Monday, March 27, 2017

Scripture Spin--What a Ride!

It makes you dizzy. It addles the brain. The ground underfoot dissolves. There is no foundation. Thoughts are confounded. That's scripture spin.

It's almost funny what lengths people will go to in order to reinvent the gospel of Jesus Christ to fit the sophistries and sexual immorality of the day. Our culture is in a state of free-fall right now, because of the ubiquitous internet, pervasive and persuasive social media, the radical individualistic, self-centered, sexually permissive spirit of the times, and the intimidation, misinformation, and fear showered on those standing for truth and righteousness. Again we say, sin is as old as mankind. What's new right now is the embrace of bad ideas and sins as if these are a person's identity, the ignoring and censoring of truth regarding the dangers of bad ideas and sins, the praise and celebration of badness, the abandoning of God's timeless proven standards and the reinstituting of arbitrary, inconsistent, and contradictory new standards that have no foundation but what somebody or other said 5 minutes ago. 

Warnings against such developments are not only seen throughout Holy Scripture but throughout the best literature mankind has produced.

"O that cunning plan of the evil one! O the vainness, and the frailties, and the foolishness of men! When they are learned [from the internet] they think they are wise [prideful know-it-alls] , and they hearken not unto the counsel of God [the scriptures], for they set it [God's Word] aside, supposing they know of themselves [pushing their own prideful, self-serving ideas on everyone else], wherefore, their wisdom is foolishness [they aren't smart at all; they are fools] and it profiteth them not. And they perish [physically/ mentally/ spiritually]."  2 Nephi 9:28

"Professing themselves to be wise they became fools [ignoring God and believing whatever the world espouses at the moment]". Romans 1:22


C. S. Lewis said the same thing in his own words. Read The Abolition of Man, a slim volume full of real wisdom based on God's standards for human thought and behavior.  Once God is given up (or spun beyond recognition) there is no limit for human behavior. Without God, all is permitted, wrote Dostoevsky. Because mankind too often proves nonbenevolent toward mankind---in a big way---as in people seizing power who have no business seizing power---this sort of thing inevitably ends badly for everybody.

It seems the only vice still somewhat perceived as a vice by most people is the sexual abuse of children. But please note that even this horrendous evil is being softened. Once you give in on one evil, it is easy to give in on the next. As you read this the greedy and perverse are producing child porn and snuff films, courts are becoming more lenient with child rapists, pedophilia is finding a respected niche in society, and child abduction into sex slavery is rampant worldwide.It all comes of abandoning God's standards. Those who cheer on abortion and homosexualism and the like are responsible for the rising tide of criminal child sexualization. And those who do nothing to stop all of these evils are guilty as well.

It comes down to God's wisdom versus man's foolishness. Sexual purity in not rocket science. Responsibility for procreation is not rocket science. Valuing and protecting human posterity is not rocket science. Current ideas about sex, abortion, and homosex are based on pure selfishness, convenience, superficiality, worldliness, even brutality. God's laws are based on unselfishness, responsibility, depth of thought, everlasting truths, and goodness.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is plain and precious. Worldly ways are the opposite of God's ways: alphabet-soup-complicated and a dime-a-dozen.  People who wrest the scriptures, that is, twist, spin, or reinterpret them to fit current popular worldly notions are the foolish talked about in the scriptures. We are to love God first. That includes obeying His laws because we love Him. The more we love God the more we will truly love others, as Jesus loves.That's not as human beings commonly love. It's like Jesus loves us, with our eternal welfare foremost.

Loving God means humility. It means decency. It means intellectual honesty.

Scripture spin is none of those.

Sunday, March 26, 2017

Coming Out is An Excuse Part 2

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Coming Out is an Excuse for Very Bad Behavior":

Coming out is what allowed me to begin healing and come back into the church and gain a stronger testimony than I ever had before.

No, I don't have sex with men. I awknowledge the feelings I have and I am open and honest obout how I feel. The idea that I should hide this part of me is unbelievably damning.

Only by stepping into the light with this have I been able to find peace and healing.

Your rhetoric here is incredibly hurtful. Trying to to cry here at work while I read this.



Dear Anon,

First of all, thank you for reading our blog and sharing your feelings. But we wonder why you read it if it hurts you and makes you want to cry. No one is forcing you to read a single word of this little-known blog. But you do. That right there shows some doubt and trouble in your life. Perhaps deep down you aren't quite as sure of your choices as you boast. Also, the truth does hurt. Christ said he came to bring a sword. He's a spiritual heart surgeon, not a massage therapist. So keep reading. If it hurts, it might be because you know it's true.

Second, bless your heart, what are you "healing" from? We certainly hope it's not some horrific abuse of any kind. You see, we care about you. Did people label you falsely and unkindly? Did you make the mistake of believing them? Were your thoughts and actions conflicting with what you had been taught? Were some secret things you had been preoccupied with weighing on you? You should do some digging to find out why these things were so hurtful as to now feel they must be healed.

Furthermore, how does "coming out," as in unrepentantly announcing you are permanently "gay," heal anything? It is an excuse, not just for lust and bad behavior but for ignoring or mischaracterizing things that occurred in the past. Did you think coming out as gay would erase your past problems? Did you think coming out would excuse these lusts you're entertaining? Well, it won't do anything of the kind. Coming out only masks worse problems and enables you further on this rebellious and destructive path. It keeps you from having to examine very real events and problems. For your info, people having surgical, hormonal sex "changes" are being found to be even more miserable and messed up than they were before, and four times more likely to commit suicide than the general population. In the not very long run, claiming these endless new sex "identities"  only makes things worse."With encouragement and recognition comes escalation" (CSI Cyber, 2015).

 And what exactly does church mean to you? Human relations? Meetings? Programs? Service? Family?  Because that's not what church is primarily for. It's to discuss the welfare of our immortal souls. It's to teach us of God, Christ, and the Holy Ghost and their great demands on us. It's to remind us we are sinners and need to repent. It's to increase our faith that Christ is the only means whereby we can be saved. So what exactly is your testimony about? An earthly institution? Some motions to go through? Being popular? Feeling good about yourself? Habits? Culture?

Third, let's think about what coming out really does. It lets people know you are the equivalent of what is now thought of as "gay," meaning attracted sexually to your own sex. So why do people need to know this? Especially if you are not going to act out, who cares? Is it pity you want? Is it attention? If so, you should wonder why. Normal healthy humble people don't crave pity or special attention from others. What's more, most people don't go sharing their inmost private feelings with the world, especially their sexual feelings, which sexual feelings come and go and aren't all that important in the daily scheme of things. In other words, most people aren't preoccupied with their sexual feelings. They school their sexual feelings and thoughts to keep them within the boundaries God has set. They don't identify themselves to the world by their particular sexual feelings at the time. Why do you feel compelled to tell the world about your particular out-of-bounds sexual feelings?  Any single straight person, or anybody, could do the same. Look at me, I'm single and I'm attracted to the opposite sex! That's who I am! It's my identity! Oh, I'm so relieved now that I've told everyone about my sexuality! See how silly that is? All it sounds like is an excuse to be lewd and objectify people. If the world weren't so completely oversexed and gay-friendly, wouldn't you think that coming out publicly in this sexual way was very strange behavior? It certainly would have been thought strange, especially among church-goers, ten, even five, years ago.

And if people don't think gay means homosexual lust and sex, they are deceiving themselves. 

We think, in spite of the whitewashing homosexualism gets today, many supposed gay people soon learn what they are really involved in and coming out may often be a cry for help. Deep down. Unless the person's conscience has been seared. Otherwise coming out without the behaviors makes no sense. It's like a person doing everything it takes to be a doctor and coming out as a doctor, but never intending to practice anything he has learned. Or a dancer. Or an alcoholic. Whatever. Anyone who claims some particular identity that involves certain behaviors to make it real, has, or intends to, make it real. Do you see how there is no reason to call yourself gay if you don't act that way? But of course you have acted out to some degree, if only in your mind, and now by coming out. It's a meaningless label unless you are preoccupied with same-sex sex. And why does anybody need to know that, unless you want gay sexual associations and everyone to go along. Or again, it could be that deep down you'd like some help ridding yourself of this addiction . . . but you're not saying that.

If people thought it through they'd see that coming out is just a way to tell people you have unnatural lusts and everybody has to know that and treat you, what, differently?  In what way? Accept your gayness, without caring about the very real risks and dangers? Praise you for your sexual lusts? Comfort you because you are "celibate?" (Lots of people are or should be celibate: young people, single people, widows and widowers, in fact everyone except married adult people, and we don't hear them being lauded.) Are people supposed to not ask you if you're dating or married? You can't answer that question like everyone else can? You can't say, "No, I'm not married," without some sort of break-down or explanation or justification? Why not? It's quite pathetic and we are very sorry you are troubled with such intense overwhelming self-consciousness and sexual feelings and thoughts. But the truth is, you are not the center of the world and you can change those thoughts and feelings. People change their thoughts and feelings every day, sexual thoughts and feelings included.There are people who can help. There is the gospel that can change our wishes and inclinations and desires and make us new creatures in Christ.

Fourth, you say you do not have sex with other men. How do you define sex? Is porn, internet chatting, and phone sex involved?  How about flirting, sex talk, holding hands, making out? Is  masturbation part of your life?  Or mutual masturbation? Do you mean presently? Or not yet? We hope you don't ever, or don't anymore. Please note the long list on our previous post of common gay behaviors. You only denied one of those---in the present tense. And you didn't deny all the rest. All are dangerous to your health and welfare. It's a dark world entirely. A dark lifestyle. See our past post, Gay, Naughty or Nice.

You see, we know you have a history in homosexualism, and you have not denied it. People just don't get to where you are and go to the trouble of coming out and insist they have found "healing" and "peace" unless they have some erotic homosexual experiences they wish to explain or excuse or vindicate, as per that long list we posted, and more. Where in the scriptures, of which you seem to say you have a stronger testimony, is it written that we will find healing and peace by embracing and broadcasting our lusts?

Again, thanks for reading. We hope and pray you will rethink your choices and perceptions. Perhaps what you are experiencing is a relief from your efforts at secrecy and a searing of your conscience, that's all. In our sexually permissive society today it is easy and acceptable to rationalize sin. And secrecy is exhausting, so we see how you are finding a bit of general temporary relief there. We all know that coming out is to be encouraged and accepted today, even in churches and among churchy people, no questions asked. So there may be some temporary comfort and validation there, too, along with some congratulations and all the "love"toward gays that's being so greatly effused. But chances are you still have some big secrets and conflicts. You know it and God knows  it. Let's not forget that conscience is a good thing; it's another name for the Holy Ghost. The only shame is in having no shame, wrote Pascal.

Even though you have been on a strange road, we think there is great hope for you. You are not stuck in this. You can get to the roots of your problems. You can confess your human sinfulness to the Lord and to any carefully selected person or persons who can truly help you. Christ offers repentance and the mighty change of heart---if we desire it. He offers to wash us clean of our sins. The Lord's solutions work. We are great sinners but he is a great Savior. That's the healing and peace Christ talked about. 

All the best to you and may the Lord bless you in righteousness. 

Monday, March 20, 2017

Coming Out is an Excuse for Very Bad Behavior

We hear all these glowing stories about young people coming out to their families and the families opening their arms in nonjudgmental "love." Apparently once they "come out" it's a done deal. But it certainly shouldn't be. At this point several questions should be asked if the families really care about the young person. These include:

How has his normal sexual development been hijacked?
Did someone sexually abuse him as a youngster?
Was there peer abuse?
Does he masturbate?
Where did he get these ideas?
What has he been thinking about?
What has he been reading?
Gay books, periodicals, web sites, blogs?
Is advocacy of homosexuality happening at his school?
Pro-gay "days," teachers, clubs, counseling?
What has he been looking at?
Pro-gay movies and shows?
Sex, sex, and more sex?
Same-sex pornography?
Is he making his own same-sex porn?
Where has he been going?
Gay-affirming groups, gay pride parades, gay sex workshops, gay bars?
Who has he been talking to, online or in person?
What risky/dangerous/illegal behaviors has he been involved with?
Alcohol? Drugs? Smoking?
Phone sex? Chat rooms?
Cross-dressing? Bath houses?
Anonymous sex in public rest rooms?
Cruising? Bromances? Gaycations?
Chem-sex orgies? Crystal meth?
Who has he been seeing?
Has he had sexual encounters with older men?
Who initiated him? How many? Where?
Is he involved in child sex abuse (pedophilia)?
Or seduction of younger males (pederasty)?
Has he been tested for HIV/AIDS?
If he had HIV would he care if he spread it to others?

Ask the young person you know who has become emboldened to the point of coming out. Ask him (or her) if they do or have done any of these things. If they are the least bit honest they will admit involvement with at least some of the above. 

It takes a lot of bad thinking and/or a lot of bad behavior, and great loss of innocence and moral sensibility to publicly come out as what is now called gay. You have to be, sexual morality-wise at least, what the scriptures say "past feeling."

Parents and families and leaders should know that this type of sexuality has to be fed. It is pornographic in nature. Stimulation must increase to maintain excitement. It's highly addictive and dangerous. Young people get their information from the internet. Young people use internet porn to "confirm" that porn of this or that type turns them on. Porn keeps their sexuality unnaturally and perversely inflamed. (Of course enough exposure to anything sexual can be arousing to anyone.)

What is the matter with parents and leaders that they don't seem to care that these are the things that teach a person homosexuality? How else would they learn it? Like the old song says, children live what they learn.

We wonder if parents and leaders would still show all this acceptance and love and compassion and understanding to a kid who confessed and made pubic some really nasty and perhaps illegal gay and gay-related stuff he had done. Apparently they would rather cover up their eyes, ears, and mouths like monkeys, and hope that kind of behavior isn't happening. But it is. Oh yes, it is. And it's probably all over their facebook page or blog. This is not a time to be scandalized or squeamish.

So. Instead of confessing all these bad obsessive thoughts and behaviors that would turn their parents' hair white, the proud, unrepentant, and very messed up younger people involved in this filthy stuff cover their sins by "coming out." It's trendy. It's popular. Everybody has drunk the koolaid. They've been conditioned. If indoctrinated and harangued and badgered and mocked and shamed enough most everybody will give into the false notion that gayness can't be argued with or changed. If they announce they are gay, that's the end of it. The young gay person is supposed to know everything about sex and sexuality, while their parents, who have a lifetime of experience, are ignorant, unenlightened morons. No, there is no scientific explanation or medical diagnosis. In fact, there is plenty that says there's no such thing. But no matter. You just have to believe what the inexperienced, messed-up, young person says, that he is "gay," which also happens to be a very popular and politicized trend at the moment. The unrepentant person knows if he comes out as gay he has a green light to think and do whatever he wants unhindered. But oh, well. Have to accept it.

No, you don't.

We didn't accept it. Our kid didn't accept it. He wasn't past feeling yet. He was unhappy and conflicted. He wanted out. He wanted to be the decent person people thought he was. He was humbled. So instead of "coming out" he privately confessed his bad behaviors--everything--, got his LDS mission call cancelled, got proper counseling, and repented, all the while suffering embarrassment and questions and shunning and lectures and rejection in almost every aspect of his life.  And we supported him because it was right and brave; and his whole life, and the life to come, depended on it.(No, he hadn't gone "all the way" but there are plenty of bad things you can read, look at, listen to, lust, do, and have done to you short of that.)

Instead of coming out he confessed. Instead of coming out he repented. Instead of coming out he increased his faith in Christ. Instead of coming out he forsook his sins. Instead of coming out he changed his mind. He found the love of his life. He got married. He has kids. He is living a normal, healthy, productive, faithful life.

Whose future is more bright? The kid who came out to the world, whom everybody pretends isn't thinking or doing anything wrong or risky, who gets indulged and coddled and pandered to, whom the world loves to love? Or the kid who privately confessed and repented of his sins, is living a healthy life, loves the Lord, and whom his family genuinely respects and admires?

Which way is the Lord's way?

We say "coming out" is a way to excuse, validate, and celebrate very bad lusts and acts. Coming out is a way to force others not to question your very bad choices. Coming out is a way to shut people up if they wonder that you are involved in some very bad behaviors. Who on earth but gays gets such a pass?

It's not just a coming out, it's an out. And nobody should accept it.


Saturday, March 18, 2017

A Tale of Two Families

March 16, 2017, the LDS Church published on its Mormon Channel which appears on YouTube "The Mackintosh's [sic] Story-A Son Comes Out and a Family Loves."

Contrast this to the title of Janice's first book on this topic: My Darling From the Lions, A Boy Falls to Homosexuality, A Mother Turns to God, A Family is Changed Forever. 

Some think there are only two reactions to a child coming out as gay: rejection or love. But both reactions are based on false narratives. What usually happens is not really rejection and not really love. Neither of these are the Lord's solution.

The first family above decides to just "love" the child involved in homosexuality. So they didn't love their child before? When did they stop loving their child? Any mother should take exception to that. Of course it's not love they are talking about. It's acceptance of the sinful mindset. It's not just affection for the person but acceptance of the sin/lifestyle, too. Really? Acceptance of a very risky lifestyle/sin is some wonderful new kind of love? Where in the scriptures does it say that? Indeed, in the end the parents do accept homosexuality---as their son's immutable identity. How cruel is that? These are people who know better (see the Family Proclamation) pretending a despicable, age-old vice is somehow a young person's identity. In addition, there is no evidence that the parents care how he got there, if there was/is abuse or pornography, or what consequences there will be for his high-risk behavior. (See The Health Hazards of Homosexuality, a new, very fat book.) This isn't rocket technology. It's common sense. What is more, they don't seem to care at all about his future, including the welfare of his immortal soul. Doesn't sound like real love, does it? It's looks more like condemning their "loved one" to a miserable hedonistic future and eternal doom.

Now the rejection scenario. What may often happen in the rejection narrative is something like the parents taking any kind of stand against homosexual conduct (internet pornography and filthy communications are always a big part of it) or using any kind of tough love, whereupon the misbehaving kid mischaracterizes that as rejection and whines to the gay community and anyone else who will listen that he's been "kicked out." And this gets back to the Church---apparently the gay community has the Church's ear. Truth be told, the child chooses to leave the home of his own accord because he refuses to abide by the house rules. Kids themselves aren't being rejected. It's just the bad behaviors being called out. They don't like that. And there could be some emotional or mental illness in there, too, that is being ignored.

The trendy new idea of homosexuality being an identity (which has zero scientific or scriptural support) instead of what it is---an age-old sin of abominable lusts and behaviors--- has completely blind-sided just about everybody. If you believe that unlike every other sin this particular sin is who a person is and they can't help what they think, feel, and do, then of course you have to either accept the horrible behaviors along with the person, or reject the person himself. It's a no-win and a false and dangerous notion.

Of course there is one solution that works better than anything else. The second family above chooses the Lord's solutions. It turns to God and changes from the inside out. There's all sorts of repentance going on. There's all sorts of humility and reliance on the Savior and loving God more than anything or anyone else. When he finally hits bottom the boy voluntarily asks for and gets help and overcomes these wrong thoughts and feelings. He repents. He learns to redirect his thoughts and desires. He goes on to live a normal life. The whole family learns about fallen human nature, sin, Christ, repentance, redemption, and God's love. Everything important.The whole family learns how to APPLY the gospel of Jesus Christ.

See the difference? The first family's reaction is purely sociological, shallow, self-interested,pseudo-religious, and focused in the earthly moment with no thought of the future and very real risks and dangers for the individual.The second family's reaction is gospel-based, humble, repentant, God and Christ-centered, spiritually-focused, and about the overall well-being of the individual.

But even without religion playing any part, a family could care enough about the person on a health and well-being basis to root out the trouble, get educated, and offer to help their son get straightened out. It's common sense. It's biology. It's reality. It's about his future health and happiness, if only temporal.

For all intents and purposes the son in the first family won everybody over to his worldview. He left his faith and continues behaving badly. The second family came to Christ, virtue triumphed, and miracles happened all around. 

Make of this what you will: The first family gets to tell its story with the Church authority behind it. Stories like the second family's are not allowed. 

Think of all the families who see this Church video and the Deseret News article that accompanies it and think it's what they are supposed to do (against their conscience and better judgment) and so decide to mimic these ideas and actions. Think of all the young men being encouraged in homosexuality by their thoughtless families and by their church. What is encouraged will increase. Has anybody considered that there may be a humble, confused, suffering person out there who is not yet past feeling, who knows inside that what he's gotten himself into is really wrong, and who would love some encouragement on how to overcome these miserable unwanted feelings and habits? Where is the acceptance and love for him? There isn't any! Because it's politically incorrect! Because the world wouldn't like it! Because everybody appears to be brainwashed.

What these parents need to accept is that their son is currently a lost soul and apparently they are wandering, too. Accepting your child as gay and turning a blind eye to his sullied soul and his dangerous behavior and his unhappy future is the easy worldly way. How about separating his infinite worth from his sins? How about loving the sinner but not loving the sin? Yes, it's possible! How about standing firm in your knowledge of right and wrong, truth and error, and man's fallen condition? How about turning to God, repenting yourself, and seeking the Spirit for guidance continually? Now that's hard. Your kid won't like it. Lots of people here in Sodom where we now live won't like it. And yet that's what we're supposed to do.That's what the gospel and the scriptures and God and the Spirit and real parenting and even plain old common sense say to do.

Notice how there is never anything published these days about overcoming/repenting from homosexuality, nor are help or encouragement or even warnings offered. The lesson we are supposedly being taught from the above video and others like it? Just love. Just serve. It's outward appearances and performances that matter. It's families getting along that matters. It's the here and now that matters. There is to be no talk of heaven or hell. No calling to repentance. No testifying of Christ. No Christ as Savior from sin. No true religiosity.

Are you sufficiently outraged and disappointed? We hope so. Because if you are outraged and disappointed at these developments it's a sign of your nearness to God and goodness and truth.

The Deseret News  article is in the "Faith" section of the Mormon Church-owned newspaper. Doesn't sound like faith to us, unless your faith is not in God but in human beings and giving in to whatever your inexperienced, ignorant kids do so you can feel temporarily comfortable. Remember what C. S. Lewis wrote, anything worshiped other than God becomes a demon.

There are many comments on the video/article. Most are gay-affirming. Here are the comments we sent which are posted on the online comments section of the Deseret News article March 16, 2017. (We're actually really surprised they published them.) This one is Janice's:

"When these shallow pro-gay coming-out stories are told we never hear the dark backstory. Parents and leaders should care that underneath what you see is a pornographic, cyberspace, predatory, sex-addicted, narcissistic, phony, dead-end mindset and lifestyle. Many years ago in his teens my child was involved in homosexuality. The sinning was exciting, but he knew it was wrong and eventually, with the right help, got himself out. His authentic heart-wrenching story and Christ-centered beliefs are regularly recharacterized, dismissed, and met with hateful resistance, even threats. Interesting that the world-- and the church-- have zero love and acceptance and praise when it comes to stories like my son’s."


Me Tarzan, You JaneCaptain of my Soul by Aaron S. GrantBy the way, the Mormon Church and its entities, including BYU, Deseret News, Deseret Book, KSL TV, over the years has had many opportunities to tell our son's (and probably other people's) story. It has been summarily rejected time and time again by the powers that be. So we started our website, publishing company, and this blog. We are also on the radio Thursday mornings 10-noon, K-TALK 630 on your AM, available live online and an app for your phone. See our son's excellent book endorsed by LDS experts, Captain of My Soul and our other books with the gospel worldview on tidalwavebooks.com . Free on our website is the text of Me Tarzan, You Jane for the youngest children.

Here is Steve's comment:

"This is not a lifelong sentence for Xian. We all are tempted and are called on by Jesus to repent. These outside-of-God's-law feelings and desires can be schooled and overcome and left behind permanently. Jesus does love Xian, as he loves us all. But he loves us enough to invite us to repent and experience the mighty change of heart, not give in to the doctrines of the world. When he comes to the point where he would like help, have him find a good therapist who helps people desiring to change. He can be helped to leave his homosexual desires and behaviors behind."

Hey everybody, keep the faith, the real faith. No matter what people are saying or what the Church is doing for its own reasons, the real faith is still there if we want it.

Saturday, March 4, 2017

The Pope: Because We Are Too Many

Okay. Here at SoL we are frrrreaking out today. This is why. According to Lifesitenews.com, and as reported on Fox News, at a Vatican-run workshop at the Vatican on March 3, 2017 a panelist said this: "Pope Francis has urged us to have fewer children to make the world more sustainable." The article continues with more disturbing statements from the conference that sound alarmingly socialist and even genocidal. A paper read at the conference promotes forced abortion and mass forced sterilization as a means to reduce the world's population.

There is so much wrong with this we don't know where to begin. Let's just work on the Pope's alleged pronouncement. Apparently he is worried about the sustainability of the natural world God created for us, which sounds like he doesn't have much faith. He also obviously doesn't care that Christians having less children and Muslims having more children will amount to the voluntary extinction of Christianity! He doesn't sound very religious at all, does he?

Besides the fact that mainstream science doesn't have much understanding at all of the sustainability of the natural world and touts a bunch of outdated and politicized theories that have no evidentiary support, has any Christian Church ever said such a thing? We think not. Not only does this run totally contrary to the Catholic Church's basic tenets (prohibiting birth control!--and let's admit that any form of limiting children is a form of birth control), it also shows that the Church intends to replace biblical tenets to "multiply and replenish the earth" with secular progressive propaganda that the world cannot sustain human life and doesn't have "enough and to spare." He is in essence saying that children, that is, human beings, that is human posterity, is not more valuable than any other type of life and  are not the most valuable resource the world has. This is a huge about-face from the wisdom of the ages, Holy Scripture, and the most basic of human values, which is to cherish and promote human posterity. Think about it. This is the stuff of paganism, nihilism, Communism.

We shouldn't be surprised. We live in a world where many people care more about the here and the now and their own selfish pleasures than anything beyond themselves. It's a world that brutally destroys its unborn, makes money on pornography, sodomizes marriage, has turned sex into casual promiscuous entertainment, increasingly sexualizes and abuses children, makes porn available and attractive to children, sells young people and children into sex slavery, and more, all of which are anti-posterity, anti-children, anti-family, anti-goodness, and anti-God in nature and purpose. It's a world that devalues the right things and values the wrong things, to put it mildly.

Oh, but there's even more wrong with this secular progressive, anti-humanity, pagan Pope. Has anyone ever read Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy? In it the little children overhear their parents  talking about how hard life is and how they are struggling to make ends meet. The result? They find their three darling and beloved children having hanged themselves in a closet, leaving a note to their parents, "because we are too many." This part of the book is so tragic it's almost impossible to read.

Does the Pope think his words won't affect anybody who is now living? Any poor family? Or any family who even thinks it should have more money or should leave less of a carbon footprint? Any children who might see their parents working hard to provide for them? Talk about inciting abortion,  democide, genocide, and perhaps even suicide! What couple is going to want children, what child is going to feel his true worth, after hearing such words from such an authority figure? It seems we're all supposed to feel guilty for existing! What a scrooge this Pope turns out to be. Remember what Dickens has Mr. Scrooge say back in the 1800s about what a good thing it would be to "decrease the surplus population?"How can there be a surplus of God's children? Any problems can be best dealt with  by using our heads and hearts, knowledge and charity, i.e. the spirit of the Lord.

As Tolkien wrote, "What new devilry is this?" Yes, but well, it isn't new. What's new is who is touting it. The leader of the Catholic Church, the biggest Christian church in the world.  Having rejected God, the world is lost in contradiction and uncertainty about, of all things, the value of human beings: who is valuable, when they are valuable, why they are valuable, and how many are valuable.

The world is a very wicked place, not because there are wicked people in it, but because even goodish people do nothing. Sad to say, we are so far beyond this. In this case, and many other cases, the "good people" have actually switched sides and are proactively encouraging the wickedness.

In our family we're in the middle of welcoming and helping with our 24th grandchild, the sweetest little thing you ever saw. Jesus said, "Suffer the little children to come unto me." The word "suffer" means allow. How anti-Christ this world has become that it disallows, discourages, and even destroys, human posterity in every possible way!