Even as it has become more and more obvious that sexual orientation is not fixed, the idea that it is is an innate, unchangeable component of identity has already served its purpose, shifting the moral norms of society and establishing this new way of thinking about sexuality. So, today, most Americans either believe that sexual orientation is something not chosen or that it is something that should never be questioned.
This Sunday marks the beginning of Advent. It’s the season historically set aside by the Church to help believers prepare to receive the fullness of Jesus’ coming. By “Jesus’ coming,” Advent refers both to Jesus’ Incarnation and “His return as the ‘Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory,” who will “send his angels to gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.”
As the Wall Street Journal notes, quoting historian Tom Holland, “What’s happening with #MeToo is essentially an attempt to reimpose…Christian sexual morality.” Having witnessed the destruction of unrestrained sexual impulses, many are now more open to the idea that sex belongs within boundaries. The boundaries Christianity proposes, such as lifelong marriage and chastity, will seem quaint, traditional, and unrealistic. But short of these crisp, solid lines, are bad ideas bound to have victims—victims who will be asking, like Ratajkowski, “Why am I so unhappy?”
After almost ten years, the case of a small-town florist named Barronelle Stutzman has come to an end. Stutzman was targeted by the state of Washington after she declined to arrange flowers for a same-sex wedding.
Please join me in praying that this same faith will encourage and uplift Ernie Johnson, his wife, as they grieve the loss of one of their sons.
Last week, the Republican National Committee (RNC) announced the “Pride Coalition.” The coalition is a partnership with the “Log Cabin Republicans,” an organization that describes itself as “LGBT conservatives and straight allies who support fairness, freedom, and equality for all.” Although many find the move disheartening, it will only shock those who haven’t been paying attention.
For example, among the attempts to explain the Big Bang and account for our shockingly life-friendly cosmos were complicated ideas with fancy names such as vacuum fluctuation, cyclic contraction and expansion, the anthropic principle, string theory, and the multiverse. However, as philosopher of science Stephen Meyer argues, each of these explanations comes with significant baggage. In his book, The Return of the God Hypothesis, Meyer shows how these theories either require prior mathematical fine-tuning, or involve serious category errors, or else undermine the reliability of science.
Perhaps the most important lesson we can take from the embrace of Marxism is that when it comes to the ideas that populate our worldviews, it’s not enough that they sound nice and feel right. Ideas wouldn’t matter if they stayed in slogans and manifestos. But they don’t. They grow feet and hands, drive armies and policy, and have consequences for real people in the real world.
According to one Cambridge academic, permissive attitudes about sex, marriage, drugs, and religion are “luxury beliefs; more status symbols for cultural elites than blueprints for the way they live. Rob Henderson first floated the idea of “luxury beliefs” in an essay in the New York Post, later at Quillette, and most recently in a podcast. He argues that beliefs that tend to be disastrous for poor and middle-class communities have become the modern equivalent of buying expensive clothes or hiring servants. It’s a way of showing off your wealth and signaling your status to fellow members of the upper class.
Martin de Porres serves as an example of how Christians should aim to live. During his lifetime, Martin was considered a living saint. After his death, many miraculous healings were attributed to him. Through discipline in prayer and faithful service, and by avoiding distractions, he strove for faithfulness, not success.
