Sex or making love

Three components of love, equally balanced. It seems so simple and yet it has never really been presented in this particular light. Love has always been a difficult word to define because it is more associated with a particular feeling one has. Love can spark actions, emotions, and can change a persons life. Alex Carter’s three components of love struck me as something that needed to be stated especially in relation to many of the testimonials that Moon presented. Intimacy, commitment and passion are all qualities that need/should be in a relationship but more often than not the passion is ignored in the quest for a significant other. It is seen as something that just happens as a result of marriage or finding your other but it is not seen as an essential component when finding that person.

The word sex, when saying it, sounds negative. It is said in a harsh husky voice, which adds to the negative connotation surrounding it. However, when describing it as making love, the images stirred up are ones of gentle acts between to people who are committed and love each other. It is often seen in movies of a boy and a girl fighting after they have just had sex. The girl is crying and screaming to him, how could he just do that after they just made love, like she is trying to make it more meaningful. But should there really be a distinction between the two descriptions? It seems like every time the act is preformed there is some emotional involvement, whether it is acknowledged or not. Moon presents the churches view of physical acts an immoral and sinful since it is associated with the bodily, however can it be immoral if its a sign of love? The church, at least in my view, believes that sex should be reserved for marriage but the act has never been frowned upon. It is seen as an act between two people who love each other because that is essentially what marriage its. It is a union between two people who love each other. Everyone deserves to be love and it is this idea that I agree with Moon’s statement that a key task for the pro-gay movement is to dissociate homosexuality from promiscuity, or illegitimate sex, and associate it with legitimate and spiritual love” (152). I think that it is a movement that many could understand and relate to. As Moon has shown, homosexuality in the church is a debate that is not easily solved. Anything that has a huge emphasis on tradition and ritual like many churches do, are not as receptive to change as specific individuals are. I feel that agree many of the points presented and the homosexuality needs to be thought of in a different light, away from the physical “dirty” sexual association it has right now.