People’s Heath, Issue 38323, The Sex Issue
Glenn Cooke
Why did you read this article? You’ve seen this on the cover of every magazine, every month, year in and year out, and yet you still picked it up off the rack. All around the world people are talking more about sex and engaging in more frequent and daring sexual activities but are less satisfied in every area of life. The trend is that almost everyone is having more and more sex and enjoying it less and less. No matter what we try it’s not getting better: new positions, supplements, toys, multiple partners, trans-gender experiments, articles, books, movies, even conferences. Sexual behaviour in our society actually follows the characteristic trend of an addiction, namely that the first ‘fix’ is the best and thereafter the addict tries to reproduce that initial experience with more, different and ‘harder’ experiences, but is never satisfied. An addiction is simply the attempt to satisfy a deep need of the soul with something physical. If this is true, it would be worthwhile considering how it could be true of sex. The expression of our sexuality (the psychology) and the gratification of our sexual desires (the physiology) is one of the most fundamental parts of a being human. During sex men release a hormone called Vasopressin, which gives them vivid memories of everything about that experience (that’s why those porn scenes don’t leave your memory). Women on the other hand, release oxytocin, which produces a feeling of intense emotional closeness (that’s why lots of sex can temporarily fix a bad relationship). Right down to our fundamental biology, the act of sex is designed to produce satisfaction that is more than physical viz. a deep and lasting intimacy between two people. So if sexual pleasure is physical, but it’s meant to satisfy a desire that is essentially soulish or spiritual, could it be that our society is using sex in a vain attempt to meet a much deeper human need than relational intimacy? Could it be that we are trying to use the Creation to satisfy our need for the Creator? Our government promotes abstinence, but the question is; ‘Is self-control possible without joy?’
‘I am the Bread of Life, whoever comes to me shall never hunger and whoever believes in me shall never thirst’
- Jesus
John 6:35 (The Bible, New International Version)