Listening to the NEWS, watching and listening to POLITICIANS, keeping track of SOCIAL STANDARDS, trying to make sense of our EDUCATIONAL priorities and seeing the proliferation of all sorts of CHURCHES and religious DOCTRINES, you might think you've awakened to a strange New World!
Such is not the case, however. It simply changed while you were busy with other things.
Like who's idea the Sequester is and what it actually means [cutting 3% of the budget = a financial disaster]. Like allowing boys in the girls' locker rooms and lavatories, simply upon the boys' assertion that he is actually a girl [Mass. Commissioner of Educ]. Like condemning any mention of homosexuality to be sin or being critical of the outrages of those in the Muslim religion, to NBC's airing of a SNL skit portraying a risen 'Jesus' on a murdering rampage [vulgarity and blood] against those who had him killed. It can be a little confusing!
You weren't paying attention in the 1940's and 1950's when post-modernism was undermining objective morality. You weren't paying attention in the 1960's and 1970's when post-post-modernism vested every individual with godhood, making your moral code THE standard, which no one outside YOU could criticize without being declared 'judgmental.'
So, now? Now words don't really mean much unless they hurt someone's feelings. Facts don't really mean much until they conflict with the New Reality, whatever that may be. Right and Wrong don't really matter unless you get caught doing something really obvious or you're running for public office and your opponent wants to destroy your reputation. Oh! And you're not guilty until a court finds you guilty.
Older readers might recognize such things, remembering George Orwell's "1984." He wrote of Big Brother who controlled everything and everyone; Newspeak, where words were re-defined; The Memory Hole, where historical facts were re-written or simply discarded. The Ministry of Truth told lies. The Ministry of Peace ran the wars and "telescreens" watched everyone, whether on the street, at work or in your own home.
Another aspect of this Utopian World was the fact that everything written was intercepted and scrutinized. Think: email, texting, tweeting.
If you're one who looks around and wonders what's going on. If you can actually remember what life in the U.S. was like before the post-modern era. Don't despair! You haven't lost your mind! The world and everything in it has changed!
The New World [in the U.S.] records 15 / 20 million new cases of sexually transmitted infections every year! 40% of it's children are born out of wedlock. 45% of it's marriages end in divorce [pastors = 50%]. If you're thinking this gives folks an easy 'do-over,' consider that 60% of second marriages and 70% of third marriages end in divorce.
42% of young people in the U.S. would not think of dating a virgin [match.com survey]. 44% of women and 63% of men have had one-night stands. 47% have 'friends with benefits.' In addition, we kill about a million unborn children every year!
We worry about guns but have a strange response to drugs. Mindy McReady died last week as a result of 'misusing drugs.' She wasn't addicted to drugs. She simply misused them, as though using cocaine wisely is healthy. If we took drug-use and alcoholism more seriously, perhaps these behaviors would trigger quicker and more serious attention!
And, we do the same with alcohol. It's not alcoholism, it's 'abusing alcohol,' which is a disease not a selfish addiction. No one is permitted to suggest that the consumption of alcoholic beverages is, by definition, an irresponsible behavior. Instead we are cautioned to "Drink Responsibly!"
Have you had too much Common Sense, yet? Reality? The basic things of life never change, only the definitions and responses to them. Jesus is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow! Change the definition if you will but the result of sin is still the same!
