stigma attached.

And, if by chance a pregnancy does result, despite having taken precautions, there should be absolutely no guilt about having that pregnancy terminated as soon as possible. Obviously, it is the woman’s choice, but too many people make a bigger deal out of it than it should be. If birth control didn’t work, try the morning after pill. Or if you find out later, just go in for an abortion without drama or guilt. Early-term abortion shouldn’t be any bigger deal than birth control, except for the expense. It certainly should cause no guilt or consternation.

We need to slough off the puritanical baggage in this country. Things like nudity and casual sex are practiced often here, but there is still a lot of stigma attached to it and many people do it but then feel cheap or guilty. There should be no more guilt associated with having casual sex than there is about having a bowel movement. You don’t necessarily want to do it in public, but it’s just a natural bodily function, so there should be no stigma attached to it.

My point here is that, notwithstanding the Christian blogs that lament the loss of morality in this country, nothing bad can come of having protected sex if both parties are consenting. It’s not a sin, because sin is a made-up concept of Christianity which should carry no weight in making decisions. If God exists, I’m fairly confident that he doesn’t care how often you have sex or with whom you have it.