Dangerous Results of Internet Pornography
Mediawatch-uk, which campaigns for family values in the media, quotes a recent television programme about internet pornography which gave very disturbing statistics. For example, “two-thirds of boys aged 11-13 admit to viewing internet porn”, and “23% of boys said they had tried to stop watching porn but could not”.
The programme included an interview with a 19-year-old who said he was addicted to pornography and that this affected him, not only socially and academically, but even impaired his ability to go about his daily life. The findings of research being done at Cambridge University agree with recent reports in the US – “that pornography addiction is no different from chemical substance addiction”.
Mediawatch says that the programme was “a terrifying portrayal of the world that children must navigate” and shows that most parents need to be aware of this serious harm to which their children are exposed through the internet. What can parents do? Obviously they must frankly warn their children of the grave danger of pornography and consistently monitor their use of the internet. Parents should not rely, says Mediawatch, on internet filters alone to protect their children, for no filter is fully effective.
Responsible parents will not only pray for their children, but also clearly
teach them that the Bible requires chastity. Manoah’s question, “How shall we order the child?” is often echoed in one form or another by parents. If their children’s footsteps are ordered by the Bible (see Ps 119:133) they will indeed be in a safe path. “Train up a child in the way that he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Prov 22:6). NMR
Perth Minister Arrested for Street Preaching
Who would have thought that, in what was once known as “the land of the Book”, a minister should be arrested for preaching the gospel in the open air? This was a Baptist minister, Mr J Williamson, who according to his own account, was arrested in September for preaching in Perth city centre.
A police officer ordered him to stop preaching as he was allegedly breaching the peace, even although he was not using amplification, just his natural voice. A bystander spoke up to defend the civil liberty of the preacher. Both men were arrested, cautioned and released from custody without charge. The minister was warned that if he preached in the street again he would be arrested.
Three days later he was arrested again for the same reason, despite the fact that buskers were playing loud, amplified music at opposite ends of the street. This time he was given a fixed penalty notice for breach of the peace, which he refused to pay as he believed he had not breached the peace. After being held in a police cell for six hours he was released. He is now waiting to know whether he will be charged or not.
The British Church Newspaper rightly says, “The most disturbing aspect of the case is the arrest of a preacher, not for any allegedly offensive content of his message, but simply for the act of preaching. The misuse of ‘breach of the peace’ legislation in this case sets a very dangerous precedent.” A spokesperson for the Christian Legal Centre stated that the police actions “show an increasing hostility towards Christianity”.
Even in heathen Athens, Paul was not arrested for preaching in the city but was invited by city leaders to explain his doctrine further, with the result that several people believed (Acts 17). Let us continue to pray that God will preserve to us the degree of liberty we still have. “O Lord, Thou art our God; let not man prevail against Thee” (2 Chr 14:11). NMR
The Sodomite Movement
One of the most alarming aspects of the Sodomite movement is its attempt to redefine right and wrong. Until recently, sodomy took its place among other sins such as adultery, abortion, gambling, drunkenness. Some sinners committed these sins brazenly, other secretly and with shame; and the general view of secular society was that these were less than desirable aspects of human
life which were to be tolerated, and perhaps regulated, but not encouraged. In particular, one was free to criticise and condemn all these things.
The situation with regard to sodomy has changed, and in the last couple of years people have been in danger of losing their jobs and positions because they have openly opposed sodomy. Numerous prominent people in Britain regard opposition to sodomy, which they call “homophobia”, as itself morally wrong, and something that renders one unfit for a responsible position in society. At present the number of jobs in which it is unsafe to express opposition to sodomy is relatively small, but that number is steadily increasing.
The logic of the Sodomite position is that those who oppose sodomy are not fit to be MPs, judges, lawyers, policemen, civil servants, school teachers, etc, nor to work for the BBC or a local council, except in some mundane position. In other words, the country should be run by a Sodomite elite and its friends, while those who disapprove of sodomy (including all Christians) should be reduced to silence and servility. Britain has already advanced a considerable distance in this direction. The pictures of Sodom and Gibeah in the Bible give us some idea of the sort of morality likely to prevail in a country dominated by sodomites (Gen 19; Jdg 19).
The Word of God connects the rise of sodomy with a rejection of religious truth (Rom 1:24, 26), and it is remarkable how many people ensnared in that sin have had an Evangelical background. Having lived apparently normal lives, but in rejection of the truth, they abruptly, as it seems, find their desires changing, and they start “burning in their lust” towards members of their own sex (Rom 1:27). The direct hand of God should be recognised in this. We are not thinking of poor sinners struggling with temptations which they acknowledge to be wrong; we are thinking of people who deliberately and brazenly adopt a way of life which they know full well to be evil, and who cannot endure that anyone should warn them on the subject. It is one thing to be tempted to sin, and even to commit it, but it is another and far worse matter to deny that one’s most obvious sins are wrong. Such denial is a sign of a reprobate mind (Rom 1:28,32). We have heard of some surprising cases recently, and there may be those in Free Presbyterian circles who are teetering on the brink of this appalling fall.
DWBS