I did not realize just how terrible the world is until the past few weeks. Even then, I feel like I’ve only scratched the surface. This missionary kid of seventeen years need two semesters in politics to actually understand the stupidity of this world.
That fact is mildly embarrassing, to be honest. But this has been an embarrassing year with the amount of idiocy that has been exposed even in my personal life.
You know, I never really knew what I was getting into when I began Anatomy and Physiology. As a senior in high school, I have lost any preference for the classes I take, yet this particular course has proven interesting. While the topics have varied, the most recent topic is also the most awkward: sex.
There’s no other way around this topic, nor is there a better way to phrase it. It’s bound to come up in such a class, and sure enough, it did. Thankfully, my teacher is a Christian, and she combined both the science of sex with the Christianity we both believe.
While the discussion was elaborate, I believe the most important piece said was on the topic of pre-marital sex. In today’s culture, very few of us have a legitimate idea about the importance of wedding night sex. In fact, when polled, the number of Christians who claimed that casual sex between consenting adults is sometimes or always acceptable was well over fifty percent (Diamant 2020).
This is an incredible number. According to Jeff Diamante, 62% of Catholics and 56% of Protestants agree with the prior statement. Not only is this statistic alarming, it is deeply disturbing. For an unexplainable reason, today’s Christians continue to compromise their faith, syncretizing their so-called beliefs with the bells and trinkets of the world.
But couldn’t there be a good situation for casual, pre-marital sex to occur? Not at all! Biblically, we are specifically called to keep the marriage bed pure, reserving sexual interaction for marriage and marriage only. From the beginning, God’s clear-cut plan for marriage is simple: one man to one woman, going to each other on the marriage bed.
Genesis 2:24-25 says, ““Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.””
There is no difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament. The latter echoes the teachings of the former, stating in 1 Corinthians 7:2 that “because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband.” Could you ask for a clearer verse? This is not masked nor hidden. One man to one woman.
Homosexuality and adulteresses are prohibited in the Old and New Testaments. In the Old Testament, the judgement for homosexuality was immediate removal from God’s people (banishment, see Leviticus 18). Adultery isn’t merely limited to the law, like homosexuality, but is also included in the Ten Commandments, causing some to argue that the sin of adultery is greater than the sin of homosexuality. I make no such statement but leave you to judge for yourselves. Both are condemned as sin and shall be treated as such.
Satan seeks to twist everything God created. As he actively works in the world, he seeks to corrupt the Godly and their beliefs. Men that once held fast to their faith instead exchange the truth of God for a lie (Romans 1:25), exchanging the Creator (God and His truth) for the created (the world and its offerings). Anything from the world will be contrary to God’s word, and thus we can recognize it as from Satan. The pure marriage bed, once a norm, has been defiled, an action that has since become commonplace. Normal sexual interactions (again, within the marriage bed), are exchanged for same-sex interactions.
In fact, this goes further than sexual sin. Righteousness becomes unrighteousness, truth becomes lie, manhood becomes womanhood (men are becoming more passive), womanhood becomes manhood (women are becoming more aggressive), and much, much more.
This is the world, ladies and gentlemen. It seeks to corrupt everything we know, starting with our hearts and minds. It offers compromise, small at first, but growing larger by the day, and tempts us with its charms. If we do not hold fast to the truths of God and take them as they are written, we will fall together as the Church crashes around our ears.
Marriage is about oneness and offering one’s self to the other. In this mutual servanthood, born out of love, true intimacy is reached, an intimacy that cannot be found anywhere else. When this is torn apart, baggage is created, the same baggage that will be brought into the marriage bed should it be broken beforehand. For true, lasting intimacy, there must be no spiritual or physical baggage brought to your spouse. Yet there is hope for those who have already failed! Christ purifies you, just as He purifies the Church. He cleanses His bride, the harlot Church (or Israel) and makes her a beautiful thing.
Holding fast to the truths of God starts here, with the simple things that we are told to take for granted. The world tells us, “oh, that’s normal, accept it as such.” WAKE UP! Surprise: it’s not. Every Christian is called to hold the marriage bed in honor and purity, for it represents something far greater: the Marriage of the Church and of Christ.
This goes all the way back to the Garden and God’s plan for family and the church. Just as the family reflects the Church (man as the spiritual and literal head of the home), the Church reflects the greater Marriage. In both cases, we are called to keep to this representation and hold these items as pure. As time passes, these boundaries are crossed again and again, the most common examples being pre-marital sex and church divides. We cannot allow these compromises to take hold within the Church, especially if we are to withstand the subtle temptations of the World.
The previous statements have been confirmed again and again by saved friends of mine who, prior or occasionally after their salvation, acted precisely as I just described or, on the opposite end of the spectrum, actually managed to reach their wedding nights with their virginity intact, or without. If I could give you a single lesson, one given to me with excessive emphasis, it is this: the wait is worth it. Don’t give in to the world.
Many will be offended by what I have just said. This is not the goal. My only prayer is that, even through your offense, my words will call you to further conversation and thought on these matters. Please remember: as Christians, our opinions are to be built around God’s Word, not the pressure of the world. If you’d like to engage in healthy, open dialogue, feel free to comment with any questions or thoughts of your own.
Until then, may the Lord bless you and keep you, make His face to shine upon you, and give you peace.
They say that the best teachers are those that know you best. I believe this to be true. A teacher that can reach into your heart and find your deepest needs, gaps, and desires is a teacher that will always succeed. Moreover, a teacher willing to go to great lengths to ensure your complete understanding of a given topic is a teacher like no other. This man or woman will never be forgotten. They will implant their face upon the hearts and minds of our young generations for decades, changing the future for the better.
False teachers are everywhere. Everyone thinks that they’re the next John Piper, prepared to give controversial opinions with little care given to the legitimacy of their claims.
In an age of false news and quick, unresearched opinions, it can become almost impossible to properly research current events. Every smalltime blogger, podcaster, youtuber, and writer thinks that their take on current events is the most factual, needed piece of content on the web, and they’re usually wrong.
This extends beyond the news and into the Christian world. Thousands of “Christian bloggers” surround themselves with a small audience, then begin peddling false gospels and heresies, all while convinced of their own necessity and puffed up by their knowledge.
Comparing Christianity is an easy discussion for a missionary kid formerly based in a continent dominated by Muslims. Having seen firsthand the similarities and differences between Christianity, Islam, non-belief, and the rest, I have looked forward to this discussion since beginning the Monday Q&As.
Because this is the last Q&A from Stoa Apologetics, I will be answering all 14 questions, regardless of relevancy and wordcount. As always, the answers are taken from as close a Biblical standpoint as possible, and constructive discussion is always welcome. You can find the entire Q&A worksheet here.
Worldview is a difficult topic to discuss, given the fact that the subject changes based on the person. Because everyone has a different worldview, it can become difficult to even speak on the subject, let alone have a decent discussion on the topic.
Christian worldview, on the other hand, is a unifying topic that needs to be discussed more often. Identifying weak worldview and working to grow stronger, Biblically-grounded worldview should be a lifelong goal for every Christian.
With that, we turn our attention on today’s Monday Q&A: Christian Worldview Application. As always, I will be choosing to answer 12 of the 14 questions presented in Stoa Apologetics’ worksheet, found here. Let’s dive in.
In our past three Q&A’s, we have discussed three highly important topics: the character of God, foundations of Christianity, and Scripture. Yet so far, none of these topics have been as important as the one to be discussed today.
God and man. Deus et Hominum. Theós kai ánthropos.
Scripture. The key component to Christianity at its core. The cornerstone of our beliefs. Without Scripture, we have no belief, no Faith, no arguments, and no understanding of God and His existence. The defense of Scripture is so important that it has become a large tenant to Apologetics. Without it, Christianity fails.
Because of its importance, I have spent much time learning the historical and logical accuracy of the Scriptures. Because of this, I put much stock in the quality of response to the questions-to-be. While this may be the easiest Q&A so far, it will also be the most important. Read carefully.
Hey, and welcome back to another Monday Q&A! Today’s topic is “The Foundations of Christianity”, the second and last discussion here. Last week, we talked mostly about the depravity and utter sinfulness of man, but this week, our focus turns to Jesus and His effect upon man and sin.
So, without any further ado, let’s dive in!
8: What does the term “fall of man” mean and why is it important?
The term “fall of man” refers to the introduction of sin into the world. Described at the very beginning of the Bible, the Fall took place soon after the creation of the first man (Adam) and woman (Eve). The two lived in paradise and in perfect harmony with God, cherishing Him and fully submitting to His commandment- to not eat of “The tree of the knowledge of good and evil”, located in the middle of their Garden home.
Eventually, a fallen angel named Lucifer took on the shape of a serpent/snake and tempted Adam and Eve to break God’s commandment and eat the fruit. Lead by Adam, Eve took and ate the fruit, sinning for the first time in history and introducing sin into the very bloodstream of humanity.
Since then, man has been born in a fallen state, unable to not sin. We bear Adam’s curse and punishment for his failure, a punishment only removed by Jesus and His sacrifice.
Last week, I blogged about the true meaning of our teenage years. In that post, I laid out what our culture expects of us, the teenagers. Directly after, I gave a call. I called all teenagers into the “Do Hard Things” movement, a commitment to rebelling against low expectations and doing the hard things.
But, you see, it’s hard to be a Christian teen, doing hard things, when the very idea of your Christianity is a pretense in the first place.
Something has taken ahold of today’s “Christian” teen generation. Though not new, it seems to have grown far larger in the past few decades. For some reason, teenagers raised in Christian homes create a false pretense of Christianity, operating under the banner of our beliefs but not living the lifestyle you’d expect of a true Christian. This false pretense of teenage Christianity casts a terrible shadow upon our faith, leaving many to justly believe that Christians are hypocrites.
Any person with even the most mediocre understanding of religious statistics will tell you that out of every three people you meet, one will be a Christian. Or, at least, they claim to be Christian.
In every culture, we find watered-down Christianity. In Africa, we find Christianity mixed with semblances of witchcraft. In the East, we find Christianity blended with spiritualism. In the West, we find Christianity blended with self-worship and atheism.
Teenagers struggle with fulfillment. Somehow, as we transition from children to adults, we begin feeling this never-ending thirst for something. We don’t know what it is, but we certainly feel that it can be filled.
Some seek this fulfillment in family or a significant other in the hope that a relationship will fill this gap. Others seek fulfillment in sports, hoping that fame will cure their mysterious problem. Finally, others seek fulfillment in momentary pleasure, assuming that drugs or alcohol can fill a hole in their hearts.
After all, isn’t this what the world teaches us? That we can find fulfillment in pleasure, fame, and money?
God’s glory is perhaps the most fascinating and central subject for a Christian. It is a key factor to the death and resurrection of Christ, and actually is one of the reasons for Christ’s death in the first place. Furthermore, God’s glory is the biggest reason for Christians to act as they do. Truly, it is an important piece to the puzzle known as Christianity.
Although we can clearly see God’s glory in normal situations, it is far more difficult to see Him glorified when dealing with the junk of the world. Through many of these situations, it takes an outsider saying, “wow, God was really good then, wasn’t he?” for someone to realize that God had, in fact, been good, and thus was glorified.
Four days ago, I published a post talking about the Universal Sabbath. The post was well received, but one of the comments stuck with me. A woman gracefully reminded me of the fact that this is a crisis, not a vacation. While many of us are stuck in our houses, there are others out there fighting this battle, and while the outward battle is serious, the spiritual battle rages also, mimicking the battles on earth.
I spend around three hours a week on YouTube. While not even close to the amount of time others may spend on the mega site, three hours is still a lot. In fact, three hours is enough to do a very long, very nice blog post or advertise this blog. These are three hours that are almost entirely pointless, so why do I waste my time there?
Elisha McFarland 