The Depraved Mind And The Death Of A Civilization

"It is not is not the purpose of this blog to give sermons, exegete Scripture or to do a Bible Study. However, in light of the many social changes taking place in our civilization, e.g. Redefining marriage, pedophilia, polygamy, and incestuous relationships, I feel compelled to point out what is taking place in our society today in light of what the Bible says.

There are many social issues beyond the subject of same-sex marriage which prove that our culture is in decline. Among these are the decaying of our ecological system, the forced recognition of other cultures on America rather than mandating the recognition of our culture on those who would move into our country. Then, there is the secularization of our culture with more emphasis on human accomplishments and government intervention to aid in the lives of special interest groups. There is also the legislation of protecting a minority "class" (notice I didn't say "race"). Finally, there are the many cases of litigation against businesses and persons who, desiring to practice their religious beliefs, are forced to keep their religion to themselves and provide services to those these "protected classes." The so-called "protected classes" infringe on a person's conscientious objections and superimpose their base desires on society at large. AS an example, I merely cite the case of Catholic Charities in Boston and San Francisco having to end their adoption services altogether rather than be compelled by anti-discrimination laws to place children with same-sex couples. In the Boston case, Catholic Charities was prepared to refer same-sex couples seeking to adopt to other providers, but that was not sufficient.

I believe this and other infringements on religious liberties can be explained from a cursory reading of Paul's letter to the Romans, found in the New Testament. Let me quote from chapter 1, verses 18-32. Please pay close attention to the bold print and the three items underlined within this text.

Within the bold print did you notice that this seems to describe our time? Our culture? Our society? Hoping to keep this article brief, I would be wrong not pointing out God's three-fold relinquishment of humanity found in verses 24, 26, 28.

First, God gives those who reject Him over to the desires of the heart. When God is said to "give over" it denotes a deliberate act of resigning control over what is passed on. This basically means that if you want to do your own thing, He won't stop you. The result is the heart will turn away from what is right to what is thought to be the best. The right is not always what we think is best. In the Bible, the heart is picturesquely the seat of the emotions. Put in today's context God is handing this culture over to the freedom from Him for which it yearns. The desire to be independent of God in achieving its end shows itself to be nothing higher than the desire for degrading impurity. Society, then, is emotionally wrapped up in doing its own thing!

Second, God gives those who want to believe a lie and serve creation instead of the Creator over to shameful passions. How does one "serve" or "worship" the creation? Are we talking about Animism? Pantheism? Panentheism? Not necessarily. Included in the creation are items like sexuality, business, pleasures, even the government. In America today, there is a craving for government solutions to everything from poverty to the right to privacy; from civil rights to protection from God (i.e. religion). So, we see people who would rather government enact laws to protect them from religion (read religious bigotry) and this becomes a passion! It is interesting that in light of this Bible passage, Paul goes beyond the general things like pleasures into specifics like homosexuality. Today's society is finally coming to grips with the demands of the gay community to be "acknowledged as a special class," to be "protected," and to be given special privileges and civil rights which heretofore throughout all of human history has been within the purview of one man and one woman - marriage. To have one's passions degraded and become shameful brings on a God-forsaken character. And when character is compromised, society is on the brink of disaster.

Third, God gives those who seek after their own passions over to a depraved mind. Here and for the last time, Paul emphasizes the direct link between humankind's rejection of God and its disordered state. When a man's mind becomes "depraved," it means that man has now been set free from God! Psychologists and Psychiatrists are always intrigued by the power of the mind. As a Licensed Professional Counselor and one who has many graduate hours in psychology, I can truly state with measured certainty that "when the mind goes, so goes the character."

The character of American society is a never ending downward spiral toward the state of depravity. Mankind may have by and large come to the place in which it sees no room for God in the world - that God doesn't exist, or worse, that God is irrelevant. Well, according to the Roman letter we've been considering, this truly typifies depravity at its worse. Three times Paul says "God handed them over" and this underscores the point that in striking free of God's immediate control, mankind has not escaped God's overall ordering of His creation. The simple fact is that man cannot escape his own nature and the nature of the world as God made it. It is God Who has handed our society over to its desires and the endless pursuit of its satisfaction.

Just remember man's "freedom" to go his own way still leaves him within the limits set by God, whether he rejects God as real or simply tries to ignore Him.

I offer these thoughts since I am free (right now) to speak out on the decline of our society and the ending of the traditional values under which we once lived. In a few years, I might not be able to say these things without repercussions. Since the freedom to practice religion is under threats today, I do foresee many lawsuits coming for those who preach from passages like these. The end result of a depraved civilization (in this case) is that Civil rights will prevail over Constitutional rights (like the First Amendment) as redefined by a depraved court.