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A society's greatest risk is raising
a generation of citizens who do not know right from
wrong, immoral from moral, good from evil. Disturbing
trends indicate that Canada is heading in that very
direction. Psychiatrists and sociologists are asking,
"How can a mother drown her own children?"
"How can a father rape his two-year old daughter?"
The answers are partly found in the
human conscience. A seared or calloused conscience warps
all sense of right and wrong, and gives one the sense
of liberty to do whatever one chooses. Most of us, especially
Christians, understand human nature well enough to know
that an unrestrained mind can be exceedingly wicked.
One of our greatest concerns is the
growing acceptance of pedophilia in North America and
Europe. Sex with children would have been considered
an abhorrent, perverted, exceedingly evil act just ten
or fifteen years ago, but now it is being promoted as
healthy and normal. Some university professors and psychologists
are promoting "intergenerational sex" as a
healthy and normal part of child development.
Some judges hand out grossly inadequate
sentences for convicted pedophiles. Just last month
in Montreal, an appeals court judge reduced the sentence
of a pedophile convicted of raping his two-year old
daughter and selling the pictures. The judge's reasoning
was that "this was not a violent act because there
was no gagging, threat, or hitting". How can any
adult consider raping a two-year old child non-violent?
At the time of writing, legislation
to raise the age of sexual consent from 14 to 16 was
imminent (Family Action Coalition has been lobbying
this for 6 years). The legislation is designed to prevent
adults from seducing and sexually exploiting children.
Yet Egale (a homosexual activist group) and Planned
Parenthood have been aggressively opposing the legislation.
Just weeks ago, a new political party was formed in
the Netherlands. The "Love, Freedom and Diversity"
party, informally called the pedophile party, has a
platform intending to legalize pedophilia and bestiality.
In Canada sexual behavior has fewer
societal norms, boundaries and legal deterrents than
ever before. Some say we cannot legislate morality.
The real truth is that with no legal restraint on sexual
behaviors, abuse and exploitation of children will increase.
What can be done about this sin? If
a seared or hardened conscience has allowed this to
occur, then now, more than ever before, the church is
presented with a great opportunity and sobering challenge.
Through Christ's teachings, we have answers to these
problems. The church must first address and deal with
sexual sin in its own ranks if we are to have any credibility
or authority in being a voice and moral compass in society.
Some research indicates porn use among
Christians is almost as high as among others. Are churches
taking leadership and teaching on sexual sin? Lack of
teaching, lack of discipline and "head in sand"
ignorance is harmful. When is the last time you heard
a sermon on sexual sin?
We often want our legislators to act
to protect children. Thankfully, the current government
is taking some steps. We applaud that. However we cannot
expect the government to solve this problem. We as citizens,
parents, grandparents, teachers, preachers and most
importantly, followers of Christ, must take action.
Family Action Coalition lobbies for
stronger laws and will continue those efforts, but legislative
changes alone will not solve this problem. The church
must clean up within and then reach out with teaching
and resources to help others.
It's time to stop ignoring the enemy's
playground.
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