Like Amos in the Bible, I'm neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet. But I don't think special predictive gifts are needed to see where the institution of marriage, at least as traditionally defined, is going. Conservatives are losing one state after another on the issue of gay marriage, and even the seeming triumphs like the California Proposition 8 are, I think, just a temporary hold on the inevitable.
Why inevitable? Because our governing bodies have left behind the concept that our historic Judeo/Christian principles should have a preference in matters of the law. It's nothing new, being written into the wording of the U.S. Consitution, and legal advocates for liberalization of social standards have been busy for many years, chipping away at the old order of things like prayers in schools, protection of the unborn and Ten Commandments on the courthouse lawn.
Under our current definitions of legal rights and privileges, it seems evident to me that the gay community has as much reason to demand access to the rights of marriage as blacks have gained in the rights of citizenship, and women have gained in the rights of employment.
Without an argument from biblical values, principles and prohibitions, the only thing standing in the way of gay marriage rights in every state is the willingness of the majority to change their traditions to accomodate a new view. To the modern mind, it seems one kind of civil rights is the same as another, without regard to any religious standards. Indeed, the imposition of religious standards on legal decisions has become so offensive to the courts that decisions have been thrown out because a judge admitted "praying" about his ruling.
As with other revisions of the social code, like dress codes in public, sexual relations before marriage or vulgar language in movies, the majority has shifted in their attitudes toward gays from the time when our nation was ruled by heterosexual, Protestant, white men.
And it's not that those men were not always truly biblical in their outlook, or they would have sought civil rights for blacks sooner, like William Wilberforce did in England. Instead, the powers-that-used-to-be followed their own interpretations of morality, biblical or otherwise. And with only a traditional sense of biblical morality, as opposed to an identification of law with biblical morality, as in the days of the "established church", the concept of legal "rights" will continue to trump traditional values.
The gays are as patient as other groups have been before them, and they know that many heterosexual people, whose parents would have recoiled at the thought of gay marriage, have already decided that "love is love, no matter who you are." It's just a matter of time before the crumbling wall of resistance comes down entirely.
In that day, those committed to the authority of the Bible will look as hopelessly outdated as the Amish and their buggies. Churches are now being attacked by opponents of the California vote to turn back gay marriage rights. What will happen when the whole country finally "drinks the Kool-Aid" on this issue? I don't know, but I'm not thinking the gay community will just "agree to disagree."
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Friday, November 7, 2008
Do bullies have more fun?
"Bullies may get a kick out of seeing others in pain." So says a story in today's news, about a new study by researchers at the University of Chicago, who are basing their finding on brain scans of teens with a history of abusive behavior, recorded as these "bullies" watched videos of people being mistreated.
As a one-time target of bullies in my neighborhood, I could have saved the U. of Chicago some research dollars if they had asked me about such things. I didn't need a brain scan of my tormentors to know they were enjoying their pranks and assaults, as there was evidence enough on their faces and in their voices. And it's nothing new, as Solomon attested to such wicked pleasures when he referred to people, "Who delight in doing evil, and rejoice in the perversity of evil." (Proverbs 2:14)
The researchers said they were "surprised" by these findings, as they had assumed that bullying was a cold, unemotional pathology, not one likely to light up the brain on a scan. But that's what they get for confusing enjoyment with outward displays of emotion. I also could have helped them on that point as well, as I remember my own days of spiritual darkness (too well at times) when I practiced my personal sins with a delight that didn't always find expression in outward displays of feeling.
But there's still the chicken-and-egg question: Does bad behavior follow the tendencies of the brain or does the brain change to reflect bad behavior and the attitude behind it? Again, the Bible could help the researchers find that answer, by such statements on human actions as, "As a man thinks within himself, so he is." Proverbs 23:7
As unsettling as the truth may be to human pride and self-esteem, the Bible indicates in many ways that mankind, apart from the renewing influences of God's truth, has a capacity for evil that can't be blamed on the physical structures of the brain, nor on the environmental structures of human society. The sinful nature, so universal that Paul could rightly say, "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23), is all the explanation we need to shed light on the behavior of bullies and every other kind of bad behavior.
What's to be done? The only change for a bully, and for every sinner, is a change of heart, a new man of the spirit made possible by a rebirth in the Spirit of Jesus. Again Paul puts it so well, when he said, "Thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness." (Romans 6:17)
As a one-time target of bullies in my neighborhood, I could have saved the U. of Chicago some research dollars if they had asked me about such things. I didn't need a brain scan of my tormentors to know they were enjoying their pranks and assaults, as there was evidence enough on their faces and in their voices. And it's nothing new, as Solomon attested to such wicked pleasures when he referred to people, "Who delight in doing evil, and rejoice in the perversity of evil." (Proverbs 2:14)
The researchers said they were "surprised" by these findings, as they had assumed that bullying was a cold, unemotional pathology, not one likely to light up the brain on a scan. But that's what they get for confusing enjoyment with outward displays of emotion. I also could have helped them on that point as well, as I remember my own days of spiritual darkness (too well at times) when I practiced my personal sins with a delight that didn't always find expression in outward displays of feeling.
But there's still the chicken-and-egg question: Does bad behavior follow the tendencies of the brain or does the brain change to reflect bad behavior and the attitude behind it? Again, the Bible could help the researchers find that answer, by such statements on human actions as, "As a man thinks within himself, so he is." Proverbs 23:7
As unsettling as the truth may be to human pride and self-esteem, the Bible indicates in many ways that mankind, apart from the renewing influences of God's truth, has a capacity for evil that can't be blamed on the physical structures of the brain, nor on the environmental structures of human society. The sinful nature, so universal that Paul could rightly say, "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23), is all the explanation we need to shed light on the behavior of bullies and every other kind of bad behavior.
What's to be done? The only change for a bully, and for every sinner, is a change of heart, a new man of the spirit made possible by a rebirth in the Spirit of Jesus. Again Paul puts it so well, when he said, "Thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness." (Romans 6:17)
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
A real change, or a different kind of same?
The new president, Barack Obama, was swept into power, some say, on little more than a promise to make changes in the status quo of government and society. Whether he can actually govern in a way to bring such change is now the challenge he must face and demonstrate to both his followers and his critics. Either way, his supporters will likely feel it's better than where we've been. His critics, meanwhile, will watch to see if his promises were more than political passion and eloquence.
But just how much real change can there be in a governmental system like ours? Some have been tossing out the "S" word (Socialism) to describe how they see the proposed changes in the tax code, as if to say that would be too much change for their tastes. And a new movement of civil benefits legislation wouldn't exactly be a change from previous administrations dating back to Roosevelt and several others. President Obama would have a hard time keeping up with the flurry of welfare bills sped through Congress by LBJ, at least until Vietnam consumed his attention.
Whether Democrat or Republican, the stated purposes of elected officials has been to bring benefit to the American people, to improve their daily lives and spread the rights of our Constitution to as many as possible. As to how that may best be done, there's the difference between them. And it always seems that each side accuses the other of being wrong-headed in their respective methods. But is either method a real change, or just a different kind of same?
A real change would be to alter the landscape of human endeavor altogether, to one centered on God's plan for humanity, instead of one focused on material and social goals entirely of this world's making. As long as mankind's objectives are aimed at a more satisfying life for men, there will be endless arguments about just what that means and how to get there. But if we were to take our cue from our Creator and Savior, Jesus Christ, we would realize there's a lot more to life than living.
There will be a new man in the White House come next January 20th, but, I'm grateful to remember, there will be still be the same God on the throne of the universe. And someday, when God has decided to bring that "new heaven and new earth" He's promised to those who trust and obey Him, now that will be a change we can believe in!
But just how much real change can there be in a governmental system like ours? Some have been tossing out the "S" word (Socialism) to describe how they see the proposed changes in the tax code, as if to say that would be too much change for their tastes. And a new movement of civil benefits legislation wouldn't exactly be a change from previous administrations dating back to Roosevelt and several others. President Obama would have a hard time keeping up with the flurry of welfare bills sped through Congress by LBJ, at least until Vietnam consumed his attention.
Whether Democrat or Republican, the stated purposes of elected officials has been to bring benefit to the American people, to improve their daily lives and spread the rights of our Constitution to as many as possible. As to how that may best be done, there's the difference between them. And it always seems that each side accuses the other of being wrong-headed in their respective methods. But is either method a real change, or just a different kind of same?
A real change would be to alter the landscape of human endeavor altogether, to one centered on God's plan for humanity, instead of one focused on material and social goals entirely of this world's making. As long as mankind's objectives are aimed at a more satisfying life for men, there will be endless arguments about just what that means and how to get there. But if we were to take our cue from our Creator and Savior, Jesus Christ, we would realize there's a lot more to life than living.
There will be a new man in the White House come next January 20th, but, I'm grateful to remember, there will be still be the same God on the throne of the universe. And someday, when God has decided to bring that "new heaven and new earth" He's promised to those who trust and obey Him, now that will be a change we can believe in!
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