Is Chastity Over?

Elizabeth Anscombe reminds us that Christian sexual ethics have always been difficult.

Tomorrow I hope to finish (finally!) my essay on why “sex is not safe.” Today, in preparation, I am recommending this article from Elizabeth Anscombe, which is at least as outrageous today as when it was written in 1972. But I still believe it. Anscombe’s position is pretty much my own. (And look! We’re both philosophically trained women with a bunch of kids. Only she was much more brilliant than me, and also had more kids.)

Anscombe was, to reiterate, brilliant. And this article certainly deploys her philosophical expertise (for instance concerning intention). But another of the many fine features of this article is its reminder that Christian sexual morals have always been difficult, and often deeply countercultural. People sometimes argue that traditional morals can’t possibly be upheld; the ask has become too difficult. But… wasn’t it always? Telling pagan men that they weren’t allowed to fornicate anymore was a hard bullet. So was the mandate to bear and nurture all babies that were conceived. (In the ancient world it was widely considered acceptable to toss the unwanted ones by the roadside. See, Planned Parenthood isn’t a new idea at all.)

Modernity has changed many things, but not the difficulty of Christian sexual teachings. That’s a constant. Some will argue, “Yes, but back in the day people had little choice but to live with them, because the consequences of doing otherwise were too terrible, but today we can embrace an easier sexual ethic with little cost.”

Are you sure about that? Look at the world around us. Are you really sure?