The Consequences of Ideas
By Ranald Macaulay
“The sorrows of those will increase who run after other gods.” Psalm 16:4
Dear Friends
Yesterday’s paper (1st Dec 2004) carried two fascinating sex-related news items, one from London, the other from a remote part of Kenya. The former involves the on-going saga of the Home Secretary’s affair with a married woman. The latter reports a little-known but long-standing custom of the Masai of northern Kenya which the paper describes as a form of wife-swapping. A married woman is considered ‘available’ to males other than her husband and this is symbolised by a spear thrust into the ground outside her hut to indicate that she is otherwise, yet legitimately, engaged.
The custom’s rationale, apparently, is that it ensures the numerical stability of the tribe. Not surprisingly, however, the article concludes with the painful irony that, with the advent of aids, the tradition threatens to destablise the Masai to the point of extinction!
Behind both news-items, of course, lies the question of sexual morality. Are sexual ‘mores’ simply malleable traditions expressing current need and desire, or is human sexuality the subject of a divine absolute? The Decalogue’s response is clear: while many aspects of human experience are variable, sexuality is not one of them. All human beings universally in time and space are bound by God’s absolute rule. Outside marriage (defined carefully as the bond of one man and one woman only) sex is wrong and subject both to God’s ultimate judgement and to the social distresses which inevitably flow from its disregard, - the ‘sorrows’ to which Psalm 16 refers, like aids for example. Regardless of human rationalisations and protests the rule stands; not, let it be carefully said, as an arbitrary and impersonal ‘law’, but as a means towards greater pleasure and fulfilment for those made in God’s image. Though the Masai are a handsome and noble people with a remarkable culture forged in the midst of a harsh environment, it has to be said that their practice of wife-sharing is profoundly mistaken. Similarly, the Home Secretary though much to be admired for the way he has dealt with his blindness, has brought bitterness and sadness through his affair. His now typically western disregard of sexual sanctions, officially endorsed by the Prime Minister and his Cabinet – adultery, they say, is ‘a purely personal matter’ - is no less reprehensible.
I say all this simply to emphasise the importance of ideas and to provide a backdrop to our recent series of Worldview Lectures which ended on Tuesday 30th November. Ideas are like ripples on a pond which flow out with ever-widening impact. To God they are fundamental; everything depends upon having right ideas. Why? Because through false ideas and false gods people are destroyed. Conversely, only through God’s ‘good news’ and God’s truth in Scripture, are people ‘saved’ and ‘restored’.
Starting on November 9, therefore, we arranged four lectures under the over-arching title ‘Civilizations in conflict: why?’ each carrying the subtitle ‘the REAL problem with Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism and Western Secular Humanism’. They were well attended considering that this was our first time for such lectures. People listened intently. Each talk was excellent. Jan Ertner did wonders for the sound system. Discussion flowed easily afterwards. Several non-Christians came repeatedly and representatives from all three religions were present.
So we are full of thanks for this milestone. Several Christian leaders in the community have thanked us for arranging talks of this nature and quality. The audio recordings are available on the website and have been down-loaded by quite a number of people already. Now we look forward to the next set of talks in the spring: first, a day conference on medical ethics on March 5th and then a debate between an atheist and a Christian in April, the details still to be finalised.
My visit to Mississippi in October went well. We are encouraged that the number of individual donors from the UK has steadily risen. Now we are hoping to increase that number by making contact with those from the States who have visited the Round Church, possibly for a guided tour or just to watch the video. That was why I went to Jackson, Ms and Montgomery, Al. In March, when I speak at the L’Abri 50th Anniversary conference in St. Louis, I hope to make similar calls on those who’ve visited us from the West Coast.
Warmest greetings, as ever
Ranald
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Ranald Macaulay, 13/12/2004 |
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