Wednesday, November 12, 2008

A pastor's seven-day sex challenge

Have you heard about this? The pastor of a Dallas-area megachurch says that, during this Sunday's sermon, he's gonna challenge his married congregants to have sex for seven straight days.

The Rev. Ed Young, 47, said he believes society promotes promiscuity and he wants to reclaim sex for married couples. Sex should be a nurturing, spiritual act that strengthens marriages, he added.

"God says sex should be between a married man and a woman," Young said. "I think it's one of the greatest things you can do for your kids because so goes the marriage, so goes the family."

He plans to deliver his challenge while sitting on a bed in front of his congregation. (Oooh, kinky! Imagine the fantasies he'll inspire.) Also, he and his wife of 26 years will participate in the challenge themselves. They have four kids; no word on if they'll be trying for a fifth.

Which, BTW, makes me wonder: Is it OK to have sex with your spouse if you use contraception? And what if you have a long-term partner, but you're not married -- is it permissible to have sex with them? And I suppose that anyone who is just dating, or gay and has sex is gonna be punished in the hereafter?

The "having sex every night for so many days" idea is nothing new; a Charlotte woman wrote a book about having sex with her husband every day for a year. And while I support the basic idea behind these challenges -- physical intimacy leads to a deeper bond, a greater understanding of each other -- it chafes me that they're limited to married couples. As if people can't be committed without marriage.

Even so, in any kind of relationship sex can fall by the wayside through no fault of the people involved. If it takes a week of physical intimacy to kickstart desire, it's not such a hard cross to bear.

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

It "chafes you" that the pastor, in his church, is advocating that only married couples participate in this challenge? Are you obtuse, or just stretching for a few more sentences to throw into your article? Many people participate in extramarital sex, even the churchgoing crowd, but it's ridiculous that you insinuate that the pastor should encourage every "committed" couple, be it gay, straight, or married, participate in the challenge.

Anonymous said...

"God says sex should be between a married man and a woman." Ummm, okay...does that mean between a married man and any woman? And I might be wrong, but I don't recollect God using the words "married" and "sex" in the Bible. Churches should keep their collective noses out of peoples' sex lives, anyway.

Anonymous said...

I am amazed by the guy who wants the churches "noses" out of people's sex lives. How one makes such definitive statements without any clue as to the truth of that statement. Have you spent a lot of time thinking about this answer? No, his quote didnt come straight from a passage, rather it was a collective sentence based on actually reading and knowing what the Bible says and where it clearly lays out that sex was INTENDED for one man and one woman for life. To understand the Bible you must always read each passage with the idea of context and even culture. As much as people want, you cannot pick the parts you want and ignore the others. Start with 1Corinthians 7. My Bible actually uses the word "marriage" four times in the first 12 verses of just that chapter.

As for the "chafes" comment. How many do you know that have been hurt by sex outside the confines of a HEALTHY marriage. Keyword healthy. There is a reason the Bible teaches what it does...its for our own good, long term and short term. He is not a cosmic killjoy. Dig deeper to understand this important truth, even science has data pointing that the most fulfilling sex lives comes from a healthy loving marriage. Imagine that, science correlates with Biblical truth.

Finally, remember that God loves you where you are, no matter what, and that the Bible wasnt designed to steal all the fun out of life, rather it was to show us the key to life both now and for eternity. I hope people will quit trying to tear down what the Bible says and instead maybe look at it without preconcieved notions. It very well could change your life.

metroniner said...

uhhh no....

gays, unmarried, or "committed" couples should not partake in the experiment.

the experiment is for those who have no sex choice *EXCEPT* the life partner they chose.

btw...if you are gay...you can have marriage too. Just find a member of the opposite sex and pop the question :)

Anonymous said...

What's up with the big bald spot on this guy's head? Can't he wear a hat? It looks rather dorky.

Anonymous said...

The message from the pastor applies to any long term, monogamous relationship, gay or straight. A committed relationship can be a gay relationship, equivalent to any straight marriage. The fact that people have such a hard time wrapping their brain around that concept just boggles the mind...

Anonymous said...

Anon at 10:30 p.m. said: "I am amazed by the guy who wants the churches "noses" out of people's sex lives."

What makes you think I'm a guy?

Anonymous said...

okay... this is the first - and definitely the last - time I will be reading "We can relate." Obviously you cannot, except to yourselves. Was this "commentary" strictly to try to provoke comments? Being less than tolerant to anyone else's point of view does not make you enlightened or tolerant yourself. Perhaps a lesson the Observer could stand to ponder as well.....

John Charles Francis Walker said...

Sexuality is ordered to the conjugal love of man and woman united in the sacrament of marriage. In marriage the physical intimacy of the spouses becomes a sign and pledge of spiritual communion. Sexuality, by means of which man and woman give themselves to one another through the acts which are proper and exclusive to spouses, is not something simply biological, but concerns the innermost being of the human person as such. It is realized in a truly human way only if it is an integral part of the love by which a man and woman commit themselves totally to one another until death. The spouses' union achieves the twofold end of marriage: the good of the spouses themselves and the transmission of life. These two meanings or values of marriage cannot be separated without altering the couple's spiritual life and compromising the goods of marriage and the future of the family. By safeguarding both these essential aspects, the unitive and the procreative, the conjugal act preserves in its fullness the sense of true mutual love and its orientation toward man and woman's exalted vocation to parenthood.

Anonymous said...

The commentary is drivel. What the pastor is trying to do sounds good to me. I can't believe that many responders want an all-inclusive "me too" added to the pastor's message.

Yes, marriage is meant for one man and one woman for one lifetime. Granted, this mold has been broken many times. Perhaps what the pastor is saying, or at least is trying to get done, has merit.

Anonymous said...

Yes and, no doubt, this Christian pastor will then use the occasion as an excuse thereafter to talk about titillating sexual details with his congregants. Is it any wonder that many people think that evangelicals make idiotic voting choices for all the wrong reasons! This so-called Reverend probably has no legitimate degree ... at least not one from a school that was founded by anyone other than Pat Robertson or Jerry Falwell or Hagee or one of the other Mindless Ministers.

Anonymous said...

The nerve! Maybe I'm old-fashioned but I don't want to hear about sex from the pulpit, I want to hear the gospel. And who would want sex after looking at him? It looks like a balding porcupine on his head.

Anonymous said...

Maybe Alaska's Sarah Palin will be available to monitor these sexual activities. It sounds similar to some of the strange activities that seem to take place in her "church."

Anonymous said...

It doesn't take long for God-hatred to surface, does it? Guess what - He gets the last word!

Anonymous said...

The sex drive is one of the strongest. There are some very powerful hormones involved.

Controling that drive in another person is a verry good test of how tight your grip is on them...of you firmly you have them under your control.

Anonymous said...

I have one word for Jason: Rogaine.

John Keels said...

More nonsense about things that don't pertain to other people. This is why I stopped going to church years ago. Judgement and hate directed toward those they don't approve of. For that matter, the church I grew up in NC has lost most of its congregation and is just a few white heads left in the congregation. I guess they drove away everyone that was a family or young. I expect they won't last much longer.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like contributions from his male congregants will double this month.

Anonymous said...

Yet again...more brain-washed religious activists upholding the Bible as the only true words of wisdom - it's a good story - nothing more, written by man and ultimately flawed. Please, by all means have faith - but don't let it be ignorant based.

Anonymous said...

I guess if you can convert people by promising salvation or wealth or noble cause like good of the humanity, you have to sell sex. How pathetic!

What's next, sell crack through the church.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like this Reverend (joke!) is already high on crack (no pun intended).

Anonymous said...

If you don’t like the church or religion find your own...but give the guy a break - he is talking to people who want to listen to what he has to say and agree with his general philosophies.

And why do all the C.O. Blogs suck so bad…..Its like a cheap version of The Daily KOS.

Anonymous said...

show me a couple that lacks in the sex department and I will show you a couple that will consider D-I-V-O-R-C-E. The preacher is on to something, why else would god have a whole book in the bible set aside for it.

John Keels said...

My post earlier was not so much about the article. Although, its ridiculous that the religious people want to limit everyone else's behavior and have everything for themselves. LOL My earlier post mainly in response to the other posts. So many arrogant and closed minded conservatives out there. Don't even try the argument that its true because "my bible tells me so". At least brings facts collected from multiple reliable sources before trying to convince me that what you speak is true.

Catholic101 said...

The ONLY proper place for sex is between aman and a woman who are married to each other.

I think the Church's stunt is appalling, but what did you expect to hear from a Church regarding sex? Sorry, wrong is wrong -- sex between unmaried men and women is wrong; sex between same-sex couples even moreso.

Anonymous said...

9:08: Since you were there, I'll take your word for it.

Anonymous said...

Sorry, missed the part how you relate to this. Member of the church? Married? Having sex?

Didn't think so.

And has Jason been "outsourced" and the website just not updated or is it just scared?

(if I were it, I'd be scared - shudder!)

Anonymous said...

I think we're on to something here. This sounds like the next big reality TV show. "Sexual Survivor". Think of all the possibilities. My mind is racing thinking up the challenges of the game and who the players would be. Wow, think of the ratings. Hmm, now who could we get to sponsor this?