Atheists and Abstinence

[hunterman317]

Any atheists believe in this?

[The Magic Pudding]

What are we abstaining from, and why?
I would abstain from eating a sea turtle or a dugong, because they're endangered and defenceless.
Alcohol I could abstain from if weed was legal.
Sex, someone else usually does the abstaining for me.

[Moses]

Within most atheist thought abstinence tends to be based on specific reasons that are justifiable to the person(s) involved and not based on the arbitrary whim of some stone age sheep herder who had no birth control and tended to wax universalistic.

I think it could certainly be justified if people are in their teens (or any other age depending on the issues at hand) but do not feel comfortable being that intimate with someone else when their at that emotionally vulnerable juncture with all the rapid changes in their life. Sometimes however the teens do not know what is best for them so some safe sex education is needed so long as choosing not to have sex is not disparaged. Guys and girls I know who had sex young could not deal with some of the emotional consequences that can arise from it.

Another rare but true abstinence choice that I have seen before is when people swear off sex to build up focus and energy on some art, political or other endeavor but those fasts are term limited and not for the rest of their lives.

If you are a sex addict and cannot discriminate much on partners then abstinence for awhile is good until you gain some control with the proper medical help. Unlike alcohol and other addictions that demand life long abstinence, sex is up there with a basic bodily function much like eating and cannot be denied forever.

[Tom62]

Sorry, about hijacking this thread with a joke

Three couples, an elderly couple, a middle-aged couple and a young newlywed couple wanted to join a church. The pastor said, "We have special requirements for new parishioners. You must abstain from having sex for two weeks."
The couples agreed and came back at the end of two weeks. The pastor went to the elderly couple and asked, "Were you able to abstain from sex for the two weeks?"
The old man replied, "No problem at all, Pastor."
"Congratulations! Welcome to the church!" said the pastor.

The pastor went to the middle-aged couple and asked, "Well, were you able to abstain from sex for the two weeks?"
The man replied, "The first week was not too bad. The second week I had to sleep on the couch for a couple of nights but, yes, we made it."
"Congratulations! Welcome to the church!" said the pastor.

The pastor then went to the newlywed couple and asked, "Well, were you able to abstain from sex for two weeks?"
"No Pastor, we were not able to go without sex for the two weeks," the young man replied sadly.
"What happened?" inquired the pastor.
"My wife was reaching for a can of paint on the top shelf and dropped it. When she bent over to pick it up, I was overcome with lust and took advantage of her right there."
"You understand, of course, this means you will not be welcome in our church," stated the pastor.
"We know," said the young man, "We're not welcome at Home Depot anymore either."

[Tom62]

OK, back to the thread.

I'm a practitioner of abstinence. I have to admit, that my wife and I have sex only once or twice per month. Not because we are not interested in sex or believe in abstinence, but because we live so far apart. We only see each other once per month.  She lives in the USA and I live in Europe. Occasionally, we are just dead-tired from the jet-lag. All we then can think about is sleep instead of sex. Things look better the next day though   .

Any way, I don't think it is a good idea to suppress sexual feelings.

[Kylyssa]

Any atheists believe in this?

Abstinence exists.  What question are you really asking here and are you as you represent yourself to be?

I practiced abstinence until I was an adult.  I chose not to have sex because I had been given detailed, comprehensive, science-based information about sex.  With the possible consequences spelled out, I chose to avoid those consequences completely.

[D0NTst0pBELlEViN]

Any atheists believe in this?

I do.

[Asmodean]

Do I believe in "abstinence"..?

Yeah. Sure. I know the phenomenon exists.

That said, the original post is spam. It is underdefined to such a degree that it is pointless. If you can't be bothered to at least word your question as properly as you know how, don't bother asking it, ok?  

[The Magic Pudding]

You're not having a good day?

[Asmodean]

You're not having a good day?

Well, I am at my grumpiest this week... Just haven't found out why yet.  

[McQ]

I'm with Asmodean on this.

[Asmodean]

I'm with Asmodean on this.

So am I. I may be grumpy, but just so it is clear, I DO stand by every word I said, even though my statement could have been more politically correctly worded.

[The Magic Pudding]

So am I. I may be grumpy

I worry when you start acting happy.
The definition of spam seems to be widening, I agree the first post was under defined.
Being politicly correct?  
Are huntermen a vilified minority or something?

[Asmodean]

So am I. I may be grumpy

I worry when you start acting happy.
The definition of spam seems to be widening, I agree the first post was under defined.
Being politicly correct?  
Are huntermen a vilified minority or something?

Spam is reasonably defined as is.

A politically correct statement would have said the same without a bite to the words.

[hunterman317]

I'm 19, and I choose to be abstinent. So thanks for your support.