Friday, October 12, 2018

Fake Freedom. . .

Many were told that contraception was the gift of freedom -- no longer would sex be captive to procreation.  In the end, it was not freedom that contraception bore but death.  The death of love and fidelity, the death of family and the goodness of having children, and the death of sex that meant something more than the moment of pleasure it accorded.  Not to mention the death of any real value assigned to life, any preciousness or sense of duty to protect it until its natural end.

Many were told that abortion was the gift of freedom -- no longer would a woman be captive to the child growing within her and she could choose to let the life live or kill the life in her womb.  In the end it was not freedom that abortion gave but death.  The death of the millions upon millions of children whose lives were swept away in a moment of decision, the death of any sacredness to life and any real responsibility to protect and defend it at all costs, and the death of two parties bearing equal duty to the act through which that life was created and to its fruit in the child.

Many were told that feminism was the gift of freedom -- no longer would a woman be captive to a man, to less pay, to the home, to the family, or to a vocation without choice.  In the end, it was not freedom that feminism gave but death.  Women now suffer equally the impact of stress, of coronary disease, of a life defined by a paycheck, and of the competition for dominance in the marketplace.  The death of the family came when it became the best choice for both parents to pursue careers, to work to achieve their financial dreams, and the children were relegated to the care of relatives of a business specializing in child care.  The #metoo movement has proven that women are just as vulnerable as before and maybe more so since often they find obstacles to their success in the form of brutes who exploit them using their power in cruel and shameful ways.

Many were told that sexual identity was a choice, a flexible and fluid choice, and that consent was what defined something as good, right, moral, and beautiful  -- no longer would the world be ruled by prudes who believed that sex was wrong that did not conform to antiquated patterns and ideas.  In the end, it was not freedom that casting off all restraint has borne but death -- the death of marriage as an enduring relationship built upon a sacrificial love that did not end in times in the worse or poorer or sickness.  Those who marry have not been changed -- marriage has been changed and with it family so that the once solid relationship on which all of society was built has become fragile, weak, and subject to the constant evaluation of happiness.  We found out that those once excluded from marriage did not want to be married but to change the institution forever, retaining the name but not the idea of a lifelong sacrificial love lived out in fidelity with the hope and expectation of children as the fruit of that love.

Many were told that religion was a crutch at best and bondage at worst -- cast off the constraints of the old morality of control and people would find real happiness and pleasure in their lives.  In the end, it was not happiness and pleasure that have flourished but loneliness, depression, and fear that have come to replace the void created when faith was vacated from our lives.  We spend more money on pain relievers, mood altering drugs, and legal/illegal cannabis than we just about anything else and it has not given us what we sought.  The "we" of our culture has succeeded in making religion not only optional but foolish but it has given little of value to replace what was lost when we chose to believe in ourselves instead of God.  Like Adam and Eve in the Garden, the consequence was not apparent until it is too late.

The Church remains a lighthouse shining Christ in the darkness and in that light is the one hope for a world determined to undo itself.


11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice piece. True and brutal.

WY

Daniel G. said...

Pastor Peters,

I hear echoes of Humanae Vitae of Paul VI and the writings of Pope St. John Paul II.

Well written and to the point. Thank you.

Anonymous said...

When the contraceptive pill was introduced in the 1960's, it
became a symbol for the liberation of women. College gals on
the pill could have sex with guys without any worries about
pregnancy. Single gals in the work place could now sleep around
with co-workers. The Pill became a ticket to break the 6th
Commandment and have a good sex life.

The Christian is in the world, but not of the world. The Pill
does not take away the Christian commitment to a chaste life
before marriage. Co-habitation is currently the trend and
owes its popularity to the Pill.

Anonymous said...

Just curious, Pastor. When you give your anti contraception sermon rants, do the women in your congregation nod their approval from the pews? And afterwards, do they shake your hand and comment on how they agree with you? This sounds like you are longing for era like Quebec in the 1950's, where the RC church ruled and families were large and poor. The church no longer has its strong grip on Quebec, families are smaller and the province has prospered. We women like having control over our fertility and old men bleating about how wicked we are is not going to change anything.

Daniel G. said...

Dear anonymous woman,

When you consider the fact that contraceptives have really not freed you but made you more an object to menbers of the opposite sex since now they can have you without the consequence of conceptio. This, in turn, flies in the face of so-called feminism which for all its intents and purposes wants to rid the female sex of being seen and used as objects. You have no control really. it's imagined. And how do you react to the horror of decapitaed and dismembered fetuses that also fly in the face of feminism and your so-called emancipation? and to all of the possibble females that could have made their mark on society but were deemed a choice and snuffed out? You and others like you have not one foot to stand on. You think you've won but truthfully, and you know it, you haven't. And what about all those who drank the poison of false feminism, aborted their babies yet live in continual regret for the life they snuffed out? They have no outlet because tyrannical types like you tell them they are not supposed to feel guilt. Ah but nature doesn't lie for the indelible mark of true feminism and womanhood cannot be erased. And what about the fact that when a woman who is murdered and pregnant it is called a double murder but when a woman who decides to abort , it is called a choice? You don't make sense and again you know it.

David Gray said...

" When you give your anti contraception sermon rants, do the women in your congregation nod their approval from the pews? "

Because goodness knows Pastor Peters can't be right unless that happens. Nobody in Christianity accepted the use of contraceptives 100 years ago.

Daniel G. said...

And while we're at it anonymous woman, where is your self respect in all this? I mean feminism, among other things, is about being respected for you as a person, not as a sex object. So now you have sex without consequence AND the ability to accuse members of the opposite sex who in turn are presumed guilt rather than innocent but yet you have not gainec any more respect than anticipated. The only thing you gained is to falsely accuse with impunity and in effect destroy lives. Seens more like a vendetta than anything else.

Daniel G. said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Daniel G. said...

Another one for anonymous woman:

https://vimeo.com/293758462

This is what your "emancipation" through contraceptives and right to choose gives back to society. Nice.

Anonymous said...

As one who sits in the congregation Pastor Peters serves and who has been in those pews for many of his 26 years there, I can tell you he does not rant. He gently teaches and lets the Word direct. He is more pointed in Bible study but still very gentle. Furthermore, he is just as strong in their role as husbands and fathers. Anonymous should come and visit.

Daniel G. said...

Nice goes so far but then you have to put nice aside and put firmness into your position. The left does not know nice or civility or kindness when it comes to pro-life issues. It’s time to take a stand.