Language For The Culture Wars
by Darris McNeely
Source: Martin Strachoň / Wikimedia CommonsChange the terms, remove the stigma of shame, and all behavior is equal. That's what is happening with two critical issues today.
Last night I was watching Bill O'Reilly on Fox News. He was discussing the culture wars and specifically why traditional voices are losing the battle on two key issues: abortion and same-sex marriage. Since I am not a regular viewer of the program, but am always watching the ongoing culture wars, I stopped to hear what he had to say.
On the subject of abortion, he brought up a key fact I did not know. Science, he said, has confirmed that at the moment of conception in the female, human DNA is present. That being the case, there is a "human presence" from that instant. We are then talking about life and what will eventually develop into a distinct human throughout nine months of gestation.
This is consistent with our stand on abortion here at Beyond Today. Life begins at conception. Abortion is the taking of human life. Abortion is murder. We covered this in a recent Beyond today program entitled, The Sanctity of Life . O'Reilly even showed recent polls indicating more people are pro-life today than just a few years ago.
The terms used in the abortion debate have completely altered the reality of what is being done. Call the unborn child "fetal tissue" and you depersonalize the matter. Argue for "women's rights" and you ignore the right of the child. Hide the destruction of human life behind the term "pro choice" and you don't have to worry about guilt. Change the terms and there is no sin.
The second half of the discussion dealt with same-sex marriage. Here, the "Bible thumpers" are losing the argument, he said, and I totally agree with him—and I am a Bible thumper. I concede that this argument is over in America. Polls show a majority of people accept that gays and lesbians are due equal rights when it comes to marriage. Recent arguments before the United States Supreme Court seek to establish as a constitutional right and at the same time redefine the traditional definition of marriage. They seek the overturning of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).
My colleague here at Beyond Today Media, Mitchell Moss , has been writing on the subject of same-sex marriage and attracting a bit of attention for the effort. We are discussing these hot subjects with fascination. American culture has radically changed in the past ten years. It became very clear after the elections of last November that the nation has passed a point in tolerance for personal morality that was once considered sin.
I fully understand the arguments being made for same sex-marriage are in the civil arena. The Biblical or religious morality of the issue is not even admitted into the debate. It is an unfortunate reality that no Supreme Court justice is going to ask that a friend of the court briefing from the writings of the Apostle Paul on homosexuality be admitted for the justices to consider (what an interesting thought—best saved for another blog post).
However, being a "Bible thumper," I am concerned. That the Biblical view has been pushed out of the public discussion is a bad omen for the future. Make no mistake, the Bible condemns homosexual behavior in clear terms. The Bible also condemns adulterous behavior between heterosexual couples. It also condemns fornication (a completely unknown term to most today), which is sex outside of the marriage covenant. Lastly, the Bible gives clear teaching that marriage between a man and a woman is God's original intent. It does not take a Bible scholar to read the book and understand all the above, despite the ignorant and misinformed ideas to the contrary!
This Bible thumper has diminishing patience for the lack of clear thinking founded upon a Biblical morality. That same book has something to say about the patience God has for a nation saturated in sin—another unknown term for a modern world.
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