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Question for conservatives and/or christians


catra

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what are conservatives’ and/or christians’ opinions on asexuality? do you believe it is as “bad” as homosexuality, on the same level as being straight, or do your beliefs not have much to do with asexuality?

Note: this question is meant to be answered as how you viewed asexuality before you identified as ace OR how you feel about it now, as an asexual.

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I grew up conservative and Christian. Not sure if I'm still conservative or not... I'm right wing though. When I first heard of asexuality as a teenager, my first thought was "nothing wrong with that". (I think I saw a friend describe themselves as asexual or something and googled it.) Infact, the apostle Paul said it's good to remain single so that you can fully devote yourself to the Lord. (He recommended marriage for people who couldn't handle their passion.) 

My mom (very very conservative) also told me growing up that some people just don't care about that stuff and that's okay.

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Grumpy Alien

Not sure there’s going to be many non-ace conservative Christians on here that would have an opinion to give.

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2 minutes ago, disGraceful said:

Not sure there’s going to be many non-ace conservative Christians on here that would have an opinion to give.

it wasn’t directed at non-aces, it’s meant to be answered as how aces felt about it/still feel about it as a christian or conservative. i’ll edit my post to clear that up.

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6 minutes ago, disGraceful said:

Not sure there’s going to be many non-ace conservative Christians on here that would have an opinion to give.

True. You could ask some people in Facebook groups or something, but I feel like you'd run into a lot of ignorance. Orz (I know I have.)

However there is no biblical basis against asexuality.

Where you might run into some resistance is when talking about an asexual marrying a sexual or an asexual marrying in general. Cuz some interpret that the purpose of marriage is procreation and that purposefully avoiding children is wrong, so they would resist the idea of a sexless marriage. I don't follow that interpretation, but it's in the community somewhat.

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1 minute ago, humantoafault said:

True. You could ask some people in Facebook groups or something, but I feel like you'd run into a lot of ignorance. Orz (I know I have.)

However there is no biblical basis against asexuality.

Where you might run into some resistance is when talking about an asexual marrying a sexual or an asexual marrying in general. Cuz some interpret that the purpose of marriage is procreation and that purposefully avoiding children is wrong, so they would resist the idea of a sexless marriage. I don't follow that interpretation, but it's in the community somewhat.

thanks for your answer! again, sorry, my question wasn’t very clear. i wasn’t trying to have non-aces answer (after all, this is AVEN), just anyone who is conservative and/or christian. i edited my original post to try and clear that up.

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I'm conservative but not religious and no I don't see asexuality as being bad (but nor do I consider homosexuality bad). To me sexuality is just a facet of people; there's nothing inherently good or bad about any of them.

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firewallflower
On 3/4/2019 at 10:46 PM, Cimmerian said:

I'm conservative but not religious and no I don't see asexuality as being bad (but nor do I consider homosexuality bad). To me sexuality is just a facet of people; there's nothing inherently good or bad about any of them.

I'm religious (not Christian, though, hence I'm not the target audience for this thread—sorry 😛) but not conservative, and I agree. :)

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Mr. Unknown

I’m not religious and I’m conservative but not a Republican (I’ve never voted and am closer to independent/non-conformist) but I do lean more right and if I had to pick a team I’d be conservative. 

 

I can’t speak as a Christian but I was raised Roman Catholic before becoming Atheist. I don’t think Christians/Catholics care about asexuality, and most older people of faith probably don’t even believe it’s a thing. Some religious people such as priests and nuns are supposed to be celibate so I don’t see them really caring but technically they are celibate to honor God so I’m not really sure.

 

As for conservatives, based simply on conservative politics without religion they shouldn’t care at all. Not all conservatives are bigoted, I would even make the claim that most are not. However bigoted people are more likely to fall into the party for a variety of reasons.

 

The main concerns of conservative politics are maintaining the sovereign rights of the individual, keeping society orderly, and focus on economic prosperity through the endorsement of the free market.

 

The main reason I don’t consider myself a Republican is because I don’t like the idea of voting down party lines and consider voting a waste of time. Politics for me is largely entertainment.

 

 

I largely suspect the number of conservative atheists though within the next few decades will increase dramatically, and with it the propensity of the Republican Party to discriminate against LGBTQ+ will be diminished greatly over time. Also free speech is essential to calling out bigoted individuals and educating them, the answer to hatred is not more hatred but education.

 

And lastly my my stance on politics hasn’t changed at all since I discovered I was Asexual. I’m even Athiest and Vegan and that hasn’t changed my opinion on it. Would be happy to discuss further if you’d like. 

 

 

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Mr. Unknown

I see the Left and Right as a spectrum just as sexuality resembles a spectrum.

 

From my perspective the Democratic Party focuses on increasing the power of government, while the Republican Party focuses on increasing the power of the individual. There is a place for both and both are needed to maintain balance.

 

The far right from most conservative perspectives are actually Anarchists who believe in the dissolution of Government, whereas Communists would be the far left. I don’t consider bigoted people far right, they are just bigots who happen to side with certain politics. There are bigots on the left as well but they tend to be bigoted on things that aren’t necessarily skin color (except there is also a lot of hatred for White people on that side but whatever). Someone who is bigoted against men but happened to vote for say Hillary Clinton would not be the far left as she is not for massive increase in government control.

 

Anyway that’s just my opinion, hope it helps!

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knittinghistorian

I talked to my pastor about this, and I really trust both his wisdom and his education and knowledge. He saw no problem with asexuality, or with never marrying and never having children.

 

Within conservative Christian circles, being asexual sometimes seems to me more like advantage than anything else!

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YouDontNeedMyName
On 3/4/2019 at 9:47 PM, catra said:

what are conservatives’ and/or christians’ opinions on asexuality? do you believe it is as “bad” as homosexuality, on the same level as being straight, or do your beliefs not have much to do with asexuality?

Note: this question is meant to be answered as how you viewed asexuality before you identified as ace OR how you feel about it now, as an asexual.

I'm christian but not that into it, though I feel I should go to church more. I am pretty conservative though and I am also ace. I do not believe homosexuality is necessarily sinful, and even "bad" isn't the word for it, but I feel the Bible basically calls it an unwanted mistake. I believe asexuality is not at all frowned upon by the Bible and is absolutely okay. I do, however, think everyone capable should have kids, though. So even if you don't like sex, you should still want to raise children. Those are my thoughts on asexuality as a christian, conservative, asexual.

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knittinghistorian
16 hours ago, YouDontNeedMyName said:

I do not believe homosexuality is necessarily sinful

I think a lot of the problem (and, honestly, a big part of Christianity's bad reputation in this matter) is that sometimes Christians haven't differentiated between feelings (which no one can really help or control) and actions (which we can and should take responsibility for).  Therefore, sometimes homosexual feelings have been regarded as sinful, which is obviously nonsense and unfair.  I'm kind of glad I don't personally have to wrestle with the much stickier issue of whether homosexual behavior is okay, because I think there are good Bible-based arguments by honest people on both sides.  In any case, my policy is, first and foremost, to treat people as human beings loved by God.  The rest comes later.

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2 minutes ago, knittinghistorian said:

I think a lot of the problem (and, honestly, a big part of Christianity's bad reputation in this matter) is that sometimes Christians haven't differentiated between feelings (which no one can really help or control) and actions (which we can and should take responsibility for).  Therefore, sometimes homosexual feelings have been regarded as sinful, which is obviously nonsense and unfair.

Well... looking at the Sermon on the Mount... that differentiation not being there does, sadly, have precedent in what's considered the essential lecture given by Jesus. You know, the whole "look at a woman to lust after her, and you have already commited adultery in your heart".

 

And then Augustine of Hippo - an antisexual if I ever saw one - took that sentence and had a field day with it. Christian morality hasn't quite recovered from his toxic influence to this day.

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Honestly I think of that verse to be more about actively imagining and entertaining an idea that's sinful (ie, imagining yourself going to bed with someone who isn't your spouse), than having sexual feelings at all. But that's a hotly debated topic among Christians too.

 

I appreciate the approach of the Gay Christian Network--it has a side A and a side B, with side B being the "I'm gay, but I believe acting on it would be wrong and that I am called to celibacy". Side A being the opposite, and discussion regarding that is encouraged.

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knittinghistorian
2 hours ago, Mysticus Insanus said:

You know, the whole "look at a woman to lust after her, and you have already commited adultery in your heart".

I’m pretty sure that’s talking about ogling with lustful intent, not just a passing feeling or thought.  It’s saying that cheating on your spouse, and just enjoying and fantasizing about the idea of it, have similar bad effects on you as a person.

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11 minutes ago, knittinghistorian said:

I’m pretty sure that’s talking about ogling with lustful intent, not just a passing feeling or thought.  It’s saying that cheating on your spouse, and just enjoying and fantasizing about the idea of it, have similar bad effects on you as a person.

Well, I find yours a much more sympathethic interpretation of that line than I've usually heard. :)

 

(I'm a former Catholic, for what it's worth.)

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I was left-wing in the 90's and 00's, but recengly, not liking the turn the left wing took with Trudeau in Canadian politics, I consider myself right-wing. There are things that I find wrong about asexuality, but not with asexuality itself. I find its lack of visibility and understanding from the general populace sets asexuals aside. Even I, when I come out, I'm pretty meek about it because I want love and affection and don't want to be overlooked because I have a hard time with partnered sex.

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Calligraphette_Coe

Do God's  work, not his job. And quit using homosexuxality as a windmill to tilt at as an excuse to not do that hard work instead of just being  judgemental.

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A. Sterling

I'm a Christian but have never really been a conservative and don't really consider the two terms synonymous. Before I identified as ace I didn't know that asexuality was a think. When I did weigh it against my faith I found no issue with it and most people I've talked to about it (though that is few) have not found any moral issue with it. I know people (Christians) are far more split on the topic of homosexuality but for me I do not consider it amoral and I go to a church that is led by a paster who has homosexual friends, supports them, and welcomes homosexuals in the church community without any intention of changing them at all, he doesn't think it's wrong and does teach about it, but without telling people that they have to think about it either way. He is also in his late 30's and still single. I find his occasional sermons on his voluntary chastity to apply quite well to my personal experience of asexuality in spite of the obvious differences. A lot of the verses he uses and lessons that he applies fit very well, and it was one of the first places that seemed to make a place for me and my ace-ness even before I knew that's what it was doing (at least in my own personal theology). 

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knittinghistorian
On 3/10/2019 at 3:12 PM, Calligraphette_Coe said:

Do God's  work, not his job.

Oooooh, that's good.  I may steal that.

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not a conservative but I am a Christian. Like many Christians I don't see anything wrong with homosexuality and I also don't see anything wrong with asexuality 

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  • 1 month later...

Oh boy a time for me to express my pains. 

Now I'm pretty confident that this sort of happened because of the homophobic and generally not very kind towards any sexuality apart from heterosexuality environment the people were in, rather than the religion, and religion then came later as an excuse. 

As in, you see many people quoting the bible being all mean and such, but generally homophobia was imprinted on them long before they read the bible, because of the people that were surrounding them, and then only came the bible, which was used as a sort of explanation and backup. 

I myself am partly Russian, (but when I visit I go to Moscow, and people are generally tolerant there), which means that I get to meet lots of people from around there, ad so I made friends with this dude from Ukraine, who ended up being the most horrible person in my life. I thought he was an amazing friend, and we continued speaking when I came back to Britain (home sweet home). As it happens, he had completely different feelings towards me and wanted to date me. Now this was out of the question, so everything was fine for me, apart from the fact that he continued on with suicide threats and such because I wouldn't date him. The guy's an atheist and bisexual, and when I came out as aro ace, he didn't throw anything against me apart from extremely unkind things that promoted rape culture, etc, and were also extremely sexist (note that I posed as 'the girl' in the relationship he wanted), but this isn't what I'm here to discuss. I'm here to discuss his parents, who were extremely religious.

Now you're talking of a small village here largely centred around the church, and as the area has historically been a very homophobic environment, the people largely use the bible to be cruel to members of the LGBTQ+ Community. Being openly gay here is life threatening. You get beaten up. Maybe by a police officer. If it's a Friday night you could get killed. But this is all centred mainly around gay men.

When I came out as asexual to him, he told his parents. I think I've been described as 'ungodly', 'sick' and 'a creature from hell'. Mind you, this is an extreme case, as his parents also ordered he ceased talking to me because I was bringing 'the rotting craze of the west' into his mind. Anyways they still refer to me as 'that piece of shit' and seem to think that I need to get myself checked by a doctor, but I don't really speak to the dude any more, so can't really update on that more accurately. Gosh they were so irritating, I hate it when people are unkind like that I wish to convert them to kindness but I know I can't (unless they're my parents, but that's a story for another night), so it makes me so angry and just ugh...  

My grandma though (only religious member of my family to my knowledge), was extremely accepting of my asexuality, to the point where she'd make me ace-flag cupcakes every time I came over for some reason. It was sweet. But then she wasn't homophobic either so I guess these two things are mildly related, rather than religion?

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