Americans have loved their country and their Constitution, but we should not be surprised to find out that, after generations of playing fast and loose with the rules, we find ourselves in a tremendous pickle. What we think the Constitution says, and what it actually says, are likely two different things. In almost all cases, both liberals and conservatives accuse their opponents of violating it, even while they do themselves.
Few elected officials obey the strict construction that the 10th Amendment demands. Political expediency has required them to allow many things simply because they are popular. Social security, national parks, monuments, forests, wildlife refuges, and many of the cabinet departments, have absolutely no constitutional basis. They get away with it because we like it. We don’t read the Constitution ourselves, or what is worse, don’t bother to understand it. We like to say it belongs to us, the “we the people” thing, and detest our various political representatives, yet when a maverick like Ron Paul tries to obey it, he is considered quaint, or a crank or an extremist.
So, what they say about Paul must be true, because the media said so.
The recent Ohio abortion vote shows that we need to stop worshipping government as the solution to our problems. On nearly all levels, governments are either completely corrupt, arguably anti-human or distrust their own citizenry. We really don’t know how that Ohio abortion vote went because it would be foolish for pro-lifers and conservatives to maintain that the 2020 election was stolen, which it obviously was, and think that the enemies of life and freedom would only do that once.
If you are waiting for the 2024 election to turn things around, how naïve is that?
So, with the country going to hell, we ought to be looking someplace else for the solutions to our problems. Where do we look?
It is time to get inside the “comfort zone” – not of our politicians – but of our pastors. And yes, our own comfort zones. Pastors have an invisible barrier that keeps them from expounding all the truths we find in the Bible. This is because they understand that if they disturb our comfort zone, we will walk away – just like many of the disciples did in the Gospel of John, chapter 6.
Catholics, Evangelicals, Orthodox and Protestants have been ignoring a simple truth which, just a century ago, we all agreed upon.
Whether we are Catholics or Protestants, pastors do not want to preach against divorce-and-remarriage, even though Jesus was pretty clear about that. It would get inside our comfort zone, you see. Many of us would walk. And for those who don’t, they would probably tell their pastors, “You shouldn’t say that. The church soon won’t have any money.”
Let that sink in.
And the pastors don’t want to talk about contraception either, because of the same thing, even though all denominations did so less than a hundred years ago. And, the married pastors probably contracept themselves. I personally knew a fiery evangelical pastor, dead-set against abortion, who got a vasectomy.
As Christians lament the destruction of the American family, and lament the outcome of the Ohio abortion vote, they have been divorcing, contracepting and even aborting at the same rate as the secular world.
Why would God give us a victory against surgical and late-term abortions while his alleged disciples are doing the very things that lead to it?
The problem is, most American Christians, let alone secular citizens, do not want to follow the example of self-denial, prayer, penance, sacrifice and martyrdom, because we worship government as the Great Problem Solver.
…with increased recreational sex, inside and outside of marriage, there will be contraceptive failure. And its logical solution will be abortion.
Catholics, Evangelicals, Orthodox and Protestants have been ignoring a simple truth which, just a century ago, we all agreed upon. The destruction of our culture has come through the destruction of marriage as a permanent union. We all study Jesus, the Word made flesh, and what he said in the Gospels is going to hurt.
Divorce-and-remarriage, which the Jews had actually institutionalized through Moses, is wrong. John the Baptist was executed for daring to say this to King Herod Antipas. The Pharisees thought they really had Jesus on this one, but he dared to make the correction. Christ Himself called divorce-and-remarriage “adultery.”
Most of us like to think of adultery within a more narrow definition, but not so Christ.
One of the key tools has been contraception.
The rejoinder given by objecting Christians has always been, “But contraception prevents abortion!” And, part of the trick in obtaining cultural acceptance of contraception has been that, with birth control, happier marriages and “wanted” children will be the result. Since this became acceptable around 1960, what has been the result? Do we have longer-lasting and happier families?
ALASKA WATCHMAN DIRECT TO YOUR INBOX
Dr. Judith Bury of Canada’s Brook Advisory Centre said, “There is overwhelming evidence that, contrary to what you might expect, the provision of contraception leads to an increase in the abortion rate.”
How so? Because with increased recreational sex, inside and outside of marriage, there will be contraceptive failure. And its logical solution will be abortion.
And from the children that are born, they discover, and later imitate, the devastation of family life: runaway dads, stepfathers, live-in boyfriends and, perhaps the biggest crush of all, a bewildering lack of permanency in human relationships. It leads to a warped view of marriage that can translate into homosexuality. It will almost certainly soon go even further, into polygamy, incest and bestiality.
To end this mess, we don’t need a president, a constitutional amendment or an act of Congress. Christians need to worship – not the Constitution – but instead the One, Triune God. Take the “narrow way,” reform our lives and prepare for the loving chastisement that we all so richly deserve.
For a loving God chastises his wayward children, and then welcomes them into his arms when they have repented.
It’s in the Bible.
The views expressed here are those of the author.
33 Comments
“ a bewildering lack of permanency in human relationships. It leads to a warped view of marriage that can translate into homosexuality”.
That’s quite a stretch Bird. Any evidence to support that?
GREAT ARTICLE, yup there sure is evidence, no need to look any further than society as a whole today, thanks for making that easy Lucy
Mb. This is kinda serious, reality-wise . Bird is claiming that a heterosexual marriage can turn homosexual cuz of a lack of permanency. I’m not sure what he means and I’ll bet he doesn’t know either, but his claim and your presentation of evidence : “ no need to look any further than society as a whole today” is vapid and inconsequential. I can guess at what you mean, but specifics would help readers understand your point. Really, it could mean anything. Here’s possible examples: trawling bycatch, Medicare cheats, speed limit changes on the Old Seward, new curriculum of arts and crafts in Kake, discrimination against Hmong in anchorage. Am I close? Can you help direct me? Or are you just a lazy thinker?
Mb. Can you be more specific about any evidence behind Bird’s absurd claim? Something more than “society as a whole”?
I would use small words for you, Lucy, but here’s the real deal. Marriage is a total giving of one’s self to to the other, including fertility. When God said go forth, be fruitful and multiply, He meant it. There is no such thing as total self giving in homosexuality; it is the use of another’s body for pleasure, which is the definition of selfishness. There is no chance of fertility, and therefore, it is not marriage, no matter how many times you speak of love. It is lust, not love, pure and simple. And the same is true of divorce and remarriage. Divorce says I will NOT give all of myself to the other, and when I no longer take pleasure in the arrangement, I will divorce you and choose another. Lust, not love. Love is self-sacrificing for the sake of the other. Neither divorce nor homosexuality fits that definition. But you didn’t really come here to learn something, did you? Just to troll and show off your ignorance on subjects too deep for you.
Here you go, Lucy, presuming you really are interested in knowing and aren’t just trolling. Holy Matrimony is the free and complete gift of self to the other, meaning the spouse. That includes one’s fertility, as God said to go forth and multiply. Without that element, there is no marriage. Homosexual sex, by definition, is sterile. It is the use of another’s body for one’s own pleasure, which is the definition of lust. No matter how much “romance” might be involved, it can never be love. The same is true of divorce. It means that one spouse says they will NOT give themselves totally to the other, and as soon as the pleasure wears off, they will leave for someone else who gives them pleasure. Love is sacrificial, not selfish, and both divorce and remarriage and homosexual sex are selfish in that they retain their own pleasure regardless of the other. No stretch, as long as you are honest about the Truth.
Tamra. Thanks for the explanation. Christians have forced relationship definitions upon themselves. They are unfounded and hurtful. And arrogant. Who are YOU to say that homosexuality is not love? You would refer to the Bible or some other source of lore I suppose. As an atheist, I find belief in the supernatural pitiful, in the sense that I feel sorry for the believers. That they have chosen and celebrate “mind-forg’d manacles” (Blake) is some kind of self-loathing, like they’re not good enough, never will be good enough; in fact they are “sinners”. If their beliefs were restricted to the church or mosque, there would be less damage, but religionists demand that others obey and violations are punished with laws, shame and sometimes violence.
In all seriousness, one of the reasons the Constitutional Convention vote failed was that voters thought that Mr. Bird would be one of the people rewriting the Constitution.
Lucinda: Psychologists and sociologists have been saying this for decades, but they are the ones the Left won’t like to read. Or, they were cancelled and discredited by the NYT, WaPo and other media gatekeepers. Sorry, but the limits of a column don’t permit the footnoting. However, my compliments for not questioning the contraception-abortion link. Here is what Malcolm Potts, Planned Parenthood’s highly vaunted statistician said in 1979: “Contrary to what you might think, whenever a country embraces contraception, the abortion rate goes up, not down.” Yet alleged conservatives, in the citizenry, the clergy and the political class, still think otherwise. The Left quietly enjoys their company on this issue.
Bird: Do you have any statistics more recent than 45 years ago? But more important is your embrace of the supernatural. My response to Tamra (if Joel accepts it) applies to you too.
We have very little common ground if you don’t believe in the supernatural, Lucinda. There is little basis for a discussion. Since you believe you will be annihilated at death, why not do anything that pleases your own interests? Christians are not immune to such temptations, as you have noticed. It is REPENTANCE that changes their eternal destiny. Yet, many refuse to repent of divorce-and-remarriage and contraception. Ergo, your disdain for Christian EXAMPLE gets confused with Christian TEACHING. And you also astutely observe that Christians themselves cannot agree on these issues. You are a typical product of a culture of confusion. It’s not your fault. Yet, you probably have a better chance of conversion than a stubborn Christian who persists in doing these things. Bernard Nathanson, who aborted 7500 children, including his own, and presided over 20,000+, is a fine example of an atheist who repented — AND converted.
You would do well, Lucinda, if you came out into transparency, something you seem to demand of others except yourself. Are you an Alaskan or just an out-of-state liberal troll? If so, do you do this voluntarily, or have you been assigned?
I have long maintained that the government is “god” to many (if not most) Americans. This is especially true out in villages where people depend upon governments of various levels for nearly everything. It can give you anything and take away everything if you don’t worship at its feet. Even Christians rarely trust God for their needs realizing that the safety net of government is right there in case they fall. But it’s a a sham! Government has nothing really but a whip! It steals money from others and distributes it to whom it wills. I encourage all conservative and Christian people to pull away from government as much as you can because it is not your friend and, in fact, is becoming more of an enemy every day.
So am I reading an article about governmental control and also that vasectomy is a sin? The author fails to mention in his data that teen pregnancy rates have gone down from 62 per 1000 to 13 per 1000. Where does that fit with the data that the abortion rate has halved in that same time period? Hardly fits the panicked, outraged narrative.
Not much panic, unless you mean by the abortionists and population control advocates.
Teen pregnancy might be down, but its not because today’s youth are suddenly more responsible. Today’s teens (and other age groups) replace their sense of meaning and purpose with incessant scrolling on social media. They replace dating with swiping on meaningless Apps. They replace conversation with facebook messages. They replace love with casual sex which is devoid of all meaning all the while accumulating within themselves the error of their ways. The growing loneliness and lack of meaning is blamed on the other sex whether misandry or misogyny. Add to this the increase in availability of birth control and abortion and you have less teen pregnancy. I wouldn’t call this a win.
They have more challenges than we did in many areas. They also are doing better than my memory (and the data) shows.
There are fewer abortions, by half, than there were in 1990. I don’t know how that isn’t a win.
I should have cited the year in my prior comment – the period of time was 1990 to today. Interestingly the highest teen pregnancy rate measured was in 1957 at nearly 100 per 1000. That is an 8 fold increase over today.
That is interesting. I wonder if, by “pregnancy,” they count only those that are carried to term, not including those that end in abortion?
What is the definition of “teen” in the statistics cited? Does it include 18- and 19-year-olds who were married to the father (a much more common arrangement in 1957)? If so we’re comparing apples with oranges.
I’m not trying to be difficult, but just looking at data, the birth rate for unmarried teens dropped faster than those who were married during the last 30 years. This is on top of a total decline of teen births. So, the apples/apples comparison is valid. Far fewer teen pregnancies, married or not. Fewer abortions, married or not. Those are facts. So, in conclusion, I don’t think we need a Constitutional amendment to fix a drastically improving problem.
Tom, I don’t see the equivalence between a pregnancy by a married 18/19-year-old and an unmarried one (or a minor). Yes, they are both pregnancies and, yes, the mothers are both technically “teens”, but the similarities end there. One is married to the father and far more likely to have intended to conceive; the other is not and is more likely to have not intended that outcome. Lumping the statistics together does nothing but cloud the issue.
I have heard of quite a few teens that are on birth control pills or shots now. Something about controlling their menstrual cycles or preventing unwanted births. I am willing to bet that this is why there are fewer teen pregnancies now. But, the reduction in pregnancies could also be attributed to the fact that so many younger people are into same-sex relationships now.
Tom J: Judging sin is the responsibility of God. Many people engage in disordered acts out of ignorance. However, Christians need to know what a disordered act is, and all denominations cited contraception as disordered a hundred years ago. Did God change His morals, or is He “Unchanging and unchangeable”? Forget making contraception illegal, if that is what you are worried about. CHRISTIANS cannot expect baby-killing to stop unless and until we change our own behaviors. Even if contraception was everything it is cracked up to be, it would still be un-Christian.
Bob, we agree on most things here, but it should be noted that even most Christians do not agree that all divorce is unbiblical or that all contraception is unbiblical. God hates divorce, as do I, and it is destroying our country. No-fault divorce is one of the most self-destructive agents in our country today. However, it seems only Catholics deny the allowed biblical reasons for divorce (Matt 19:8 – 9) and (1 Cor 7:13).
If someone leaves their marriage and becomes involved with someone else, it is the predominant Christian view (not used as justification here) that the remaining spouse not be required to spend their remaining years alone. The one who left, however, will still be guilty of adultery.
As for contraception (abortion is not contraception – it is murder), there are allowable and unallowable uses… it is the intention behind the use as to whether it is sinful.
We don’t have to agree on these things, I don’t think we will, but we can agree that both should be avoided if possible and both have disastrous consequences on society, the church, and most of all…families.
Great article Bob! You’ve hit at the (uncomfortable) root cause of everything that is wrong with today’s society, and no amount of legislation alone will correct it. However, in addition to getting (back) in touch with God, conservatives need to VOTE! Voter turnout in Anchorage muni elections struggles to exceed 30%, and in 2016 only 60% of Americans could be troubled to vote for President. If we want to change laws and combat election fraud, we need to win elections. The alternative is to sit around and complain while society continues to crumble around us.
Have fun being an atheist, Lucy, but you probably don’t realize that the 10 Commandments are the foundation of all you hold dear. You might also consider how lucky you are that you live where the notion of “good” comes from those 10, and also from Our Lord. In other countries, with other notions of “good”, you end up with folks throwing homosexuals off buildings and hanging them from cranes, and then there are places like Russia where “good” means I take from you whatever I want, if I can, and you just live with that. Or China, the current atheist state, where individual value is not even a notion, and they will weld you into your home if you contract a virus, where you will starve to death for the common “good.” It is a simple thing to reject the Truth when you live off the benefits of it, but maybe not so simple when those benefits are taken away.
Tamra
I am grateful for my privileged life in Alaska and America. I recently had a surgery. I received the most qualified care and it cost me nothing. Tonight I am warm, safe, well fed and well watered and I will be tomorrow too. I’m also a moral person, an ethical person. My entire life has been spent helping others: emergency medicine; non profit advocacy for parks, conservation, wildlife and pets. Even meals on wheels in my little town. I know the truth around here. Your scare tactics don’t scare me but I do reflect on the horrors you listed and again I feel fortunate. My good life has never needed your Christian restrictions and a belief in the unbelievable.
Hi Bob. You’re probably right about us not sharing much in common if I don’t believe in the supernatural and you do. Here’s an image: You and I are neighbors, after a foot of snow, we both roll out our snowblowers. Mine doesn’t start and neither does yours. What to do? Do you check for spark and fuel or pray?
It’s typical of Christians to believe that they alone have a claim to ethics and morality and atheists do not and must resist the the urge “to do anything that pleases your own interests”. This is important: one does not need Christ to be well and treat others with tolerance and respect and kindness and generosity. You claim that I am a “typical product of a culture of confusion”. I’m not confused about science (no that’s wrong; I do not understand quantum physics). I’m confused about Trump’s popularity, though. Seems no thoughtful patriot or Christian could support him. You ask about my backstory to learn if I’m legit. Here it is: came to Alaska in 1979 to experience the world’s best wilderness. Got jobs doing field work all over the state. Married my partner. No kids. I comment here to provide a sip of the cool pure water of truth to dry hot and thirsty pilgrims that can benefit from a new way to see the world, one based on the scientific method. I don’t have a way to scientifically determine my success rate, but ten bucks says it’s zero. Oh well.
Lucinda, you have said before that you have kids. Which is it? You don’t have kids or you do have kids?
All while living in a country based upon the rational belief in the value of the individual, brought to you by Judeo-Christian ethics. You are welcome. Now, do explain to me why you feel the need to convince anyone else of your atheistic beliefs if you are so self-satisfied and convinced of your superior virtues? Do you enjoy trying to find the chink in our armor? Read Ephesians. Do you enjoy sticking your finger in the eye of people who are rational and happy and decent and believe what others have believed for 5,000 years? Seems to the rest of us that you enjoy being rude and mean to Christians. Is that the secret to your self-worth? And why is the question either science or faith, when both do just fine together? You put up straw men and knock them down, and claim that’s all we know or believe. You are ignorant. You could learn what it is we believe and why, and how rational it is, but you don’t. It is really that simple.
Tamra. Religion poisons decision making. That’s why I want religionists to challenge their beliefs. An incorrect foundation can lead to irrational and dangerous outcomes. Best example is the support of Trump by many Americans. He is clearly unfit, incurious and a criminal. It’s obvious, there is no question. No patriot should support him. But they do and I think it’s cuz they are blinded by extreme, indefensible beliefs, like they hate the Left SO much that the only thing that matters is getting a non-Left president. Religion provides ready made beliefs and some of them are extreme and indefensible, like a virgin birth or the dead returning to life. If you believe in those things, you’ll likely make improper decisions on other matters. Those decisions hurt people and families. I’m referring to your Christian belief about homosexuality and marriage that you outlined here. That’s why I post here. I enjoy the discussion. I’m not collecting members or anything.
The beginning of the article started out good, the condemning the outside of the cup is where this article errors greatly.
The wife of you is your subconscious mind, you are the conscious one planting the seeds (ideas, thoughts, beliefs) in that garden. You’ll know what you plant, as nothing is hidden that will not be revealed, meaning, that it will manifest openly in your life to prune, pluck out or feed more.
The bride that must be made ready for the real marriage is casting out all cognitive dissonant beliefs from the subconscious mind as this is where all habits come from. It matters not what you do outwardly to change any circumstance if not first going within where the kingdom is. No belief divided against itself will stand. Plant wisely, you were given a kind of your own for a good reason.
I agree not only that people must stop trusting in the outer government to save them, but it is continuing to prove that it was suppose to serve the people, not corporations. The true government is sitting upon your shoulders. Your psyche is worth saving. Or why else would the New Treatment continue to repeat to renew your mind, and save your soul, and souls means psyche.
In then, Christ rises within the flesh, and you experience the true Word made Flesh personally.
Peace
Thank you, Mr. Bird for this needed and insightful reproof of Christian’s non-biblical acceptance of an anti-creation worldview. As a volunteer for many years at a prominent pro-family organization, the topics I was not allowed to condemn included birth-prevention, divorce, and Christian education.
I was eventually “fired” because I would not compromise on God’s Word and leaders claimed donors were threatening to stop donating.
Abortion, recreational sex, intentionally preventing conception, and divorce all reflect a perverted view of marriage. No longer do many view the fruit of the womb as His reward, but a punishment or weed they find necessary to actively prevent or kill. This anti-life stench permeates “Christian” churches and organizations.