Orgasm as Enlightenment
Jon Tveite (jontv@ksu.edu)
Mon, 19 Oct 1998 09:28:23 -0500
Kari wrote:
> I don't think an orgasm has ever made anyone a better person by
> providing insight into the nature of the world (although they may have
> thought so at the time).
By itself, orgasm is not going to enlighten anyone -- I agree with you
there. But sex is one of those intense human experiences that have the
potential to shake people out of their cozy little belief systems and
focus their attentions on earthly things, instead of metaphysical ones.
Nothing I was taught in church really prepared me for the sensations or
emotions that came with sexuality activity, and it made me question
everything else I had been told in church. So I think that orgasm can
definitely play an important role in freeing one's mind from the chains
of religious dogma.
Overall, I agree with much of what you're saying about religion. I do
think that I've developed a little more sympathetic view of what it's
trying to do: to explain the inexpressable mysteries of human
existence. It's a futile but noble project, and most religions do
manage to express a great deal of truth and beauty. Where a religion
goes wrong, unfortunately, is in the insistence that they've got the
*whole* truth, and *everything* they say is true, and nobody *else's*
religion is true. So my policy is to appreciate aspects of all
religions, but buy into none of them.
Jon