We’re all allowed to change our minds. I’m not sure if this is a credit to my character or a blight on it, but I’ve changed my mind about many varying topics over the past—sometimes from one extreme to another. A lot of these changes happened because I went off to college and was finally out from under my parents’ influence. Having to find your own way and discover how you feel about certain ideas sometimes inspires radical shifts. I was a perfect example.
Another reason I’ve been moving from one side of a debate to another is my radical switch from Christianity to atheism. When I was a believer, I always knew what to do and what to believe in because it was an established system in my religion, my family, and my community. Atheism flung me outside all of those groups quite suddenly, and I had to do even more thinking on my own. With no one to tell me what to believe, and not much practice being a truly critical thinker, I had a lot of catching up to do! In fact, I know I’m still not done reconsidering my positions. Perhaps I never will be.
I came up with four examples of how I’ve shifted my opinions in the past five years.
photo by Tony Case
1) Masturbation
Then: A few years ago after wobbling between “masturbation is a sin” and “if it’s awesome, why not?” I settled on the view that masturbation was okay so long as you didn’t lust. This is a popular position in some Christian circles because it allows the person the physical release, but it keeps people from sinning according to Jesus “Thought Police™” Christ (see Matthew 5:28).
Now: My new guiltless sexuality and self-confidence are mainly a direct result of leaving Christianity. Now I’m not ashamed of my actions nor filled with self-loathing about being a sexual person. I can embrace healthy expressions of this side of my nature; I can be mature and wise about it instead of secretive and ignorant. The human body is an amazing thing, and we should enjoy it!
Check out my previous post on masturbation.
Click below the cut for three more…
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Trees are so hot. I just want to hump one right now. Like this guy!
Or maybe… not.
This facebook conversation could have been stolen from one of many a debates I had with other Christians when I was in college. We discussed the topic of masturbation more than anyone should. As you may know, the question “how far is too far?” is more than popular with those battling raging hormones.
A consensus on whether masturbation was sinful or permissible was hard to come by; but in the end, a middle ground was reached that still let people pleasure themselves, but gave it a nice “sinless” protective barrier. So long as you did not lust and go against what Jesus taught in Matthew 5:27-28, you were not sinning. However, if you fantasized or involved anyone else in the act, you were a dirty sexual deviant.
The idea that someone could masturbate without shame or sin is extremely popular with the young adult crowd. Christianity is calling you a nasty sinner if your hands explore your golden chalice/divining rod/pick your own name–even as your natural (supposedly created by god) body is telling you yes, yes YES! So how do you escape the thought police and still have that tremendous, shuddering release? Think about trees; imagine taking a Chemistry final; recite something you’ve memorized… and my personal favorite: pray!
Yes, I was actually told that if I prayed while I played, that god would keep me from sinning.
It didn’t help. In fact, that seems pretty fucked up to me.
Hey Christians, if any of you read this, here’s a tip: If you want a healthy sex life in your future, don’t teach yourself early on that what comes naturally to you is shameful or dirty. Masturbation is just fine! And the mind is the most powerful sex organ you have. Don’t stifle it! And for goodness sake, don’t pray while you masturbate.
Just in case parties in your nether regions would make or break your devotion to a certain deity and its associated religion, this chart may come in handy!
Click for full size.
So, we’re not very shocked by this, right? Religious leaders want to control procreation in every way possible in favor of the glorification and expansion of their own systems. This is how they thrive, sadly. Buddhism, not to my surprise, is the most lenient of the major world religions pictured. I’d like to have seen Hinduism pictured, as well as a column for non-religious/secular people. That column would probably say “Personal and Social responsibility FTW!”
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