GerandTwine

When I first heard this analogy a few weeks ago, my first take was that it was a mistake. I had heard for years the analogy of the Big Plan being more like a no-re-marriage-possibility divorce, an analogy that is much closer to the even more accurate analogy of the Big Plan being like a sexually sinning person becoming a priest/nun and taking the vow of celibacy, that is, if you want to stick with the sex appetite comparison.

The AV conversation on the marriage analogy might go something like this; "Hmm, interesting analogy. I know I can always have sex with Mabel to satisfy my sexual desire. So, here I go - "I will never drink again." Wow! That sure feels fake. Like, right. I hear, "You're never going to drink again?" "Sure, OK, yeah it's just like your marriage, OK, you can't go out and have sex with anyone else. Just here at home with Mabel. Well, your going to miss a lot of nice drinking out at the sports bar, and at Joe's wedding coming up." "That's right." "OK. It'll be hard, we can do that, but we both know how you've succeeded so well with that great hiding place in the garage for that one bottle of expensive vodka. Hard to smell, won't hurt anyone. Right here at home, just like sex with Mabel." "Huh?" "Yeah, just like that analogy. You didn't think the analogy meant you were never going to have a drink again EVERYWHERE, did you? It just means you can't go OUT and drink where you get into trouble. Just have a little here at home where it's safe. No one will know, and there's no way to get in trouble." "Oh." "Yeah, makes all the sense in the world. Just like sex with Mabel." "Hmmm. WTF. What kind of analogy is that? I'm not an idiot. The AV can sail the Titanic through that analogy."

I always thought the sinner to priest/nun analogy was the accurate sex comparison, especially for people who might not be securely abstinent (ie. people who hadn't made their Big Plan yet).