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Nowadays, of course, progressive theologians are all for sex; they say it's a good thing, the biblical position was not that sex was evil, but that it was good, and that it's alright. But now, look here, what is the real point here? The proof of the pudding is in the eating. What can you get kicked out of the church for? Any church- Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, Episcopalian, Baptist, and the synagogue I think too. What's the real thing for which people get kicked out, excommunicated? For 'envy, hatred, malice, and all uncharitableness'? 'Pride, vainglory, and hardness of heart'? Owning shares in munitions factories? Profiting off slums? No sir. You can be a bishop and live in all those sins openly. But if you go to bed with the wrong person, you're out. So one has to conclude that, for all practical purposes, the church is a sexual regulation society; and it really isn't interested in anything else. Christianity is more preoccupied with sex than even Priapism or Tantric Yoga [are]. Because that's the thing that counts, that's the sin, the really important sin.

Alan Watts#18

EthicsReligionHypocrisyInstitutionsSexuality

About this quote

What does it mean?
Churches focus on sexual rules while ignoring deeper ethical failures like greed or hatred.
In plain terms
Religious groups punish sex more than serious sins like pride or greed.
What can you take from it?
Focus on real ethics not just sexual rules.

Where it applies

  • faith communities
  • moral debates
  • personal conscience

Putting it to work

  • audit values
  • check institutions
  • prioritize love

Questions to consider

  • What sins matter most?
  • Do rules match values?

Another view

Sexual ethics matter to many faith communities beyond politics.

More from Alan Watts

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  2. Archimedes said, 'Give me a fulcrum and I will move the Earth'; but there isn't one. It is like betting on the future of the human race - I might wish to lay a…

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  3. A person who thinks all the time has nothing to think about except thoughts. So he loses touch with reality, and lives in a world of illusion.

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