Editorial
From the Newsletter of Revesby Presbyterian Church
June 2009
Rev Dr Peter Barnes
The well-publicised rugby league scandal with regard to players involved in group sex has provided an insight into how modern secular Australia views issues of sexual morality. Almost all expressed some kind of outrage, either at the players or at those who were outraged at the players. Peter FitzSimons has long prophesied regarding those involved in rugby league: ‘if they carry on as if it were 30 years ago, then the 21st century will shut them down’. According to FitzSimons, we are moving out of the Neanderthal age of the late 20th century (when men did not respect women) into the age of universal enlightenment in the 21st century (when, enlightened by feminism, men will respect women) – a common and not entirely convincing view of history and ethics.
Even worse was the analysis of one professional footballer who suggested that much of the trouble could have been avoided if the players had put the woman in a cab afterwards and thanked her instead of slinking off. His conclusion was ‘It’s how you treat them afterwards that covers a lot of that stuff up.’ It is difficult to respond to insensitivity as hard-core as that, except to point out that there are those of whom the Scripture speaks who have their consciences ‘seared’ (1 Tim.4:2). Yet more disturbing, and ultimately more ludicrous precisely because it has the appearance of being more intelligent, was the suggestion of Adele Horin, who agreed with an American expert on date rape, Professor Mary Koss, that anything is allowable provided there is mutual pleasure.
The response to the whole sordid episode was almost as sordid as the episode itself. Human beings are inherently moralistic, but not inherently moral. To those with eyes to see, we are surely living in a culture which has no clear way of answering the question: ‘What is right and wrong?’ The Bible’s answer is clear: ‘sin is lawlessness’ (1 John 3:4). God has made His law known. When we break that law, that is sin. Hence, when God told Israel what to do and what not to do in the Promised Land, He punctuated His commandments with the oft-repeated statement: ‘I am the Lord’ (Lev.19:4, 10, 11, 14, 16, 18, 25, 28, 30, 31, 32, 34, 36, 37). In knowing the Lord, we know what to do, how to behave, what constitutes what is right and what constitutes what is wrong.
In the recent scandal, there have been appeals to ethics based on supposed progress, self-interest, cover-ups, and mutual pleasure. The whole thing has been a shambles. As T. S. Eliot commented: ‘Human kind cannot bear very much reality.’ Even more to the point is Thomas Mann: ‘Tolerance becomes a crime when applied to evil.’ How different is God’s Word! As Nehemiah sought to stop the oppression of the poor in Jerusalem, he appealed to conscience (Neh.5:9a, ‘The thing that you are doing is not good’), to the fear of God (Neh.5:9b), and to Israel’s testimony before a watching world (Neh.5:9c). In Ephesians, Paul can appeal to Christians on the grounds that we are members one of another (4:25), that we do not want to give an opportunity to the devil (4:27), that we do not want to grieve the Holy Spirit (4:30), and that God has forgiven us in Christ (4:32). We will want to imitate God in Christ (5:1-2) who gave Himself for His people (5:25-27), bearing in mind always that ‘the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience’ (5:6). It is simply ‘right’ that children obey their parents (6:1), and blessing will come of it (6:3). Ultimately, we shall all appear before the Lord in the judgment, and there is no partiality with Him (6:5-9). Paul declares: ‘we aim at what is honourable not only in the Lord’s sight but also in the sight of man’ (2 Cor.8:21).
God appeals to the total person, and His claims upon are powerful and convincing. The world can only appeal to part of the truth, and its claims are weak and embarrassing. There is some overlap, of course. The husband is to love his wife as his own body because he who does so loves himself and contributes to his own welfare (Eph.5:28-29). The world has some limited capacity to judge right and wrong, but the operative word is ‘limited’. When the pressure is on, it becomes every man for himself. Human beings are inherently moralistic. We think in terms of right and wrong. Even when we are wrong, we will seek to cloak that with the vocabulary of what is right. We do not lose our tempers, we stand up for our rights; we do not engage in sexual impurity, we show our sexual maturity; we do not steal, we only take what is rightfully ours; and we are not selfish, we are only looking after number one. Yet worldly moralism is bereft of truth and power. It is the God of the Bible who reveals to us what is right and wrong, and gives us the standard by which we are able to judge all other standards. Most importantly, we are able to judge ourselves, and see clearly our need for grace.
With warmest regards in Christ,
Peter Barnes