What a strange moment we are in as a culture.
The weaponized use of sex by the powerful over the weak has been overlooked and excused for decades in American modern life. Now suddenly out of nowhere it has rocketed to the forefront of everyone’s outrage.
Pardon me as I wipe away a thin smile from my face. Not that any of this is funny. Far from it. It’s just that as a Christian and pastor, I find moments like this amusing, where the wider culture comes to realize that Christian morality and ethics aren’t so crazy and old fashioned, so Neanderthal, after all.
- Come to find out, all that free love jazz from the 60s isn’t so free after all.
- Come to find out, what Bill Clinton did to an intern in the Oval Office was scandalous and shameful after all.
- Come to find out that a digital universe filled with porn is not so harmless after all.
- Come to find out that men and women have very distinct physiological and emotional differences after all.
- Come to find out Mike Pence and his crazy scruples about not being alone with women aren’t so crazy after all.
- And come to find out, when a man abuses his strength and power to have his way with a woman, that’s not so innocent a thing to be hush-hushed after all.
With all these “come-to-Jesus” moments happening culture-wide as we speak, may I suggest three things:
1) that maybe, just maybe, the Christian sexual ethic also might have some wisdom worth considering when it comes to other things sexual, and I’m thinking primarily of all the conversations being held about all things LGBT, and for this reason…
2) …maybe, just maybe, now is not the time to be fining and firing and silencing and suing all those who are holding the line in favor of tradition, historic and biblical values…
3) …because maybe, just maybe, if we press forward and try to mainstream these novel, progressive, unusual viewpoints on sex and morality, a lot of people are going to be seriously hurt in short order.
Now would be the time to head off a future #me-too movement.
