Concept of voluptuousness
Orthodox and secular ethics interpret the concept of voluptuousness differently.
Secular aspects
From the point of view of secular people, voluptuousness is a person’s natural desire for a comfortable life, a normal desire if it does not directly harm others. In the secular world, there are increasingly calls to live for oneself and enjoy all aspects of life.
One of the products of voluptuousness - egocentrism - is condemned even by secular ethics.
Orthodox aspects
According to Orthodox doctrine, voluptuousness is one of the three main passions, which are based on self-love.
What does it mean?
It is advisable to start the conversation with the fact that it is human nature to enjoy, have fun, and demand. It is from such actions that voluptuousness is born. Simply put, it is a branch of egoism. Why?
Let's give the first example. Men like girls who are curvy, but thin and have a pretty face. He looks at them, chooses a suitable girlfriend for himself. And then he enjoys her, admires her.
Let the second example be the love of everything attractive. A person likes to play interesting games, watch movies, buy delicious cakes and sweets. That is, he is enjoying.
As you can see, this is the second time we have mentioned this verb. And it’s no coincidence. Voluptuousness is the desire for pleasure.
Famous sensualists in history
World history proves that even the most famous, talented and simply influential people are susceptible to the sin of voluptuousness. One of the most striking examples is the ancient philosopher Aristippus. Aristippus founded the doctrine of hedonism, according to which the highest happiness for a person is to enjoy life and avoid pain, anxiety and suffering in every possible way.
Another historical figure is Giacomo Casanova, whose name has become synonymous with the word “ ladiesman .” The Italian adventurer had affairs with dozens of women.
Causes of sin
The Holy Fathers believe that the root of voluptuousness, as well as the love of fame and the love of money, is self-love. A proud person constantly pleases his desires and overly pleases his body and soul, even in prayer he seeks only pleasant sensations.
In some cases, the cause of voluptuousness may be problems with a person’s physical health, in particular, hormonal imbalances.
Psychological and organic pathologies sometimes lead to eating disorders or deviations in intimate life.
voluptuousness
Do not be voluptuous, for God does not listen to the voluptuous.
Saint Anthony the Great
Saint Anthony the Great
A voluptuous person (only seeking something pleasant) is not good for anything
Do not be voluptuous, for God does not listen to the voluptuous. Have your body and its pleasures in hatred, because they are filled with evil. Make your body so exhausted that it looks like a body lying on a sick bed. .
Venerable Maximus the Confessor
Carried away by the seduction of sensual sweetness, we preferred death to true life.
Let us gratefully bear the bodily labor that kills this sweetness, so that when its death is destroyed along with it, the death that occurred through it, we may receive the life returning to us, previously sold for sweetness, and now again bought for a few labors of the flesh.
If it is necessary to be sick in every possible way, due to the sweetness that was dissolved by our ancestor with our nature, then we will valiantly endure temporary pain, dulling the sting of sweetness in us, and freeing us from eternal torment for it.
Let us renounce, as much as we can, the pleasures of this life and the fear of its sorrows, and let us completely rid ourselves of every passionate thought and every demonic malice. For for the sake of pleasure we love passions, and because of sorrows we flee virtues.
The charm and sweetness of sin usually disappears along with the implementation of the methods by which it is committed, which is why a person, finding from the indications of experience itself that every sinful sweetness is always successively followed by sorrowful displeasure, had all the desire for sweetness, and all the desire for displeasure and sorrow. disgust, - seeking the first with all his might, and trying to prevent the second in every possible way, believing - which, however, is completely impossible - in this way to separate them from each other, and only with the pleasure of gratifying one’s evil pride, not tolerating absolutely any sorrow, forgetting, as usual, blinded by passion, that sinful sweetness never comes without the bitterness of displeasure. For the bitterness of sorrow is naturally dissolved with the sweetness of sin, although those who taste it forget about it because of the dominance of passionate sweetness over them: since what possesses it always occupies attention in such a way that it completely closes off from the feeling what is to come next. In this way, chasing after sweets out of pride, all bitterness, for the same reason, trying in every possible way to avoid, we engender countless pernicious passions within ourselves.
No one experiences such a feeling of sweetness and bitterness when, freed from all carnal inclinations, he unites or, even more so, clings with his mind to God, the truly most amiable, dearest and exalted good.
Just as no one can purely serve God except by completely purifying the soul, so he cannot serve the creature without self-indulgently nurturing the body. Performing this pernicious bodily service, and therefore being himself a voluptuous being, man constantly had the power and effect of sweetness and bitterness, always tasting from the tree of disobedience, in which at the same time the knowledge of good and evil, which is actually experienced by feeling, is dissolved.
Where reason does not rule, there is usually inherent sensual power, with which the power of sin is dissolved, through sweetness drawing the soul to pity for the flesh akin to it by nature: as a result of which, it has taken upon itself, as if a natural task, passionate and voluptuous care for the flesh , takes a person away from real natural life, and inclines him to become for himself the organizer of evil that does not have an independent existence.
With the impurity of sweets, like rust, painful labor cleanses the soul covered with rust, and completely destroys in it any inclination towards material things, when it actually learns the harm from loving it, for which reason God allows the devil, according to righteous judgment, to oppress people with painful sorrows.
Rev. Mark the Ascetic
From voluptuousness comes negligence, and from negligence oblivion.
Do not say how a poor person can indulge in sweets without having the means, for one can indulge in voluptuousness even more bitterly in thoughts (than in deed).
From voluptuousness (doing for one's pleasure) comes negligence, and from negligence comes oblivion. For God has given knowledge to everyone about what is useful to whom.
There is no benefit to anyone who, having renounced the world, lives voluptuously (for his own pleasure, always doing only what pleases and pleases his heart). For what he did before with possessions, he does the same now, having nothing.
Again, the abstinent, if he acquires money, is the brother of the first in internal mood, since this one is from the same mother - seeking what is sweet to the heart, only from a different father, due to a change in passion.
It happens that someone stops a passion for the sake of great pleasure (because it is more peaceful to live without slavery to it), and others, not knowing his goal, glorify him: and perhaps he himself realizes that he is working in vain.
A voluptuous heart... becomes a bond for the soul.
A voluptuous heart (seeking only pleasures) during the exodus becomes a prison and a bond for the soul, and a hardworking heart (loving to embitter itself and toil in spite of itself, for the Lord’s sake) is an open door (to another life).
Venerable Isaac the Syrian
Blessed is he who has stopped his mouth from all voluptuousness, which separates him from the Creator.
The knowledge of God does not dwell in a voluptuous body.
Venerable Simeon the New Theologian
Even if someone lay for many years on the bed of voluptuousness and carelessness
A Christian who indulges in carnal pleasure is no longer a slave of Christ, but a slave of sin and the devil.
If only someone, like a thirty-eight-year-old paralytic, had been lying for many years on a bed of voluptuousness and carelessness, would see that the Lord Christ, either mentally through the influence of grace, or in the person of some spiritual man, comes to him and says: Do you want to be healthy? (John 5:6), may he immediately receive the word with joy and say: yes, Lord, I want, but not a man who would cast me into the pool of repentance (John 5:7); and if the Lord says to him, “Arise, take up your bed, and go to my heads” (John 5:8), let him arise with readiness and come with diligence in the footsteps of Him who so called him from above.
Rev. Nikita Stifat
In humility we set the spirit of voluptuousness unsuccessful
By fasting, vigils and prayers... by bodily labors and cutting off our will in spiritual humility, we make the spirit of voluptuousness unsuccessful, we enslave it to ourselves with tears of repentance and, leading it into the prison of abstinence, we make it immovable and inactive.
Venerable John Climacus
Voluptuousness and deceit are the parents of all evils
He who sometimes cries, and sometimes enjoys and says funny things, instead of stones, throws bread at the dog of voluptuousness, apparently he drives him away, but in fact attracts him to himself.
The fish is in a hurry to run away from the fishing rod, and the voluptuous soul is disgusted by silence.
Lust and wickedness are the parents of all evils; those possessed by them will not see the Lord.
Venerable Gregory of Sinaite
Voluptuous demons kindle the lustful power of the soul, but, thereby leading to confusion and rational power, they darken the soul.
Saint Basil the Great
The great lure to evil is voluptuousness
If foolish creatures are shrewd and skillful in taking care of their own salvation, and if a fish knows what to choose and what to run from, what will we say, distinguished by reason, instructed by the law, prompted by promises, wise by the Spirit and yet those who manage their affairs are not more intelligent than fish? For they know how to think a little about the future, but we, having rejected hope for the future, are ruining our lives in bestial voluptuousness.
The great lure to evil is voluptuousness, for the sake of which most of all we humans are disgusted with sin, by which every soul, like milk, is drawn into death.
He who is not ingratiated or weakened by voluptuousness has, through abstinence, succeeded in completely avoiding sins.
How can one achieve this without overcoming voluptuousness in food? - Having decided, the preference for what is useful should always be the leader and teacher in what is acceptable for use, whether it be pleasant or unpleasant.
Saint Gregory of Nyssa
Whoever has allowed the beginning of passion into himself has... taken into himself a whole beast
A delight to the palate... there is the mother of all evils. For who does not know that the root of almost all errors in life is concern for the larynx? Depend on it: luxury, drunkenness, gluttony, disorderly behavior, gluttony, satiety, riotous life, bestial and unreasonable fall into the passion of dishonor.
In human nature, there is no repository for instant pleasure in which one could store for oneself pleasure acquired with all care. But when it seems to sensualists that they have taken possession of something, like some deceptive ghost, it instantly disappears and turns into nothing, and after the removal of such a dream, only its trace remains - shame, imprinting on them a deep and indelible image of what has passed , so that by imitating the hunters in art, one can recognize the nature of the beast by its tracks. For hunters, even when the prey is invisible, recognize the animal by its scent.
Just as it is impossible to drag a snake by the edge of its tail, because the scales naturally rest against those who drag it, so it is impossible to start from the extreme parts of the soul in order to survive the invading voluptuousness from it, unless someone blocks the first entrance to this evil. Why does the Teacher of Virtue command to guard its head, calling the head the beginning of vice, in which, if it is not allowed, the rest remains inactive. For whoever opposes pleasure in general with hostility does not succumb to the particular attacks of passion. And whoever allowed the beginning of passion into himself, at the same time he accepted the whole beast into himself.
Saint John Chrysostom
Lust for pleasure destroys everything, it separates you from the Kingdom
Voluptuous and pampered people are dissatisfied with expensive meals.
Lust is like a stormy stream, it destroys everything, no obstacle holds it back, it separates you from the Kingdom.
The power of voluptuousness is great - it forces us to do even what we do not dare to talk about.
The more we indulge in voluptuousness, the more we are filled with stench, when the body, like fur, swells on all sides, when the belching we experience upsets the brains of those standing nearby, when foul vapors flow out of the body from all sides, as if from an oven, due to strong incandescent, full of stench inside. If the external members become so disturbed, then what do you think the brain should experience inside, being constantly darkened by fumes? What is the position of streams of boiling blood when free circulation is blocked? What are the other viscera exposed to - the liver and spleen? What do the litter receptacles experience? And the worst thing is that we take care of the (real) receptacles of droppings so that they do not become clogged and spew up droppings, for this we use all kinds of measures, and push with poles and dig with shovels, while we not only do not clean the receptacles of our womb, but we even litter and clutter, and do not pay any attention to the fact that the droppings rise upward, to where the king himself, that is, the brain, resides.
We do all this because we look at him not as a venerable king, but as some unclean dog. God placed these members far away so that nothing would suffer harm from them. But we resist this and corrupt everything with excess. And who can list the other disasters that result from this? Shut up the drains of the containers (sewage) - and you will see that infection will immediately appear. Consequently, if a stench encountered from outside gives rise to infection, then does that which is inside the body, and is surrounded on all sides by the close boundaries of the body, and has no outlet anywhere, not cause countless diseases both to the soul and to the body? And the worst thing is that many are indignant at God, saying, what is this? He Himself determined that we carry litter within ourselves. Meanwhile, they themselves multiply the litter. But God arranged it this way, at least in this way to turn us away from voluptuousness, so that, at least through this, to convince us that we should not cleave to worldly goods. And you, despite this, not only do not stop indulging in voluptuousness, but even to the very throat, even until the next lunch time, even longer than the pleasure itself continues, you continue to be satiated.
A soul devoted to voluptuousness cannot hear or speak anything. She becomes effeminate, sluggish, timid, unfree, fearful, filled with the cruelty of ignorance, flattery, rage, laziness - full of all vices and alien to their opposite virtues.
All the pleasure delivered by tasting food is exhausted by the time of swallowing: when what is swallowed passes what is in the throat, where the sense of taste is concentrated, it is as if it were not there.
Venerable Ephraim the Syrian
Whoever has the fear of God in his heart will not be touched by the filth of voluptuousness
The refuge from voluptuousness is, firstly, to pray often and soberly, and then to give dominion to the mind and pure thought, not to utter disorderly words that are inconsistent with decent needs, in the confidence that the Lord is an infallible Judge.
How wonderful it is to overcome voluptuousness and to be above carnal lusts! Whoever has the fear of God in his heart will not be touched by the filth of voluptuousness.
Voluptuousness is not limited to luxury and bodily pleasures alone, but takes place in everything that we love according to our spiritual will and passion.
Venerable Isidore Pelusiot
Whoever, through chastity and abstinence, curbs voluptuousness, which for many seems irresistible, has the right to admire many and glorious victories, having a soul free from every vile passion.
Venerable Neil of Sinai
Voluptuousness is the death of the immortal soul
The mother of lust is gluttony.
Run away... from voluptuousness - this mother of destruction and death, do not listen to its words, because it, like a wolf, caresses the lambs.
Voluptuousness is the devil's oud, leading to destruction.
Voluptuousness is the feeder of the never-sleeping worm. Lust is the death of the immortal soul.
Saint Gregory Palamas
When we create pleasures of the flesh in lust (Rom. 13:14), then this lust is a sinful passion, the beginning of carnal passions, and a disease of the soul.
How to deal with sin
Over its centuries-long history, the Orthodox Church, represented by the Holy Fathers, has developed several ways to combat the sin of voluptuousness. In some cases, Christians can also benefit from modern medicine.
Confession
Regular confession helps you monitor your thoughts and feelings and prevent your thoughts from turning into actions.
Penance
To effectively combat the sin of voluptuousness, a confessor can impose penance on his spiritual child, for example, observing a special fast.
Drug treatment
If the cause of sin lies in the malfunction of the body, the sufferer needs to consult a doctor.
You cannot prescribe treatment for yourself without consulting a specialist!
How does a sensualist feel?
A sinful person, on the contrary, wants endless pleasures. In addition, satisfaction may not be obtained. But there will never be joy in the soul. Lust is a kind of beautiful dish without a bottom. You admire the beautiful sides of the vessel, but there is no benefit.
Who can't sleep in a new place? As a rule, for those who love softness, warmth, and comfort. A pampered body requires pleasure. Unfortunately, the modern world is designed so that people live comfortably. Advertising is placed with the aim of selling goods, and the evil one (the devil) takes advantage of human souls through advertising. Church pastors warn about this, saints spoke about the temptations of the modern world. But there are very few who are ready to part with pleasures.
Prevention of voluptuousness
The Holy Fathers advise not to have an addiction to anything, so as not to fall into the sin of voluptuousness. It is necessary to lead a simple life, not strive for excessive comfort, abstain from abundant tasty food, frequent carnal pleasures, observe fasts and practice asceticism in other ways.
Lust is a grave sin, but it is not a death sentence for a person who is aware of his imperfection, sincerely repents of his fall and desires to be healed. It is important to remember that with God’s help you can overcome any passion if you sincerely turn to the Lord and make efforts to fight spiritual illness.
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Daria Koryaeva
About family life
The meaning of the word “voluptuousness” in marriage, especially church marriage, is the same as in the world without God, which we talked about above. It turns out that one should enter into marriage not for the purpose of pleasure, but for a completely different reason. Marriage in Orthodoxy is the ability to tolerate the negative aspects of a loved one, not to break down, not to swear, and to be able to give in. And, of course, forgive and love. But let's get back to our topic.
In family life, voluptuousness is enjoying each other, usually during intimacy. Pastors advise young people not to rush to sign if they spent very little time together and just liked each other outwardly. After all, in marriage, pleasures can stop sooner or later. Divorces often occur for this reason.
