Well,
the whole history of religion can be seen in the light of taking the monkey out
of the man. And the monkey in the man tells him that, what is praiseworthy is a
'harem' to pass on his genes. What religion tells the man is that, what is
praiseworthy is to ensure that as many men and women as can, pass on their genes
to the next generation. Now this is not a simple matter of math. A system for
reliably doing this, must ensure that those children are nurtured, under all
circumstances. There is a study doing the current affairs rounds in
Australia, showing that 1 in 4 children are being raised by a man who thinks
he's the father when he is not. Well, I hope they keep on, but as in the
old song "wow is me, shame and scandal in the family" (remember that one?),
in which the father tells the boy he can't marry a girl because she is your
sister "but your mumma don't know" and the mother tells him go ahead "cause
your father ain't your father but your father don't know", society can become
very confusing around the breeding lines and genetic movement.
So,
for sure, don't hold your breath, but something tells me that over this
century men are really going to do a complete rethink around the sex and
family thing. Like all things in society, men will have to get a sense that they
are getting more out of a chaste life than the current approach. The hero of the
future will have to change from a muscled warrior to a champion of the
downtrodden, for this to make increasing sense. Creating avenues for young males
to exert their physicality in the arena of service is vital to this change. And
a religious life is very important in this, from assisting adolescent and young
males managing the effect of testosterone levels, to assisting marriages in
sexuality and child raising.
We
have plenty to do to move this forward.
Owen
---------------Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Sheila Spatz
Sent: Sunday, 17 August 2003 5:18 AM
To: Baha'i Studies
Subject: Re: Self-praiseJust an aside on this topic - we need to be clear that there is a vast difference between vainglory and excessive ego and healthy self respect:)
As for the sex outside of marriage thing...
It will never be corrected within the faith or any other group untill men start getting serious about chastity for themselves. Personnally, although I see the merit of male chasity - I'm not holding my breath.
Thank-God I'm married and no longer have to deal with that crap![]()
Sheila
--- Susan Maneck <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> > Self-praise is seen as a bad thing in the Baha'i
> Faith. We are to praise
> > others, but not ourselves.
>
> Dear David,
>
> I think before we can have much of a discussion of
> this issue we need to
> look at the Writings involved. What is your
> assertion above based on?
>
> warmest, Susan
>
>
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