A priest professor introduces the reader of the Kyeongyang magazine to the captital sin of Lust. Sex has always been a topic of interest and appeal to the human race. Korea in the present century is also filled with sex talk. He brings an article from the mass media to the attention of the readers.
"The police investigating the violence of a club found the use of drugs, sex entertainment and violence and sexual indecency which on further investigation found this was being videoed for their SNS internet room. Those who were involved in this were famous entertainers causing some talk in society." These incidents enter the daily conversation of the citizens and many are surprised at the decadence in areas of society arousing nausea in the way some are treated as objects.
When distortion in the understanding of sex comes in contact with money, and technology we have the incitement in society to sell sex as a commodity and the dignity and value of the person is forgotten. When lust is not controlled and free to express itself we have sexual harrasment, sexual violence, pornography, debauchery, prostitution, exchange of mates and all kinds of sexual intemperance.
The internet has helped the spread of distorted sex to a larger audience. In France, Germany Spain and England we have businesses selling sex with robots. Many think this will decrease human trafficking, and sexual violence. In a survey made abroad 70 percent of the men and 30 percent of the women were in favor of robot sex. A book by David Levy: Love and Sex with Robots sees the marriage of humans with robots and the writer wonders what kind of world are we making.
How are Christians to look upon sex? In one survey Christians have a guilty conscience with sex and not as much joy as others. There are those who feel ashamed with the ordinary sexual life of husband and wife and not unheard is the desire for holiness by avoiding the sexual embrace of married love. This arises from the inablity to distinquish sexual desire from lust. Christians are not to see sexuality as bad and to avoid it but to show the beauty of sexuality and have the mission to restore it to its original goodness.
Ron and Mavis Pirola, Catholics and parents of four from Sydney, told a Vatican gathering of about 200 prelates that sexual attraction brought them together 57 years ago and helped keep their marriage strong."Gradually, we came to see that the only feature that distinguishes our sacramental relationship from that of any other good Christ-centered relationship is sexual intimacy, and that marriage is a sexual sacrament with its fullest expression in sexual intercourse."
Lust is different from sexual desire. "Lust is disordered desire for or inordinate enjoyment of sexual pleasure. Sexual pleasure is morally disordered when sought for itself, isolated from its procreative and unitive purposes" (CCC 2351). When one has the intention to remain with the thoughts of a disordered desire and take pleasure in the desire we have a sinful inclination. He mentions the word lussuria from the Italian to express the word lust.
We have a big difference between love and lust. Love goes out to the other, lust turns in on oneself. Lust seeks personal satisfaction to control the other and ignores reason. Love has control over oneself, does not ignore reason and goes out to the other. The consequences of lust according to St.Thomas Aquinas:"blindness of mind, thoughtlessness, inconstancy, rashness, self-love, hatred of God, love of this world and abhorrence or despair of a future world."
