Rumor has it that some members of the church do not like reading articles in the church bulletin relating to sex. Not only does our current society seem fascinated by the subject (to the point of preoccupation with it, at times), but God Himself felt it was appropriate to comment on matters relating to sexuality. Therefore, because God presents commandments concerning right and wrong sexual conduct, and because our current society seems to be partial to those things which God has legislated against, we occasionally spend time on the topic. Necessity takes precedence over preference.And who knows how long we will be allowed to voice the Biblical perspective? Winford Claiborne, former director of Freed-Hardeman’s annual lectureship and current speaker for the International Gospel Hour said these words just a year ago:
The state of New Jersey has recently passed a law which forbids anyone from speaking disparagingly of homosexuality. That is the law. How do they get around the first amendment? A Presbyterian Church in the state of New Jersey took the state to court to challenge the law. The court upheld the state law in New Jersey (Meeting the Challenging Tests of Life, Jackie Stearsman, editor, 1998, p. 534).
Think of It! We discussed the subject of homosexuality in last week’s bulletin, which also appears on the Internet. Will that be illegal, too? Pornography dominates the Internet; will we be prohibited from calling a sin a sin? Who would have ever imagined that anyone would have passed such a state law? And that it would be upheld? Is politics interfering with religion?
Brother Claiborne continues:
If you listen to our radio program. . .over a period of time, you will hear sermons on abortion, infanticide, euthanasia, homosexuality, adultery, fornication, and similar sins, but the day may come when radio stations will have to cut us off. In fact, some have already done so (534).
The example he cites is a radio station in Dalton, Georgia. The religious program had aired on that station for 39 years, but it was terminated because the manager is a homosexual. He removed all religious programming because of what was being said about the homosexual agenda (534-35).
Biblical teaching on sexual matters must be set forth, as brother Claiborne has advocated. The entertainment media and the news media seldom, if ever, champion moral values. If Christians do not publicly uphold the truth regarding these things, how will anyone ever hear the other side?
Some may think that the public’s flair for immorality has had no effect upon the church, but such a view indicates naivete. At this very moment, three situations can be cited in which members of the church are living together outside of marriage AND are in fellowship with the church. One involves the daughter of a preacher who on weekends “entertains” a man to whom she is not married. Another involves a woman raising children who has invited a man into her home to live with them. The third involves an older couple in Illinois who uses economics to justify their cohabitation.
The victims are, unfortunately, brothers, sisters, cousins, or friends of the family, and they may not be even a year old (1A). What is the explanation for this tragic situation?
“In today’s world, children are exposed to so much sexual stimuli,” said Gail Ryan of the National Adolescent Perpetration Network at the University of Colorado. “At the same time, the level of explicitness has increased. I think the risk of children learning and then beginning to practice behavior is increasing” (26A).
It is too bad that the members of the Supreme Court who failed to define pornography back in the ’50s are not still around to see the results of their cowardice. In the past 40 years, the pornography business has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry. In fact, according to a book published in 1987 (Pornography: A Human Tragedy, edited by Tom Minnery), the figure was then 8 billion dollars a year (31). First, there were magazines, and no one stopped their proliferation. Next videos came along. And now there is the Internet.
But what do all those things have to do with juveniles? Some experts on this subject have said that 70% of all pornography ends up in the hands of juveniles. This percentage may be inflated, but even if it were cut in half, the possibility that 35% of everything published and taped would be seen by adolescents is frightening. We are told in the same book that there “are more stores selling pornographic videos than there are MacDonald hamburger restaurants” (43).
But how do such materials find their way into the hands of young people? Children are naturally curious. If there is something they know is hidden away, they will find an opportunity to look for it. Or they may find the latest Playboy video by accident. That same inquisitive nature that causes them to examine these “forbidden” materials will lead some into trying out such things–not with a consenting adult or fellow teenager (which would be bad enough), but with someone younger and defenseless.
In 1957 the Supreme Court ruled that obscenity had never been a Constitutional right (88), but then left the definition so vague as to open the floodgates to the current situation. Now we are reaping the results of the Court’s indecisive foolishness.
Sex, lovemaking and eros usually aren’t church topics. But people packed the pews at St. John’s Presbyterian Church last week to hear best-selling author Thomas Moore talk about everything from erotic fantasy to sexual ecstasy.”So we’re gathered in a church to talk about sex,” he says, triggering a wave of laughter. “It’s a good place” (1g).
One cannot help wondering if the same people would have “packed the pews” to hear Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost or Jesus’ sermon on the mount.
Although Mr. Moore occasionally points out some truths that need to be mentioned, such as “our philosophy is basically narcissistic” (6G), he makes some comments that are “wacko” and fanatical (sorry, but these will not be repeated here; suffice it to say that he equates sexuality with spirituality).
Then there is this troubling sentence: “Religion usually tries to restrain sex, almost sees it as the primary evil” (6G). Realizing that Mr. Moore came from a Catholic background (and never heard the word sex until he was 26) may provide a clearer context for the above statement, but it remains dangerous nevertheless. His book (and presumably his seminar) covers a wide range of issues, and one wonders how his “religion usually tries to restrain sex” remark will be applied to fornication, adultery, and homosexuality.
All of these the Bible deals with. Although some, in the name of religion, have tried to repress sexual expression even in marriage, they contradict the Scriptures when they do so. There was no cause for guilt over sex in the garden of Eden (Gen. 2:18-24), and there is none now: “Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge” (Heb. 13:4). God only “represses” intimacy between those He has not authorized to have it.
There is a need to teach what the will of God is concerning sexuality–especially in today’s society–even more so when members of the church are openly committing fornication and adultery, in many instances, with the approval of the church members (not unlike the Corinthians who were puffed up about the man living with his father’s wife). However, discussions of these topics should remain in the realm of matter-of-factness and not enter into what is lurid and suggestive, lest we find ourselves thinking along the same lines as those in the world–only in the name of religion.