The Problem of Pleasure

Problem of pleasure. Why should sex be fun? God is source of all good gifts. Pleasure is a good, and also a grave danger. Not an end in itself. Promiscuity does not overvalue sex, but devalues it.

Book of Ecclesiastes deals with problem of pleasure. “Wholesale devotion to pleasure paradoxically leads to a state of utter despair.”

Instead of just preaching against abuses of God’s good gifts, Christians should inform world where these good gifts actually come from and why they are good. “Hypocrisy is the homage [or respect] vice pays to virtue.”

When criticized for being uptight and restrictive, Christians should counter that “one ripe, juicy pear, [would be] devalued if a person ate five pears in a mere absence of mind.” (adapted from a statement by G. K. Chesterton)