Pascal commented on the sexy woman-pirate statue:
"Methinks the good inquisitor is just feeling frustrated at his foolish chastity commitment this day, aye?"
I suspect there may be more truth to this than we normally realize. If all porn and nudity were banned, that would be a lot of his temptation gone right there, wouldn't it? (Actually I don't think it would be, but that would be the feeling for anybody in that situation.)
I heard the chastity demand for priests was only invented by a pope in the seventh century. How does the cath church get any takers at all under those conditions?
The ability to rise above the sex drive is so rare. I thought about it recently, watching an old Saturday Night Live episode (I'm still not overly impressed by that show) were Led Zeppelin was playing. They had this gorgeous co-singer. And I found myself wondering who of all the male members she was sleeping with. If you think about it, can you imagine a pretty young female (heck, even a plain one) touring with several young males, and not sleeping with anybody? No friggin way, it just doesn't happen. Should tell us something.
But even though the sex drive is perhaps never non-existent in anybody, it will be either weaker or overruled in a minority. For example, while geeks and nerds are often sexually frustrated, they are not so to a degree which will make them go out of their way to "get some". This is completely incomprehensible to normal people, especially jock-types, and so they assume that when nerds are not getting laid, it's not only a failure, it's the failure in life. Because for them, life is all about getting laid.
11 comments:
I'm not sure exactly when chastity became a requirement for the priethood but the 7th century sounds about right. The papal descision was primarily based on economics not scripture. When a married bishop would die, often his sons would inherit his holdings and if the son was not in the clerty, then the church lost the land and the money and the power that come with it. By forbidding the clergy to marry (celibacy), the church kept the bishops holdings and thus maintained its power in that diocese.
It was an interesting post.
Clerical continence in the Christian Church:
...
The earliest known is that of the Council of Elvira (c. 306):
Bishops, presbyters, deacons, and others with a position in the ministry are to abstain completely from sexual intercourse with their wives and from the procreation of children. If anyone disobeys, he shall be removed from the clerical office.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clerical_celibacy
Why didn't they just declare that all property was the church's, and would return to the church after death.
Cah, erm, Sshaa, oh, sorry, I can't spell, let alone pronounce this word, the same with the word "Geschlecht" for gender. (There are! ugly words in this world!).
On Ch ch y or whatever:
What happens to an overheated steam kettle? No time to answer, before even opening your lips to formulate an answer you and the kettle are in space, without the need of any additional fuel. Inertia of exploding objects can very very high, ya know.
Each time I heat up my steam cooker ( the real one, potatoes fine in 13 minutes!! ), I think of ch cha chss.
Blergh.
Ahem, did you get me??
I've tried to be "What this unpronoucable word" tries to transfer, thousands of times in my life, ok, once I made it to 6 weeks!!!! But then I ended up half crazy.
And why did I do that? Because certain instructions "from the sky" ( or is it a heaven ) saz it's unclean to let some steam out of the heating kettle.
Greeeeeetings frommmmmm Spaaaaaaace......
EARTH, DO YOU READ???
Mr. Beep has left the planet.
Because for them, life is all about getting laid.
Isn't it? It depends on your age. When you're a teenager I think that's pretty much the focus of your existence. Even everything else (partying, sports, etc.) are just to further your chances of banging chicks. In fact, impressing the opposite sex (or at least conning them into letting you do them) is pretty much the basis for all art, music, etc. Douglas Adams suggested it, tongue-in-cheek but also someone seriously I think.
I'm sure it helps for rock-and-rollers, but I don't think writing or watercolors gets the chicks. And there are a *few* young people interested in those things.
That artist type, that's a type some chicks go for. Plenty of people have cultivated that persona. They aren't athletes so they try to do something that will get them some pussy. That's why there are so many untalented, pretentious cads passing themselves off as poets, painters, photographers, etc.
Rickromig summed it up just about right.
Of course, there are other explanations possible. One is that sexual energy has always carried a powerful magical symbolism. As early as prehistoric times, it was believed that "conserving" the "life-giving energy" allowed a shaman to perform supernatutal feats by mystically re-channeling it. Same was known in several "pagan" religions, where priests kept abstinent before some special ceremonies involving the accomplishment of prodigies using their mighty "mojo".
Similarly, it was once claimed that masturbation caused premature aging and all sorts of vital energy depletion-related health calamities.
Not sure how much of those antiquated superstitions were present in the Church and/or served as an excuse, but...
Then again, considering how many antiquated superstitions they've gotten rid of today... NOT! :-P
One thing remains certain: every time abstinence doesn't originate from one's NATURE, even when it's out of personal belief but not from the nature, it causes grave imbalances to the psyche.
Empirical observation.
So much for the benefits of keeping all that vital energy selfishly for oneself.
It's just like fasting, solitude, extreme effort... only adequate to those who genuinely like it, catastrophic to those who follow the trend without being cut out for it.
Neeraj,
This seems to implicitly answer Eolake's interrogation: only the attractiveness of great power could have motivated people to such a psycho sacrifice.
This, and/or the promise of becoming able to perform miracles.
This mention of jocks vs geeks/nerds is very interesting, because it is in the same Western societies where this classification is so focused on, along with the social importance of "scoring", that official religious frowning upon sexuality seems the most intense.
"Each time I heat up my steam cooker"
Now, don't tell me there's no intended symbolism in that expression, mister "I speaketh in tongues to magically thrust myself towards the Heavens when the steam blows"!
:-D
"I've tried to be "What this unpronoucable word" tries to transfer, thousands of times in my life, ok, once I made it to 6 weeks!!!!"
Don't try to pronounce foul words, boy! ;-)
Hmm... never attempted such a nutty experience myself. But as for the opposite... I think I was 16 when I got hold of my first truly porno mag. That day, I must've launched about a dozen Apollo missions, all successful!
My parents started worrying, from all my trips to the bathroom, that maybe I had caught dysenteria or something. :-) "No-no, just had A LOT excess water to drink, 'tis all, no need to call the Doctor."
Several years later, my Urology Professor, a hugely competent and interesting man (think of Mad-Eye Moody in Harry Potter, but less battle-battered), had a talk with me about male physiology. I remember, we were in the floor's office room, with several nurses around, and he said: "If you masturbate a great many times in a single day, there comes a moment when you'll have a "dry orgasm" because the prostate's run short on secretions. I can tell you firsthand, it's rather painful. Try it some day, that's something you should know."
The nurses didn't comment, but I can tell you, years in the Urology department or not, they were embarrassed by the topic! :-)
What I didn't tell my revered teacher, was that I wasn't sure I had the capacity to perform the experiment today without friction abrasions cutting it short. But I guess that first porn mag day, which BTW was thoroughly enjoyable, I still hadn't reached my limits.
Ah, to be young again, and know all that I know today! :-)
Now THAT's something to pray for! Amen.
juan hernandez wondered...
"life is all about getting laid."
Isn't it? It depends on your age.
Not really. If you manage to have your heart's content of sex, and it IS possible if you have proper social skills (which most jocks and machoes DON'T), then you may start getting interested to other things in life, without the need to get laid any less.
Unless you believe you can remain your whole life as receptive to sexual stimuli as that first mag day of mine. :-)
But you can't. Somewhere along the way, you gain self-control of your hormones. Or not, if they're horny-mones.
Eolale pondered...
"I don't think writing or watercolors gets the chicks."
NO!!! You think?
Then I should hurry and tel my 5 y/o nephew to stop focusing on drawing. He's showing genuine early talent, but it's high time he rethinks his life priorities.
;-P
"That artist type, that's a type some chicks go for."
I've devised an original concept, it's called "the Pascal type".
It's highly innovative, because the theory is that by being myself, there's a lot less pretending and faking efforts to make.
Plus, sometimes it IS rewarding to be wanted for who you truly are, not for some lie.
Of course, there's a major risk: that when successful, you won't want to go for the one-night stand, and rather might end up committing into long-tern, happy harmonious fidelity.
Hey, I never said mine was better that the traditional "faking" way! ;-)
People talk about those guys who bang tons of chicks, have lots of one night stands, etc., as though their lives must be empty. Well I'd say it depends on their age because when you're young I think you should be doing that if you can. The nerds I remember wanted to score like that but couldn't. Either because they weren't attractive or because of shyness or something like that. Social awkwardness. Whatever. Later in life most guys who can score all the time like that do mature beyond it. But when you're young, if that's what you want to do, why not? I can't see how spending a Friday night playing D&D for hours is somehow so much more fulfilling.
Eolake said...
"...I don't think writing or watercolors gets the chicks. And there are a *few* young people interested in those things."
I don't always think that it is what a person does but rather who they are...as in whether they are a nice and interesting person...that attracts another. What they do could just be the *icing* on the cake. Doing something not to impress others, but, rather, satisfying what that person would like to learn, seems to further make that person interesting...because they are following their true passions and...it shows in whatever they have chosen: what they write or create, etc. So...bringing those talents out for the world to admire would seem to be a much more enjoyable person to get to know than someone who is known for chasing after skirts with no personality nor obvious talent but to *do* a gurl. Seems like a pretty shallow way to go.
Women are often portrayed as the ones that are the sly bitches but...it appears that men have their own *game* that they play, sadly.
I completely agree w/you Pascal: to be true to thine own self; that is the best. :-)
And...I really like what you say here: "...rather might end up committing into long-tern, happy harmonious fidelity."
I think that is a nice goal to go for...if that is truly what you want. It often seems like such a rare goal to find in a man. *Skirt Chaser* seems to be the preferred relationship status that most men seem to prefer to stay at. :-)
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