The Misinformation Around Modern Sexual Sin

Sexual Sin Or Misinformation?

Is your church spreading misinformation about sexual sin based on theology or modern Christian norms? This article isn’t about changing your beliefs; if being a believer in God brings you peace, then by all means, keep believing. This article aims to teach you that sometimes the information you're given in church isn’t a biblical truth based on theology but misinformation continuously passed down by an ignorant generation.

I have always been fascinated by theology and still am, but what people seem to get confused about is that theology isn’t the study of supporting what you believe; it’s all the factual information we can gather on the story being told, down to how it was translated. This is a large topic to cover, and there will be much more, but today we will focus on how what you're being told is sexual sin really isn’t.

The word "lust" isn’t translated the way we are taught today in religious cultures. We define it today as the desire or want for something sexual, but what it actually means in translation from Hebrew is an excessive or wrongful desire for something that belongs to someone else, with abuse and violation of moral boundaries. Essentially, it means raping someone against their will or having sex with another man's wife. This was written in a time when men had multiple wives, and they could be as young as a teenager when becoming a wife to a man who already had many. King Solomon had over 1,000 wives. The church was a polygamist community for a long time before it became monogamous. A polygamist community focused on men’s desires and wants as long as they didn't sleep with another man's wife or force themselves on someone. Somehow, we have made that word become the foundation of any sexual thought, but that's not what it means; it is just how we use it now. This can be really confusing when you are trying to navigate sexual emotions and being told those thoughts are wrong or even from evil. This makes no sense. They could have sexual relations with as many women as they wanted back then, and it was okay. But now it’s wrong? That’s because a lot of what we are told by the church is not accurate to a theological truth but an outdated interpretation based on the societal norms when it was interpreted.

One of the biggest pieces of misinformation from the church, in my opinion, is the concept of sodomy. Many people think it means two men having anal sex, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. There isn't a single Hebrew word in the Bible that translates to gay anal sex in the way it's been used in the Christian church. How sodomy is used in the Bible is to describe acts of sexual violence against Lot’s guests, who were angels. That’s it.

All this information isn’t supposed to encourage you to have open relationships and bring polygamy back unless that's what you and your partner want out of life. What I do think it helps realize is that a lot of us carry sexual shame that we shouldn’t. Loving another human doesn’t stop your sexual desire for other humans. It doesn't mean you have to act on it, but it doesn't mean you have to pretend like it isn’t happening or normal. Who we love and what we choose to do with our sexual emotions isn’t wrong as long as it's within the boundaries we have created with the person we are in a relationship with. So whether you're straight, gay, bi, or trans, you can let go of some of that shame we all carry for the thoughts that bounce around in our heads and the unhealthy way we were taught to think about them. Love yourself as you are and from the raw place you experience sexual emotions, and you will find that they will untangle themselves as you learn to feel them.

I hope this inspires you to hold on to the beliefs that bring you peace and let go of the shame that's been put on you from outdated interpretations. Religious institutions and their leaders need to be held accountable for the misinformation that is spread because of these outdated interpretations and the hate people use to double down on to shame those who live life differently. It starts by directing your own spiritual compass first and letting go of what’s wrong and replacing it with what’s right on a foundation of love by loving the parts of you that you have been taught to shame. When making that switch, you will find it is easier to give grace to others you didn’t think deserved it and realize it’s because you have parts of you that you think don’t deserve it. Instead of feeling them, you were taught to shame them. Loving them and realizing you didn't need to shame them in the first place will allow you to truly treat others differently and demand that your leaders and religious institutions do the same.