Yesterday, Christian apologist Dr. Frank Turek posted this tweet proving once again how having “Dr.” in front of your name doesn’t necessarily mean you’re smart. Turek isn’t a random guy, either. He’s the founder of a ministry called CrossExamined.org and a guy who once co-wrote a book called I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist.
His tweet was meant to demonize sex outside of marriage, I guess, but instead it revealed the irrational beliefs about sex accepted by so many conservative Christians.
Sex is sacred because people are sacred. And if you look at so many of our problems, they’re related to sex. Abortion, killing people, sex trade, pornography are related to sex.
Let’s break down the problems, shall we?
1) Sex is not “sacred.” It’s a part of life. It can be good or bad or meaningless or a regular part of your heterosexual monogamous marriage. It can have consequences, emotional or physical, if you’re not prepared. But there’s no reason to pretend it’s some sort of special act only reserved for certain people, in certain situations, in certain positions. If it’s legal and consensual, no one should be looking over your shoulders and judging you for it. (Unless, of course, that’s something you enjoy.)
2) Abortion isn’t a “sex” problem. It’s only a problem at all if you wrongly assume every fertilized egg is the equivalent of a human. But when is abortion ever just about sex? You may need an abortion for medical reasons, because raising a child takes resources you don’t have, because you weren’t taught about contraception, because you didn’t have access to contraception, because you were sexually assaulted, or because you don’t feel like having a baby and it’s no one else’s business. If people like Turek want to prevent abortion, the solution isn’t controlling everyone’s sex lives. It’s making sure contraception is accessible, health care is affordable, and that people who want children have the resources to raise healthy ones.
3) “Killing people” isn’t a sex problem. I don’t even know why this one made the list unless Turek is hiding some sort of bizarre secret. There are men who have committed acts of violence because women wouldn’t sleep with them. The problem there isn’t sex; it’s the men. What about affairs that lead to violence? The problem there isn’t sex; it’s the underlying relationship. But as anyone who’s watched Law & Order: SVU could tell you, sex crimes are rarely about sex itself. There’s a lot more going on.
4) The “sex trade” can be a problem when it’s not regulated (and therefore less safe), or when people are in the business against their will, or when they feel like they have no other choice. But note how all of those problems aren’t about the sex itself. It’s situational. It’s often about money far more than it’s about sex.
5) Pornography works the same way. There can be legitimate concerns – with viewers and participants — but if we’re just talking about consenting adults in all aspects here, it’s downright ignorant to treat all adult content as if it’s all immoral and problematic. It can be, but it doesn’t have to be, and Turek doesn’t allow for that latter possibility.
It’s not surprising that all this comes from a guy who believes in abstinence-only sex education, and who believes sex is something that must be saved until marriage, and who believes the only kind of acceptable sex is the kind that could lead to procreation.
The problem is almost never sex. But a lot of problems that revolve around sex also involve people who have a completely unhealthy and unrealistic understanding of the subject.
(Featured screenshot via YouTube)
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