Catholic sexuality values: God-given or man-made?

Our questioner asks, “Since Jesus never talked about sex, aren’t the rules and regulations about it man-made?” In response, let’s begin with the first premise of the question: did Jesus indeed say nothing about our sexual conduct? Then we will consider what it is to be God-given or man-made.

We can look to the Gospels for Jesus’ teaching on the topic, powerful though brief. Although he did not elaborate on the many particular issues we face in contemporary society, he gave us enough basic principles from which we may continue to discover God’s will for our sexual conduct.

When questioned about divorce and remarriage, Jesus responded, “From the beginning God made them male and female... and the two shall become one...” He reiterated God’s plan for the permanence and fidelity of marriage and conjugal life shared between husband and wife (Matt. 19:3-9). 

What we call the “natural moral law” is that which God reveals to us through human reason guided by faith. Its principal precepts are found in the Decalogue (Catechism of the Catholic Church [CCC] 1955-60). In his teaching on sexuality and human conduct in general, Jesus notably raises the bar, setting higher standards for those who desire to enter the Kingdom of God in heaven. For example, in the Sermon on the Mount, we hear him call us to purity of thought and action: “You heard it said that you shall not commit adultery. What I say to you is, he who looks lustfully at another has already committed adultery in his heart” (Matt. 5:27-28).

In these brief passages, Jesus gives us a mentality for obedience to God’s will for human sexuality. Paul’s epistles further address some issues such as the value of celibacy (1 Cor. 7) and the virtue of self-control (Gal. 5:22). He also warns us about fornication and other “works of the flesh”: “Those who do such things will not enter the kingdom of God” (Gal. 5:19-21).

Making a distinction between what is “God-given” and what is “man-made” sets up an artificial opposition of the two, as if it is either one or the other. Our Church reminds us in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, that God reveals fundamental truths in both Sacred Scripture and our ongoing Tradition.  The Holy Spirit guides the Church in prayerful discernment of these truths (cf. CCC 2032-38).

Our moral law is a “work of divine Wisdom,” (CCC 1950) and “man participates in the wisdom and goodness of the Creator who gives him mastery over his acts and the ability to govern himself with a view to the true and the good” (CCC 1954).

In the realm of human sexuality, our contemporary culture presents new challenges to fundamental teaching. Homosexual “marriage” (non-sacramental civil partnership) and transgender surgeries add to the growing list of challenges including contraception, cohabitation, and in-vitro fertilization. These are the kind of subjects where one might accuse the Church’s magisterium of coming up with man-made rules and regulations.

Yet it is precisely because we have ongoing medical, scientific, and cultural developments leading to new problems, that our Church teaching authority is entrusted with the responsibility to provide guidance for the People of God in these perplexing questions. We believe that God continues to speak to us and reveal the divine will through our popes and bishops, as well as theologians and those faithful who prayerfully listen for God’s guidance. Our official teaching on matters of sexuality comes from the magisterium, and they will not contradict what God has already revealed in Scripture and Sacred Tradition. 

Catholic teaching on human sexuality, particularly on the most current controversial issues, is often subject to criticism, judged as being too harsh or out of step with the times. Sadly, the reverse is true: the times are often woefully out of step with the eternal laws of God. The term “man-made law” is most often used by those who don’t want to accept the wisdom of the Church’s response to the question. If anything, the term most appropriately applies to those regulations passed by legislators who either directly oppose, or refuse to consider, God’s say in the matter. 

In summary, our Catholic teachings on human sexuality and sexual conduct are ultimately God-given, and not merely “man-made rules and regulations.” The Church as moral teacher seeks to help all of us discern what is best for our ultimate happiness and act accordingly with the help of God’s grace.