For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith." For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unright - eousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.
For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being under - stood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man - and birds and four - footed animals and creeping things.
Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.
We know these laws are good when they are used as God intended.
But they were not made for people who do what is right. They are for people who are disobedient and rebellious, who are ungodly and sinful, who consider nothing sacred and defile what is holy, who murder their father or mother or other people.
These laws are for people who are sexually immoral, for homosexuals and slave traders, for liars and oath breakers, and for those who do anything else that contradicts the right teaching
GOOD NEWS:
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
***
The United States government has just released a nation-wide survey on Americans' private sexual habits. The NEW YORK TIMES describes it as disclosing "surprising numbers for same-sex activity."
Surprising is the right word, but not in the way I suspect the NEW YORK TIMES means.
The study was done by the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Among other statistics, the study indicates that only about 4 percent of men and women consider themselves to be homosexual or bisexual.
Indeed, among men ages 18 to 44, 90 percent call themselves heterosexual, 2 percent homosexual, 2 percent bisexual, and 4 percent something else. Among women, 86 percent are attracted only to men, and 10 percent "mostly" to males.
In both cases it is a long way from the 10 percent that the homosexual lobby has advanced for years. We are told that homosexual behavior is simply a choice and that we're bigoted if we do not believe it to be the norm. But any time you look at statistics and find less than 10 percent engaging in a particular activity, it is contrary to the norm. The norm is what the 90 percent does.
There are profound social consequences here. If sexual orientation is a choice, then we're free to choose. But this study implies that we're wired a certain way, for heterosexual relationships.
As philosopher J. Budziszewski says, there are some things we "can't not know."
One of those things is that we're biologically made a certain way: males one way and females another. That's the way the world works, and it's the only natural way to conceive children.
And when you go against the way the world is made, you're going against the grain of the universe. And no amount of propaganda or clever marketing, which is what it is, can change the unalterable facts of the natural moral order.
It's time we recognize that and stop being bullied by special interests.
But whether we should have spent the money this way or not, we do now have the report. It does show us something that needs to be understood in American life. It has a profound impact on the political and cultural debates of our day in ways that I'm sure does indeed surprise the staff of the NEW YORK TIMES.
. I was looking out the window of my house one day and saw a simpleminded young man who lacked common sense. He was crossing the street near the house of an immoral woman.
He was strolling down the path by her house at twilight, as the day was fading, as the dark of night set in. The woman approached him, dressed seductively and sly of heart.
She was the brash, rebellious type who never stays at home. She is often seen in the streets and markets, soliciting at every corner. She threw her arms around him and kissed him, and with a brazen look she said, "It's you I was looking for! I came out to find you, and here you are! My bed is spread with colored sheets of finest linen imported from Egypt. I've perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. Come, let's drink our fill of love until morning.
Let's enjoy each other's caresses, for my husband is not home. He's away on a long trip. He has taken a wallet full of money with him, and he won't return until later in the month." So she seduced him with her pretty speech. With her flattery she enticed him. He followed her at once, like an ox going to the slaughter or like a trapped stag, awaiting the arrow that would pierce its heart. He was like a bird flying into a snare, little knowing it would cost him his life.
*** There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end there- of are the ways of death.
*** I made a covenant with my eyes not to look with lust upon a young woman.
*** But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust in his eye has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
***
There is a time for everything, a season for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to rebuild. A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away. A time to search and a time to lose. A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak up. A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace.
Best wishes for continued ascendancy, Dr. Whoami
P.S. One thing of which I am sure is that the common culture of my youth is gone for good. It was hollowed out by the rise of ethnic "identity politics," then splintered beyond hope of repair by the emergence of the web-based technologies that so maximized and facilitated cultural choice as to make the broad-based offerings of the old mass media look bland and unchallenging by comparison."
P.P.S. Have you ever tried to explain to a modern, secularized teenager or young adult what's wrong with premarital sex between two consenting adults? If you have, you know the meaning of the word frustration.
The modern mind just doesn't seem capable of grasping the concept that sex belongs exclusively within marriage. That's not from a lack of intelligence. It's simply because the modern mind has been trained to think otherwise: If two people want a sexual encounter, and take steps to prevent the occurrence of a third person -- an un - wanted baby -- that makes the act morally right. End of story.
May I recommend Jennifer Roback Morse's new book, SMART SEX: FINDING LIFE-LONG LOVE IN A HOOK-UP WORLD, is so refreshing. Morse, one of the clearest thinkers I know, takes deadly aim at the idea of "morally neutral sex" -- and she does it in a logical and compassionate manner. Having once believed in "morally neutral sex" herself, Morse understands the thinking behind the idea. She deals with concepts like "reproductive freedom," "recreational sex," and "consumer sex," and shows how they're not only morally bankrupt, but also anti-social.
Morse explains that the problem with these views of sex is that they focus on the individual. For example, the theory of "reproductive freedom" teaches us that everyone who wants a child is entitled to have one, and that those who don't want children should be able to have sex without ever having to face the possibility. When nature, or our spouses, or our own children get in the way of our "reproductive freedom," we therefore feel entitled to trample on the rights of others to get our own way.
Morse recalls the time when she was so desperate to get pregnant, that she and her husband considered using a sperm donor. That was when she started to realize, "Having a baby through a sperm donor would have changed the relationship between my husband and me in a fundamental way . . . . The baby would be my project with my husband along for the ride. . . . And what about the baby? Do I have a right to treat a baby as a project of mine?"
This confronts the conventional thinking where a person, Morse writes, treats relationships as if they affected only herself. And that's where the objection to premarital sex comes in. Advocates of premarital sex often act as if their sexual experiences are all about them - selves and no one else. As Morse puts it, "When we engage in consumer sex, we do not fully consider the impact of our actions upon others. Consumer sex is focused inward, on personal pleasure, not on the building up of the community of the family."
In short, the sexual revolution taught us to think of our sex lives as our own property and our own business, and nobody else's, even though other people are obviously involved. To use sex this way is to treat it as the opposite of what it was meant to be: a destroyer of relationships rather than something that builds them.
"de profundus cinmo ad te Dominae."
2 comments:
.
BAD NEWS:
For in it the righteousness of
God is revealed from faith to
faith; as it is written, "The just
shall live by faith." For the wrath
of God is revealed from heaven
against all ungodliness and
unrighteousness of men, who
suppress the truth in unright -
eousness, because what may
be known of God is manifest
in them, for God has shown
it to them.
For since the creation of the
world His invisible attributes
are clearly seen, being under -
stood by the things that are
made, even His eternal power
and Godhead, so that they are
without excuse, because,
although they knew God,
they did not glorify Him as
God, nor were thankful,
but became futile in their
thoughts, and their foolish
hearts were darkened.
Professing to be wise,
they became fools,
and changed the glory
of the incorruptible
God into an image made
like corruptible man -
and birds and four -
footed animals and
creeping things.
Therefore God
also gave them up
to uncleanness, in
the lusts of their
hearts, to dishonor
their bodies among
themselves, who
exchanged the truth
of God for the lie,
and worshiped and
served the creature
rather than the Creator,
who is blessed forever.
Amen.
For this reason God
gave them up to vile
passions. For even
their women exchanged
the natural use for what
is against nature. Likewise
also the men, leaving the
natural use of the woman,
burned in their lust for one
another, men with men
committing what is shameful,
and receiving in themselves
the penalty of their error which
was due. And even as they
did not like to retain God in
their knowledge, God gave
them over to a debased mind,
to do those things which are
not fitting; being filled with all
unrighteousness, sexual immorality,
wickedness, covetousness,
maliciousness; full of envy,
murder, strife, deceit,
evil-mindedness; they are
whisperers, backbiters,
haters of God, violent,
proud, boasters, inventors
of evil things, disobedient
to parents, undiscerning,
untrustworthy, unloving,
unforgiving, unmerciful;
who, knowing the righteous
judgment of God, that those
who practice such things
are deserving of death,
not only do the same
but also approve of
those who practice them.
We know these laws are
good when they are used
as God intended.
But they were not made
for people who do what
is right. They are for people
who are disobedient and
rebellious, who are ungodly
and sinful, who consider
nothing sacred and defile
what is holy, who murder
their father or mother or
other people.
These laws are for people
who are sexually immoral,
for homosexuals and slave
traders, for liars and oath
breakers, and for those who
do anything else that contradicts
the right teaching
GOOD NEWS:
For the wages of sin is death,
but the gift of God is eternal
life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
***
The United States government
has just released a nation-wide
survey on Americans' private
sexual habits. The NEW YORK
TIMES describes it as disclosing
"surprising numbers for same-sex
activity."
Surprising is the right word, but not
in the way I suspect the NEW YORK
TIMES means.
The study was done by the National
Center for Health Statistics, part of
the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. Among other statistics,
the study indicates that only about
4 percent of men and women consider
themselves to be homosexual or bisexual.
Indeed, among men ages 18 to 44,
90 percent call themselves heterosexual,
2 percent homosexual, 2 percent bisexual,
and 4 percent something else. Among
women, 86 percent are attracted only
to men, and 10 percent "mostly" to males.
In both cases it is a long way from the 10
percent that the homosexual lobby has
advanced for years. We are told that
homosexual behavior is simply a choice
and that we're bigoted if we do not
believe it to be the norm. But any time
you look at statistics and find less than
10 percent engaging in a particular
activity, it is contrary to the norm.
The norm is what the 90 percent does.
There are profound social consequences
here. If sexual orientation is a choice,
then we're free to choose. But this study
implies that we're wired a certain
way, for heterosexual relationships.
As philosopher J. Budziszewski says,
there are some things we "can't not
know."
One of those things is that we're
biologically made a certain way:
males one way and females another.
That's the way the world works,
and it's the only natural way to
conceive children.
And when you go against the way
the world is made, you're going
against the grain of the universe.
And no amount of propaganda
or clever marketing, which is
what it is, can change the
unalterable facts of the natural
moral order.
It's time we recognize that and
stop being bullied by special interests.
But whether we should have spent
the money this way or not, we do
now have the report. It does show
us something that needs to be
understood in American life.
It has a profound impact on the
political and cultural debates of
our day in ways that I'm sure does
indeed surprise the staff of the
NEW YORK TIMES.
.
I was looking out the window
of my house one day and saw a
simpleminded young man who
lacked common sense. He was
crossing the street near the
house of an immoral woman.
He was strolling down the path by her
house at twilight, as the day was fading,
as the dark of night set in. The woman
approached him, dressed seductively
and sly of heart.
She was the brash, rebellious type who
never stays at home. She is often seen in
the streets and markets, soliciting at every
corner. She threw her arms around him
and kissed him, and with a brazen look
she said, "It's you I was looking for!
I came out to find you, and here you
are! My bed is spread with colored
sheets of finest linen imported from
Egypt. I've perfumed my bed with
myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. Come,
let's drink our fill of love until morning.
Let's enjoy each other's caresses,
for my husband is not home. He's
away on a long trip. He has taken
a wallet full of money with him,
and he won't return until later in
the month." So she seduced him
with her pretty speech. With her
flattery she enticed him. He
followed her at once, like
an ox going to the slaughter
or like a trapped stag, awaiting
the arrow that would pierce its
heart. He was like a bird flying
into a snare, little knowing it
would cost him his life.
***
There is a way which seemeth
right unto a man, but the end there-
of are the ways of death.
***
I made a covenant with my eyes
not to look with lust upon a young woman.
***
But I say, anyone who even looks
at a woman with lust in his eye has
already committed adultery with her
in his heart.
***
There is a time for everything,
a season for every activity
under heaven. A time to be
born and a time to die. A
time to plant and a time to
harvest. A time to kill and
a time to heal. A time to
tear down and a time to
rebuild. A time to cry and
a time to laugh. A time to
grieve and a time to dance.
A time to scatter stones
and a time to gather stones.
A time to embrace and a
time to turn away. A time to
search and a time to lose.
A time to keep and a time to
throw away. A time to tear
and a time to mend. A time
to be quiet and a time to
speak up. A time to love
and a time to hate. A time
for war and a time for peace.
Best wishes for continued ascendancy,
Dr. Whoami
P.S. One thing of which I am sure is
that the common culture of my youth
is gone for good. It was hollowed out
by the rise of ethnic "identity politics,"
then splintered beyond hope of repair
by the emergence of the web-based
technologies that so maximized and
facilitated cultural choice as to make
the broad-based offerings of the old
mass media look bland and unchallenging
by comparison."
P.P.S. Have you ever tried to explain
to a modern, secularized teenager or young
adult what's wrong with premarital sex between
two consenting adults? If you have, you
know the meaning of the word frustration.
The modern mind just doesn't seem capable
of grasping the concept that sex belongs
exclusively within marriage. That's not from
a lack of intelligence. It's simply because the
modern mind has been trained to think
otherwise: If two people want a sexual
encounter, and take steps to prevent the
occurrence of a third person -- an un -
wanted baby -- that makes the act morally
right. End of story.
May I recommend Jennifer Roback
Morse's new book, SMART SEX:
FINDING LIFE-LONG LOVE IN
A HOOK-UP WORLD, is so
refreshing. Morse, one of the clearest
thinkers I know, takes deadly aim at
the idea of "morally neutral sex" -- and
she does it in a logical and compassionate
manner. Having once believed in "morally
neutral sex" herself, Morse understands
the thinking behind the idea. She deals
with concepts like "reproductive freedom,"
"recreational sex," and "consumer sex,"
and shows how they're not only morally
bankrupt, but also anti-social.
Morse explains that the problem with
these views of sex is that they focus on
the individual. For example, the theory
of "reproductive freedom" teaches us
that everyone who wants a child is
entitled to have one, and that those
who don't want children should be
able to have sex without ever having
to face the possibility. When nature,
or our spouses, or our own children
get in the way of our "reproductive
freedom," we therefore feel entitled
to trample on the rights of others to
get our own way.
Morse recalls the time when she was
so desperate to get pregnant, that she
and her husband considered using a
sperm donor. That was when she
started to realize, "Having a baby
through a sperm donor would have
changed the relationship between my
husband and me in a fundamental way . . . .
The baby would be my project with
my husband along for the ride. . . .
And what about the baby? Do I have
a right to treat a baby as a project of mine?"
This confronts the conventional thinking
where a person, Morse writes, treats
relationships as if they affected only
herself. And that's where the objection
to premarital sex comes in. Advocates
of premarital sex often act as if their
sexual experiences are all about them -
selves and no one else. As Morse puts it,
"When we engage in consumer sex, we
do not fully consider the impact of our
actions upon others. Consumer sex is
focused inward, on personal pleasure,
not on the building up of the community
of the family."
In short, the sexual revolution taught us
to think of our sex lives as our own
property and our own business, and
nobody else's, even though other
people are obviously involved. To
use sex this way is to treat it as the
opposite of what it was meant to be:
a destroyer of relationships rather
than something that builds them.
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