ALEXANDRIA, La. (BP) — There are atheists and liberals, some who are both, who believe there is no need for God in order for morality to be maintained in a society. They argue that people can act morally apart from a supreme authority.
I agree that people can act morally apart from God’s standard. However, the real question is why should they? If there is no supreme authority — no God — then why behave morally?
If there is no God, there are no objective standards for moral behavior. The logical progression leads to anarchy. Everyone does what is right in his or her eyes. This is clearly seen in the area of sexual expression.
If there is no God, then there is no objective, authoritative standard when it comes to sexual expression. The logical result is sexual anarchy.
I attended a debate in downtown Portland, Ore., more than a decade ago regarding whether it was appropriate for Oregon public schools to promote homosexuality as natural, normal and healthy.
At some point during the discussion someone suggested homosexuality and incest were morally equivalent.
When the debate ended, I was confronted by a woman who identified herself as a lesbian. She was furious that we “Bible-thumpers” were ignorant enough to equate incest with homosexuality.
I listened to her tirade until she paused to take a breath. Then I asked her, “Why are you so upset with homosexuality and incest being morally equivalent.”
“Because of the use of power by an adult authority figure to manipulate a younger person for the purpose of gaining sex,” she replied.
“That is not incest,” I said. “You have described pedophilia (sex with children) or ephebophilia (sex with teens) but not incest.”
I continued, “Incest is persons who are related to one another having sexual relations. Why do you care if two adults who are in the same family consent to a sexual relationship?”
“It is just wrong,” the woman said. “It is not natural!”
“Really?” I said. “I agree with you that it is not natural for the same reason your sexual behavior is not natural, because the Bible indicates what is natural, normal and healthy.”
The woman glared at me.
“If we reject God’s standards, we are left with nothing more than subjective criteria,” I said. “Incest might be wrong for you but there is no way you can say it is wrong for anyone else.”
I continued, “So you are judging those who pursue incest by your own subjective ethic — the same thing you accuse us ‘Bible-thumpers’ of doing.”
The woman stomped off.
The evidence of a sexual anarchy is all around us. It is the result of rejecting God’s authoritative standards and embracing a subjective morality.
The sexual expressions of homosexuality, bisexuality and transgenderism were once deemed to be aberrant and perverse. Not anymore. These behaviors are now celebrated by many around the world as natural, normal and healthy.
Children as young as 5 who say they were born the “wrong” sex are encouraged by parents to pursue their feelings. Some are even given drugs to impede the onset of puberty.
Sexual anarchy is progressing toward the acceptance of more and more perverse behavior. Adult incest, which the lesbian in Portland believed to be unnatural, is already accepted in many countries.
Among the countries that do not punish consensual adult incest are Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Luxembourg, Turkey, Russia, India, Israel, China, Sweden, Brazil and Japan.
A judge in Australia recently said that adult “incest may no longer be a taboo and the only reason it is criminal is potential birth abnormalities, which can be solved by abortion,” London’s Daily Telegraph reported.
If there ever were a case of two wrongs not making a right, it is the judge’s linking of incest with abortion. It is moral anarchy on steroids.
Another form of sexual expression that some regard as acceptable is pedophilia.
Consider the following:
In an article titled “Mental Health’s Cold Shoulder Treatment of Pedophilia” from “Behavioral Health Management,” Douglas Edwards cited Fred Berlin of the Johns Hopkins Department of Psychiatry: “Dr. Berlin discounts the common view that pedophilia is a conscious choice. He regards pedophilia as a lifelong sexual orientation, just as hetero- and homosexuality, and he says patients can be terrified by the discovery of pedophilic cravings.”
Richard Gardner, the late clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University, argued that America’s attitude toward child sexual encounters was out of step with the cultures of the world. In his book “True and False Accusations of Child Sex Abuse,” Gardner blamed the oppressive morality of the Bible for the American view of pedophilia. He also wrote, “It is of interest that of all the ancient peoples it may very well be that the Jews were the only ones who were punitive toward pedophiles.””
These are just two of several dozen so-called scholarly articles advocating pedophilia as a natural, normal and healthy sexual expression.
Sexual anarchy is unfolding before our very eyes and it will continue until our culture once again recognizes God as the supreme authority for sexual morality. Until then, sexual expression will become even more perverse. You ain’t seen nothing yet.
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Kelly Boggs is a weekly columnist for Baptist Press, director of the Louisiana Baptist Convention’s office of public affairs, and editor of the Baptist Message (www.baptistmessage.com), newsjournal of the Louisiana Baptist Convention. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter (@BaptistPress), Facebook (Facebook.com/BaptistPress) and in your email (baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp).
