Every sane and healthy person is capable of giving up this or that temptation if they so desire. Some with particularly strong personalities succeed through mere will power. Others use the opportunity to draw closer to the Lord and with a lot of faith, along with truth, guidance, and encouragement, are successful in letting go of the pesky thing, and so ask the Lord for more light and knowledge and move on to the next shortcoming they are shown.
The best way to be rid of wayward desires is to truly love God more than the temptation and purposely give it up to Christ in a deeply selfless and spiritual way, repeatedly if need be. (After the initial change of heart, if it rears its ugly head again, it becomes easier each time to reject it.) If an individual or group, representing themselves as sane and healthy, is saying that they have tried but can’t give up a particular temptation, such as the popular vice of the day, same-sex attraction, it’s because they don’t really want to. They are in love with this weakness or temptation because they are getting something pleasurable out of it. (Sexual temptation is different than, say, alcohol, coffee, or cigarette addiction because, without any physical acting out, sexual lusts can produce highly arousing images and fantasies and corresponding physical chemical sensations. Indeed, sex addiction is commonly compared to drug addiction without the external substances!)
Incredibly, people who proclaim their out-of-bounds sexual lusts are being praised and held up as experts and examples to follow. They have fooled others into thinking they can’t overcome these lusts, when the truth is they don’t want to. (We wonder why they insist that God will someday take their temptations away, if, as they also seem to insist, the temptations alone are not bad.) They have fooled others into the false notion that wickedness can be happiness, joy, and fulfillment. As a result, they are being given a voice. Their books are published. They are asked to speak and be on panels. And yet they are not repentant. They have nothing good to offer. Celibate or not, they are pro-homosex. In fact, they use cunning subtleties to justify their pleasurable lusts and spread and encourage homosexuality.
The right thing to do is to refuse to give such people a platform. The kindest thing we can do for them is to publish and emphasize only the truth, that wayward sexual attractions can and should be overcome. The best thing we can do for them is testify continually that they need Christ as their Savior and can be forgiven and washed clean, just as everybody else can.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
God and Liberty, Satan and Tyranny
As we’ve studied up on political philosophies lately, we’ve found correlations between God and liberty, and Satan and tyranny. It occurs to us that people who fully embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ (God’s plan) are the same thoughtful people who are all for the classical liberty of America’s inspired Founders. Such liberty necessarily requires virtue, more self-government than societal government, and encourages individuals to strive for their full potential. It also occurs to us that people who resist or water down the gospel of Jesus Christ, tend to shy away from personal responsibility and potential, wishing to save themselves or others from the fearsome risks and consequences that come with free will. They don’t mind giving up their independence to those who have the power to govern them, such as leaders and politicians, in order to mitigate what they see as suffering or endless striving. These thoughtless, cult-like followers allow others to think for them and thus tend toward tyranny rather than liberty.
It’s incredibly important that people see the timeless true principles that are in play. The first worldview mirrors God’s plan by which we are free to choose and learn and progress beyond our wildest dreams because of Christ. The second reflects Satan’s plan and the works of his minions, the anti-Christs, whose design of safety and coercion constricts, stunts, and impoverishes human souls now and forever. The war between these two views was waged in heaven and continues here on earth. This conflict is apparent is every aspect of our existence, as we choose our thoughts, our loyalties, our beliefs, our actions, and the people we elect to represent us in government.
Which side are you on? The one about hard, true principles, about risk, reliance on Christ as Savior of our eternal souls, and the potential of unlimited progression, the one which encourages and makes possible personal development and economic prosperity even now? Or the one based on the philosophies of men (Plato, Thomas More, Thomas Hobbes, Marx, and others), all about safety, conformity, radical equality, and dependence on the arm of the flesh, on government run by whatever human beings happen to be in power?
If we as a country truly follow Christ we will prosper in the land in every way, increasing in posterity, wealth, knowledge, and godliness. If we follow Satan we forfeit our agency and will become enslaved by some means or another, decreasing in number and further declining in every way, spiritually, intellectually, economically.
May we recommend Mark Levin’s insightful books: Liberty and Tyranny and Ameritopia?
It’s incredibly important that people see the timeless true principles that are in play. The first worldview mirrors God’s plan by which we are free to choose and learn and progress beyond our wildest dreams because of Christ. The second reflects Satan’s plan and the works of his minions, the anti-Christs, whose design of safety and coercion constricts, stunts, and impoverishes human souls now and forever. The war between these two views was waged in heaven and continues here on earth. This conflict is apparent is every aspect of our existence, as we choose our thoughts, our loyalties, our beliefs, our actions, and the people we elect to represent us in government.
Which side are you on? The one about hard, true principles, about risk, reliance on Christ as Savior of our eternal souls, and the potential of unlimited progression, the one which encourages and makes possible personal development and economic prosperity even now? Or the one based on the philosophies of men (Plato, Thomas More, Thomas Hobbes, Marx, and others), all about safety, conformity, radical equality, and dependence on the arm of the flesh, on government run by whatever human beings happen to be in power?
If we as a country truly follow Christ we will prosper in the land in every way, increasing in posterity, wealth, knowledge, and godliness. If we follow Satan we forfeit our agency and will become enslaved by some means or another, decreasing in number and further declining in every way, spiritually, intellectually, economically.
May we recommend Mark Levin’s insightful books: Liberty and Tyranny and Ameritopia?
Safety and Sex
Searching the online thesaurus on WordPerfect (yes, some of us at SoL still use WP) for synonyms of the word safety, we happened upon this surprisingly short and narrow list:
refuge
guard
base hit
prophylactic
rubber
condom
safe
Wait a sec, so our culture (or the software producers who presume to represent the culture) has come to equate the general, everyday word, safety, with the trendy notion of “safe sex?” Almost half of the synonyms provided, and the only specific words, are about sex. This is really goofy for a number of reasons. First, if our software writers were about specifics, why didn’t they include fence, railing, seat belt, air bag, helmet, goggles, reflectors, and a zillion other safety items? Out of the whole world of accident prevention, why do their safety objects only refer to sex? Second, sex, however you engage in it, is serious business, prophylactic or no prophylactic. If you don’t treat it properly, rubber or no rubber, someone gets hurt in some way, that is, it isn’t safe at all when misused. Third, there is only one perfectly safe condition for sex, condom or no condom. That one condition is when it occurs between healthy, faithful, married, loving, respectful husband and wife. Fourth, there is more to sex than so-called safety. The false doctrine of safe sex promotes sex as a casual leisure activity, effectively separating it from love, marriage, family, morality, and the health and well-being of the whole person, heart, mind, and soul. Fifth, condoms aren’t even safe the way they mean it, that is in totally preventing pregnancy or sexually-transmitted diseases! What we should be talking about when it comes to safety and sex is God and His laws for morality—right vs. wrong, good vs. evil, responsibility vs. promiscuity—rather than this red herring of so-called safe sex.
This is just another of many evidences that dangerous and false notions have crept into our culture’s psyche and established themselves as conventional wisdom.
By the way, Microsoft Word’s thesaurus does not include any sex references under the word safety. Open Office does include several sex references under the word safety, even more than WordPerfect.
refuge
guard
base hit
prophylactic
rubber
condom
safe
Wait a sec, so our culture (or the software producers who presume to represent the culture) has come to equate the general, everyday word, safety, with the trendy notion of “safe sex?” Almost half of the synonyms provided, and the only specific words, are about sex. This is really goofy for a number of reasons. First, if our software writers were about specifics, why didn’t they include fence, railing, seat belt, air bag, helmet, goggles, reflectors, and a zillion other safety items? Out of the whole world of accident prevention, why do their safety objects only refer to sex? Second, sex, however you engage in it, is serious business, prophylactic or no prophylactic. If you don’t treat it properly, rubber or no rubber, someone gets hurt in some way, that is, it isn’t safe at all when misused. Third, there is only one perfectly safe condition for sex, condom or no condom. That one condition is when it occurs between healthy, faithful, married, loving, respectful husband and wife. Fourth, there is more to sex than so-called safety. The false doctrine of safe sex promotes sex as a casual leisure activity, effectively separating it from love, marriage, family, morality, and the health and well-being of the whole person, heart, mind, and soul. Fifth, condoms aren’t even safe the way they mean it, that is in totally preventing pregnancy or sexually-transmitted diseases! What we should be talking about when it comes to safety and sex is God and His laws for morality—right vs. wrong, good vs. evil, responsibility vs. promiscuity—rather than this red herring of so-called safe sex.
This is just another of many evidences that dangerous and false notions have crept into our culture’s psyche and established themselves as conventional wisdom.
By the way, Microsoft Word’s thesaurus does not include any sex references under the word safety. Open Office does include several sex references under the word safety, even more than WordPerfect.
The Gaytape Letters
To borrow from C. S. Lewis, if you were a devil-in-training, and it was your assignment to win people over to celebrating homosexuality, how would you get an individual or a family or an entire God and morality-based church to change their opinion of it?
Of course you wouldn’t dump it on your “patients” all at once; they would reject it. No, you’d introduce the concept subtly, gradually, step by step, systematically, implementing a careful strategy. You’d first gain access by exploiting some of their very own, those among them who for whatever reason experience homosexual tendencies, tempting them with ego and arming them with sophistries.
When they had become proud and public with their homosexuality, you'd let them do all the work. They would become your spokesmen. You’d teach them to charm people, to lead them gently up the garden path. You’d make them the poster boys and girls for homosexual lust, presenting it as innocent, wholesome, and harmless. You’d have them use flattery to swell the people’s pride. You’d mix in plenty of truth with your many lies to make the lies more palatable and believable. You’d appeal to the emotions. You’d focus on human relations. You’d have the people be convinced that, unlike everybody else who must fight sexual impurity, those who experience same-sex sexual lust can’t help “who they are.” You’d foment a fear of catastrophe, such as the fear that somebody will commit suicide unless their homosexuality is celebrated. You’d present great spirituality and nobility of character as compatible with affirming homosexuality as a gift from God. You’d stir people up into a knee-jerk pity, steering them away from reason and real, far-reaching compassion. You’d have your servants shame, intimidate, and spread lies about anyone who wished to expose your tactics. Once a phony, foundationless "compassion" was firmly rooted in the general population or church, you’d instigate more flattery and "dialogue"to further swell their pride in what the people have come to believe is their own open-minded goodness.
All the while, you’d make sure your patients think this kinder, gentler, more inclusive outreach to the same-sex sexually attracted in their midst is not your idea but theirs. You’d go so far as to get the proudest, most deceived, and most influential among them, the very elect, believe they are called of God to help self-proclaimed permanent homosexuals feel more comfortable within the church. You’d take them even farther by suggesting in their minds that there need be no moral or spiritual conflict between God and homosexuality, that homosexuals can live lives of faith and joy and fulfillment within the church.
As the foolish, duped souls play into your servants' hands with untiring efforts to close the gap, to come together, to make peace, to accommodate public, unrepentant homosexuals in their hearts and minds and in the church, you’ll secretly plan your next move. Now it doesn’t take much effort at all on your part to take things to the next level. And then the next, until homosexuality, along with the behaviors it comprises and the "rights" it demands, are firmly established, excused, and celebrated in most every soul’s circle of family, friends, associates, and fellow worshipers. Congratulations, you have rebuilt the twin cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. The people have forgotten God, denied Christ, and become a law unto themselves.
The I’m-gay-and-okay movement in America’s churches is more about apostasy than homosexuality, acted on or not. It’s just one of many, many ways the devil gets his foot in the door of our churches and our souls.
Of course you wouldn’t dump it on your “patients” all at once; they would reject it. No, you’d introduce the concept subtly, gradually, step by step, systematically, implementing a careful strategy. You’d first gain access by exploiting some of their very own, those among them who for whatever reason experience homosexual tendencies, tempting them with ego and arming them with sophistries.
When they had become proud and public with their homosexuality, you'd let them do all the work. They would become your spokesmen. You’d teach them to charm people, to lead them gently up the garden path. You’d make them the poster boys and girls for homosexual lust, presenting it as innocent, wholesome, and harmless. You’d have them use flattery to swell the people’s pride. You’d mix in plenty of truth with your many lies to make the lies more palatable and believable. You’d appeal to the emotions. You’d focus on human relations. You’d have the people be convinced that, unlike everybody else who must fight sexual impurity, those who experience same-sex sexual lust can’t help “who they are.” You’d foment a fear of catastrophe, such as the fear that somebody will commit suicide unless their homosexuality is celebrated. You’d present great spirituality and nobility of character as compatible with affirming homosexuality as a gift from God. You’d stir people up into a knee-jerk pity, steering them away from reason and real, far-reaching compassion. You’d have your servants shame, intimidate, and spread lies about anyone who wished to expose your tactics. Once a phony, foundationless "compassion" was firmly rooted in the general population or church, you’d instigate more flattery and "dialogue"to further swell their pride in what the people have come to believe is their own open-minded goodness.
All the while, you’d make sure your patients think this kinder, gentler, more inclusive outreach to the same-sex sexually attracted in their midst is not your idea but theirs. You’d go so far as to get the proudest, most deceived, and most influential among them, the very elect, believe they are called of God to help self-proclaimed permanent homosexuals feel more comfortable within the church. You’d take them even farther by suggesting in their minds that there need be no moral or spiritual conflict between God and homosexuality, that homosexuals can live lives of faith and joy and fulfillment within the church.
As the foolish, duped souls play into your servants' hands with untiring efforts to close the gap, to come together, to make peace, to accommodate public, unrepentant homosexuals in their hearts and minds and in the church, you’ll secretly plan your next move. Now it doesn’t take much effort at all on your part to take things to the next level. And then the next, until homosexuality, along with the behaviors it comprises and the "rights" it demands, are firmly established, excused, and celebrated in most every soul’s circle of family, friends, associates, and fellow worshipers. Congratulations, you have rebuilt the twin cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. The people have forgotten God, denied Christ, and become a law unto themselves.
The I’m-gay-and-okay movement in America’s churches is more about apostasy than homosexuality, acted on or not. It’s just one of many, many ways the devil gets his foot in the door of our churches and our souls.
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