I've got a penis and I like women

I'm a Christian, and I'm pretty conservative when it comes to sexuality. (NB; I did not use so I'm pretty conservative, I used and.) I'm a fan of monogamous marriage - one woman and one man. I'm a supporter of abstinence, and I think the practice of heterosexuality is natural, whereas the practice of homosexuality is not.

I don't support bullying, discrimination, intolerance or exclusion. I consider myself to be a rational person with moderate and balanced views. I don't believe I think of myself more highly than I should, nor more lowly. I'm respectful and I have an open mind, but...

Some things just make sense to me that don't make sense to others, and vice-verca. For example, I cannot understand why some Christians make such a fuss about homosexuality when my Bible clearly says that homosexuality, fornication, adultery and dishonesty (among other things) are all one and the same: sin. Excluding practicing homosexuals from the church because they are sinners should logically mean that we exclude everyone from church because we are all sinners. Who decided that homosexual fornication was worse than heterosexual fornication? Who decided that promiscuity was worse than fornication? Who decided that adultery was worse than lying? (Those two always go hand in hand by the way -always.)

Having said that, I don't think two men having sex is natural, nor two women. I may feel attracted to other men, or women, appreciating their appearance or their personality, but that doesn't mean I want to have sex with them. I can love, and I do love other men, but I don't want to have sex with them. I've got a penis and I like women. The penis and the vagina are designed for each other. Yes, designed. I'm a Christian, and I believe in intelligent design.

Take two identical cars. The designer -remembering that even simple machines don't happen by accident, let alone the most complex machine we know of: the human - recommends a certain kind of fuel be used in the car in order to achieve optimal engine performance and longevity. So, car number 1 has its tank filled according to specifications, while car number 2 receives a tankful of cheap, low quality fuel. Now the two cars will be driven for the same length of time, at the same speed, in exactly the same conditions -sorry naturalists, but in this analogy I have removed all elements of chance. It is a totally controlled environment. Two identical cars: one has good fuel, the other has bad fuel. Get the picture?

God has created us and given us all we need to, with apologies to Vulcans, live long and prosper. The designer's guide book is readily available. All we need do is follow it.

If only it were that simple...maybe it is. Maybe we have just become super efficient at complicating, and therefore, ruining our lives and the lives of others. Maybe we keep filling ourselves with bad fuel. Maybe we should worry less about other people's sins and concentrate on our own. Maybe there's a better way.

We all fall short

"Men can act brutally under certain circumstances, but their conscience pursues them.Certainly there are men to whom love, sympathy and conscience are alien, but they are mentally ill." (The Biology of Peace and War)

Mental ill or evil? I believe that given the right set of circumstances, anyone of us is capable of behaving in a way which we would not have thought possible. We can't say for sure how we would act if such and such an event happened, or if we were caught in a particular situation. We can suppose and hope for action commensurate with our character, but who knows? People both overestimate and underestimate themselves frequently.

Some people who do bad things are clearly mentally unwell, while others are evidently bad people. We all have the potential for good and evil. How many evil deeds are required for a person to be deemed evil? Do acts of charity and selflessness wipe out the stain of what Christians call 'sin'? Who decides who is a good person and who is a bad person? Who has enough knowledge to make such a judgement?

We have all fallen short of the Glory of God.

O is for Original Sin

“Wittaya used people the way his father had used tools. He remembered watching the man work and marveling at his artistry, his concentration. He could be awesomely focused in times of sobriety. Each tool brought to bear on the blank canvass of a piece of wood for a specific purpose, a limited time, then discarded and ignored until need once more. The finished product, a carving of breathtaking beauty for which men paid good money. Although possessing no such skill as a woodworker, Wittaya considered himself an artist in his own right.  He had a team of people upon whom he could call, but who were forbidden to trouble him even if they did possess such temerity. His favours were only ever gifts to be received according to his whim. The outsider may have seen caprice, but the superficial randomness masked engineering. Manipulation.”  

from chapter 11, Ashmore Grief

Pride is the original sin. According to the Bible it was pride which led Adam to disobey God’s command in the garden, and partake of the Forbidden fruit which then saw him and his wife, Eve, cast out of paradise. It was pride which saw Lucifer exiled from heaven along with a third of the heavenly host who thought to raise themselves above their creator. 

Pride makes a man declare independence from God and from others. I am enough. I can do it myself. Have you met a self made person? Have you heard their tales of triumph over the obstacles the world has thrown in their path? Pride rejects help even when it is needed. Pride doesn’t acknowledge other contributions to success. Pride justifies immoral or unethical actions. Pride audaciously declares, “I am the most important person in the world.” Pride focuses attention on the self. The ego becomes the master.

In Ashmore Grief, pride drives Wittaya Keawwanna. He dresses his pride in altruism, but his ambition is fuelled by a darkness which causes him to function with deliberate ruthlessness. The Proverbs tell us that pride goes before a fall...what calamity awaits Wittaya?

When has pride caused you to fall from grace?

Magical Band-Aids

A child's first choice for the treatment of a minor injury, even if there is no bleeding, is often a Band-aid. Especially effective are ones with cartoon characters on them. These plastic strips don't have magical powers. Although they can assist the healing process by preventing infection, they can't take away the pain or heal the wound. But children think they can.

The world's first choice answer to most of the problems confronting it today? Band-aids. The two most popular Band-aids are education and legislation. Like plastic strips, these two can do some good, but neither of them is a panacea. If increased knowledge and awareness was the solution to all our problems on the road for example, then nobody would speed, or drive drunk. If education was the answer to society's addictions then nobody would abuse alcohol, use illicit drugs or smoke cigarettes.

We make laws, or increase the punishments for breaking existing laws to deter wrongdoing, and to protect people, but are we living in a peaceful and crime free society?

What education and legislation, with their lofty 'save the world' ambition, fail to recognize is the root cause of all problems. People chose and always have done, to do wrong regardless of what they know to be right, and regardless of any law prohibiting it. Society is terminally ill with the cancer of sin. Trying to educate or legislate sin out of people is like applying Band-aids to broken limbs. It is a mark of immaturity that we place so much faith in Band-aids.

I believe that only Jesus Christ can ultimately and truly heal society's disease. Our broken hearts need His love, forgiveness and grace.

Photograph sources
www.drugstore.com
http://handcuffedtogod.blogspot.com.au/

The Need for God

There are numerous misconceptions about Christianity which are held to with religious fervour by members of society. One popular view sees Christianity as a set of restrictive rules and regulations presided over by a cosmic killjoy. In another, a person says they are a Christian because they try to do what is right, and not hurt people. Both of these views should be completely rejected as false by Christians.

Recently I heard a new and interesting theory on what constitutes religion. This young lady, a lapsed Roman Catholic, said to me she believed she was religious, or even Christian in her case, because she sinned and religion depends on sin. She reasoned that if she was not committing any sin, she would have no need to confess and therefore no need of religion.

I told her that I believe religion is based on need and to suit my purpose here, I am referring to both good and bad religion (Jesus talked quite clearly about both). Men have always looked to something or someone bigger and more powerful than themselves for answers, for meaning and direction in their lives. Honest men have always felt and still do feel, overwhelmed at times by the the enormity and complexity of the world around them, and the various problems which have faced them.

Only when a person hits rock bottom, when everything else they have is stripped of value, when they feel lost and realize their desperate need for salvation, will they look up and see their Saviour: Jesus Christ.

I'm not telling you that you have to become a Christian, even though I would like you to, but I am asking you to accept the facts about Christianity. Jesus came to seek and save the lost. Christianity is about God's plan to fix this messed up world which is full of broken people. Jesus said that he is the way, the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father except through him. Christianity is about God reaching out to us and saving us from our pride fuelled self destruction. Christianity is all about Jesus Christ and everyone needs a saviour.

Little Things

Good Charlotte had a hit song called Little Things which was about the trials and tribulations of high school students. The chorus talks about the little things that always hang around, and try to bring us down. They just won't go away, and the little things have made them who they are today. All the things that have happened to them, testing them, angering them, and bothering them during their lives have helped shaped their characters.

How we react to and deal with people and circumstances in our lives is largely determined by what has happened to us in the past.

In a perfect world, the kind God intended us to live in, we would have been raised in a loving environment by parents who loved God and considered child rearing both a joy and a privilege. Their job was to disciple their children and impart to them the Godly wisdom which they themselves had accumulated from a lifetime of service to God and others.

In the real world, many people have no such Godly influence in their lives. Their parents have still passed on their values but they often aren't even close to God's standards. So sin and its vile consequences are perpetuated through the generations.

Praise God this cancer in our society can be cured. The cycle of sin can be broken when we repent of our sins and give our lives to Christ. Then the healing can begin and all the little things which come along to test and trouble us, will become reasons for us to praise and thank God, and things which he can use to mould us into the image of his Son, the Saviour, Jesus Christ.