Liberal Christians: Do you consider sex before marriage to be a sin?

sojourner said:

If marriage is a sacramental act, and, if sex is an expression of that sacrament, then, yes, premarital sex is a sin, because it points us away from God, and toward ourselves.

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I totally disagree as why would a loving God who gave us a high sex drive and an ability to fall in love many times demand that we can only ever have sex after a ceremony of marriage and only have one sexual partner for life? Also a marriage ceremony does not make much difference to a relationship as a high percentages of marriages fail. As long as two people love each other and the sex is consensual then I see no reason why it should be considered a sin.

By the way a liberal Christian is someone who doesn't take the whole Bible literally just as it is written but instead using their intelligence to decide what the Bible means. I am from the UK and here most Christians are liberal and open minded.

Greystone said:

I totally disagree as why would a loving God who gave us a high sex drive and an ability to fall in love many times demand that we can only ever have sex after a ceremony of marriage and only have one sexual partner for life? Also a marriage ceremony does not make much difference to a relationship as a high percentages of marriages fail. As long as two people love each other and the sex is consensual then I see no reason why it should be considered a sin.

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The main reason I consider it to be a sin is that God said it is. It's kind of a no-brainer to me that if He says, "Don't do this," that's what He means. The fact that it may not seem reasonable to us is kind of beside the point when He has clearly made His will known to us.

Give 'em hell, Katzpur!

Kathryn said:

Give 'em hell, Katzpur!

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LOL! Actually, I'm pretty "liberal" on this in comparison to a lot of Mormons I know. I believe it's a sin, but I wouldn't say it's right up there next to murder.

i don't think its a sin. In the new testament fornication appears beside pagan rituals warnings... we need to see the context...

I struggled with that question in college, which is when I became affiliated with a mainline Protestant sect. Boy, did I struggle with it.

Having pondered the question before marriage and throughout my first and only marriage (34 years and going strong), if premarital sex is a sin, it's a minor one, like coveting your neighbor's lawnmower. It doubtless damages the soul, but it'd doubtful that it damages it very much, or irretrievably.

But if you can hold out until afterward, I feel you're better off. But your soul's not going to shrivel and die if you don't wait.