The Battle for Christian Marriage
Bible Readings
- Exodus 20:1-17
- 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12
Introduction
From about 1715 a movement called The Enlightenment swept across the western world. Behind about every philosophy stood the idea that man should be free of every form of oppression, where everyone will only work as much as is needed, and be free from about any law—the so-called Utopia.
Manmade freedom
Englishman John Locke introduced the idea that the church should abandon detailed debate about the Christian faith and only say Christ is the Redeemer.
Robert Owen, a do-gooder in search of human happiness and freedom, in 1824 declared:
… that man … has been a slave to a trinity of the most monstrous evils that could be combined to inflict mental and physical evil upon his whole race: private, or individual property — absurd and irrational systems of religion — and marriage, founded on individual property combined with some one of these irrational systems of religion.
(http://www.heavenonearthdocumentary.com/leaders_thinkers.html)
Thomas Paine, the American who had a big impact on the French Revolution, took it further. He declared that the “Bible and the Testament are impositions upon the world…[and] are all fabulous inventions…” He declared: “My own mind is my own church”. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Paine)
The ideas of “Freedom, Equality and Brotherhood”, influenced by philosophers like Voltaire and Jean-Jaques Rousseau, fuelled the French Revolution which erupted in 1789. Rousseau held to the idea of the noble savage, who was free from laws ruling property, morals and money. He opposed the doctrine of original sin. According to Rousseau private property led to economic inequality and conflict. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Jacques_Rousseau#Theory_of_Natural_Human )
Voltaire’s opinions “… ended in a furious assault upon Holy Scripture, the dogmas of the Church, and even upon the person of Jesus Christ Himself, who was depicted now as a degenerate.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voltaire#Religious_views)
Private property was not part of Utopian theory. And keep in mind, Utopians rejected marriage because, according to them, marriage made women mere property of husbands. Include into this children, whose labour was exploited to create inequality; children had to be regarded as collective property of all members of the utopian state.
The table was prepared for a the second major development of mid 1800’s. Two major developments the mid-nineteenth century added to the momentum to reject God and absolute truth.
Evolutionism
In 1859, Charles Darwin published his Origin of Species. Darwin initially couldn’t foresee the consequence of his theories, but it surely rocked the foundations of Christians who believed that God created everything in its order, with man being created in the image of God. A swag of atheist philosophers continued to build out Darwin’s theory and blatantly rejected the existence of God the Creator.
Communism
On 28 August 1844 two men met and formed a friendship which would impact on the history of the world. Karl Marx and Frederich Engels collaborated and published their philosophies on what became known as Communism. In 1848 Marx and Engels wrote the Communist Manifesto, commissioned by the Communist League. The Manifesto stood on the principle that the “haves” always oppress the “have-nots”, and the best way to eliminate class distinction and bring freedom and happiness to all, would be the abolition of private property. They wanted to destroy eternal truths, all religion, all morality, instead of just reconstructing them on a new basis. When Marx was asked what his objective in life was, he said, “To dethrone God and destroy capitalism.” Marx declared religion “the sigh of the oppressed creature, the sentiment of a heartless world, as it is the spirit of spiritless conditions. It is the opium of the people.” According to the Communist Confession of Faith, “… communism is that stage of historical development which makes all existing religions superfluous and supersedes them.”
In 1859, the same year as Darwin’s Origin of Species, Marx published his first serious publication, which was followed by three instalments, later known as Das Capital.
When Marx and Engels envisioned to abolish “all rights of inheritance”, it was meant to destroy family rights, and ultimately the family. Later in Russia a child was considered the property of the state, rather than the family, the state had the right to compel parents to turn over their offspring to specially designed “children’s towns.” Through “free education” for every child in “public schools” the most radical break with traditional relations took place. The 1918 Family Code was introduced in Communist Russia which eliminated the distinction between “legitimate” and “illegitimate” children, using instead the carefully considered wording “children of parents who are not in a registered marriage.” Thus, women could claim child support from men to whom they were not married. De facto relationships were introduced, divorce became easy, and abortion was available on demand.
It would be unfair and incorrect to ascribe all we face today to Marx, Engels and Darwin, but the influence of these men in turning people away from God was enormous. Many practices in our economic and social life — things we sometimes regard as “natural” and “good” — are nothing but the logical outworking of Marxist socialism and Darwinism.
Foreign ethics
On the scene then appeared Freud with his extraordinary views on sex and sexuality.
Add to this liberal theology which crept into the preaching of the churches. The authority of the Bible was in dispute throughout theological schools in Europe.
Both World Wars had disastrous effects on families.
In the mid 50’s Communism as a political and economic system was failing. Were it not for American money which was poured into the USSR under the Lend-Lease Act, the. Utopia of Marxist economy would have starved to death. World domination through military power took a blow.
The emphasis was directed away from the economics and political theory, and now placed the emphasis alternative ethical ideology. Tools like psychology, sociology, and Freudian teaching on sexuality were used to formulate ethics and morals. The goal was the same: to eradicate all resistance to implement a new world order.
With the basis of morals already eroded, universities provided intellectual clout to thinkers like Margaret Sanger, (a vigorous atheist, the mother of abortion in America, and later closely connected to Planned Parenthood), Margaret Mead (she declared that “rigid heterosexuality is a perversion of nature” and she wanted Americans to “come to terms with the… normal human capacity to love members of both sexes.”), Ruth Benedict (a feminist), Elizabeth Bentley (who later became a Soviet spy), and Herbert Marcuse.
Neo Marxism
The Frankfurt School, with its influence on Colombia University, led the charge for Neo-Marxists. They also targeted the media, Hollywood, publishing houses, the theatre, the arts, and whatever other cultural conveyor belt was at its disposal.
They directed attention on gender roles, marriage, and family, but found obstacles in their way. For George Lukacs the two greatest obstacles were God and the family. “The family was not only a receptacle of the continuity in values, but the cement which held society together – and Lukacs hated both God and the family.” (Paul Kengor, Takedown –
We now enter the period of the Sexual Revolution. Wilhelm Reich has the honours for naming this revolution. Reich insisted that the children of marriage must be freed from the sway of “parental ideas.” This included (in Reich’s words) “defending children’s and teenagers’ right to natural love.” (Paul Kengor, ibid)
Herbert Marcuse stepped into the shoes of Reich and believed that sexual liberation was achieved by exploring new explorations of sexual desires. He argued that everyone was fundamentally bisexual. Marcuse advocated tolerance, only when it comes to accepting their thinking; people who disliked their ideas were labelled “homophobes”, “bigots”, “haters”. Modern LBTQI individuals see Marcuse as no less than a pioneer to their movement, to whom they are deeply grateful.
In the 60’s, inhaling from this immoral oxygen and expanding on it, radical feminism blossomed. Kate Millett was a prominent Marxist feminist and declared,
“A sexual revolution would require, perhaps first of all, an end of traditional sexual inhibitions and taboos, particularly those that most threaten patriarchal monogamous marriage: homosexuality, ‘illegitimacy,’ adolescent, pre-and extra-marital sexuality.”
For these folk the only way to smash marriage, was to smash the idea of patriarchy, and the only way to accomplish this is to destroy monogamy.
A new Marriage Act?
It doesn’t require any mental gymnastics to see the link between between the Neo Marxists and the push for a change in the marriage act. It is also not rocket science to see the link between the Safe School Program and the push to change the act. Prof Gary Dowsett of the Latrobe university, where this program was developed, is on record to have positive views on pedophilia, while his colleague Ross Ward said about the program, “I not only teach people to be gay, I teach them to be gay and communist.” When the Victoria Government approved the program, Ward posted on Facebook, “Now we just need to get rid of the racist Australian flag on top of state parliament and get a red one up there and my work is done.”
Marsha Masha Gessen, a gay-rights activist writes,
“It’s a no-brainer that [homosexuals] should have the right to marry, but I also think equally that it’s a no-brainer that the institution of marriage should not exist. … Fighting for gay marriage generally involves lying about what we are going to do with marriage when we get there — because we lie that the institution of marriage is not going to change, and that is a lie. The institution of marriage is going to change, and it should change. And again, I don’t think it should exist.
Paul Kengor writes,
“Once advocates of male-female marriage succeed in redefining marriage as anything but one man and one woman, there will be no end to the redefinition.”
Enough said. This is the path and ideologies of those who hate God and his plan for this world.
Knowing the distinction between the truth and the lie
Our text from 2 Thessalonians 2:9 makes reference to “the work of Satan.” Our Lord declared about Satan:
He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. (John 8:44, NIV)
Satan is counterfeit; like the Egyptian sorcerers who countered Aaron’s staff which turned into a snake, so even today Satan uses deceit to perform miracles, signs and wonders. He lied in Eden telling a half truth followed by a lie, and he is still doing it. Gullible people believe it and are deceived. Why?
They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. (2 Thessalonians 2:10, NIV)
The truth has come to us in Jesus Christ through the Gospel. Paul writes to the Ephesians:
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, (Ephesians 1:13, NIV)
Jesus Christ said,
“If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31–32, NIV)
The godless the truth by their wickedness. (Romans 1:18–19, NIV). Once one is swept away by the lie and deceit of Satan, every lie that comes one’s way is gobbled up as truth. Someone remarked, “We will all eat lies when our hearts are hungry.” What is the result?
… all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness. (2 Thessalonians 2:12, NIV)
This is what is described in Romans 1,
Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them. (Romans 1:32, NIV)
Of course it all started in paradise. But there was a cross on Calvary’s Hill, and an open grave in Joseph’s garden in Arimathea. Christ defeated the lie, so so became the truth, the way and the life. He forgives and restores any type of sinner who comes to be forgiven. Him we preach. Amen.
Sermon preached by Rev D. Rudi Schwartz on Sunday 17 September 2017
Ultimate Standards 