Rio Olympics 2016: The world at war against the Lord Jesus Christ.

[binary solo]

Zkuq said:

binary solo said:

Putting aside the question of harm, or not, from homosexual relations, religion is as concerned about harm to self as it is about harm to others. A lot of religious teachings are about improving self and protecting the self as well as being good at a social level. So it is appropriate for religion to regulate behaviour where the only "victim" is the self. On the basis that God actually does know what's best for you more than you do, then God does get to tell you what to do. If you believe of course.

That's my problem with God. It might help if God told us why something is bad instead of just saying it's bad. In cases where something is harmful to others, it's easy enough to believe it's bad even without proper reasoning. But in cases where it isn't... Yeah, would make more sense if I got a reason it's bad.

OT Freedom of speech ra ra.

Off topic

If you consider that the main concern of God is not directly what is helpful or harmful in this life, but the condition of your soul (the permanent, infinite part of yourself that lives on after death), and what God wants is for your spiritual self to be in its most perfect form possible when you die, then moral laws, like laws putting restrictions on ones sexual activity, are all about developing the the soul. So the why for these laws that restrict behaviour is because it's good for your soul. The next question is how is it good for your soul? It seems like selflessness and sacrifice and self-control are the things that get you spiritual growth. In a way it's like exercise. No pain, no gain. It's painful to deny yourself sex, the benefit the building your spiritual muscle. There are social benefits to sexual self control (less sex-related crime and unfaithfulness in relationships), but the important thing is self control, not socially imposed control.