Report of First Sermon of 3-Part Series by Rev. John Moore

Report of First Sermon of 3-Part Series by Rev. John Moore

San Francisco Chronicle, January 11, 1965, pages 1 & 14.

Repository: San Francisco Public Library

When Sex Becomes Impersonal
By Donovan Bess
The Rev. John V. Moore used his downtown Methodist pulpit yesterday to make a case against "the automation of sex" in America.
He charged that sexual union frequently amounts to "IBM computers passing in the dark"—and is "as superficial as buying a sandwich at an automat."
"The teachings of Jesus", he told his crowded church, "are against any such misuse of sexuality."
The Rev. Mr. Moore's outspoken sermon was the first in a series of three he will give at the Glide Memorial Church in the Tenderloin.
"The greatest sexual problem of our day," he said, "is the alienation of sex from
See Page 14. Col 3"

Page 2: "Sermon: The Worst Sex Danger
From Page 1
persons" — as evidenced in talk about "having sex."
Those two words, the pastor declared, imply that "the persons involved are so unimportant as to be not worth mentioning."
"Men can 'have sex' in the dilapidated ward of a mental hospital, or with a beast. Incest is 'having sex'." He said the populat way of viewing sexuality today is in terms of the Kinsey studies, which tabulated and analyzed "sexual outlets."
Personal
He said there was evidence that sex in America is becoming less and less personal.
"It is possible to intimate, while at the same time being almost wholly impersonal," he said. "For example, partners in some sexual acts never even see each other."
"I'm not being entirely facetious when I suggest that it may not be long before prostitution is automated."
The Rev. Mr. Moore challenged statements by Simone de Beauvoir, a French intellectual, that Lesbianism is a rejection by women of their being used as sexual objects by men.
Marriage
In marriage, he said, "I cannot agree that this must invariably be the relationship.
"Furthermore, I'm sure that in every man-woman relationship, the man is sometimes the object; nor are Lesbians free from the danger of relating to other Lesbians as though they were objects."
In citing misuses of sexuality, he said, "the boy or man who is most promiscuous very likely is driven by the fear that he is not really a man" and "must prove his masculinity to himself."
Lives
In conclusion, the clergyman declared: "Jesus said that He came that we might live rich, full lives. Denial of our sexuality, alienation of our sexuality, repression of our sexuality all stand in the way of the full life.
"We will experience the kind of life which Jesus helped man find only when our sexuality, as every dimension of our lives, is fused with love — the kind of love we see in His life....
"Persons, societies and atoms depend for their existence upon power greater than the forces which would pull them apart. Love, being loved and loving is the power which binds persons together, making them and their relationships whole."