Chapter 2
DISREGARD FOR GOD ORDAINED AUTHORITY STRUCTURE
Many parents today really do try to provide the best they can for their children, and they want to give them happiness and security. They consequently spend their time and energy in the acquisition of material possessions. However, little time is spent to provide for the family's spiritual and emotional needs. Parental authority needs to be at the head of a family in order to pull it together, and give it direction and substance. Unfortunately, many fathers and mothers spend a `minimum amount of time and effort in maintaining direct contact with their children. Then they wonder why their children do not turn out as they would like.
God's first institution was the family, and Satan has always tried to destroy it. Communism proved to be an excellent weapon to destroy this God oriented family structure. However, Satan also uses other methods to destroy the fabric of family structure. One of his favorite methods for the destruction of the family is the fatherless society. Destroy the father, and the family structure crumbles. Today a fatherless society is being built in America by Satan. Nearly 2 out of every 5 children in America do not live with their fathers.1
Perhaps more than virtually any other factor, a biological father's presence in the family will determine a child's success and happiness. The children of divorce, and those born outside of marriage, struggle through life at a disadvantage. According to Tony Evans, the primary cause of the national crisis of the collapse of the family is the feminization of American males.2 Men give up their role as family leaders, thus forcing women to fill the vacuum. In the black community, women run the family, and 60% of black children grow up without a father in the home.3 An astonishing 38% of all children now live without their biological fathers, and this is up from just 17.5 % in 1960.4 At today's rate more than three fourths of our children will spend at least part of childhood without a father.
The absence of a father is linked to many social nightmares in the family, which range from boys with guns to girls with babies. No welfare reform plan can reduce poverty as effectively as a two-parent family. Some 46% of families with children headed by single mothers live below the poverty line compared with 8% of those with two parents.5 Furthermore, an increasing marriage rate will do far more to fight crime than building prisons or putting more police on the streets. Studies show that only 43% of state prison inmates grew up with both parents, and that a missing father is a better predictor of criminal activity than race or poverty.6 Growing up with both parents is a better antidote to teen pregnancy, than handing out condoms. Recent studies show that young women who were reared in disruptive families are twice as likely to become teen mothers.7 Social scientists have made similar links between a father's absence, and his child's likelihood of being a dropout, jobless, a drug addict, a suicide victim, mentally impaired, and a target of child sexual abuse.8 Today only 50-51% of children still live with both biological parents.9 There were some 1.2 million divorcees in 1994, about 53% of which involved minor children.10 Finally, it is important to note that there are places in America where fathers, which usually are the best hope to socialize boys, are so rare that bedlam engulfs the community.11
The Plight of Other Authority Figures
Teachers, ministers, police and other authority figures fight losing battles in places where gang members become role models to preteen and teenage boys. The result is often an astonishing level of violence, and incomprehensible incidents of brutality. A typical example occurred in Chicago where two boys, aged 10 and 11 were charged with the murder of 5 year old Eric Morse on October 13 1994.12 The boys lured Eric and his older brother Derrick Lemon, 8 into a vacant apartment in Chicago's South side, and attempted to intimidate Eric twice by forcing him out of a window., Derrick fought back, but the two boys let him drop to his death 150 to the ground. The reason for their actions was revolting. He refused to steal candy for them.
An epidemic of violence is killing America's inner cities one child at a time. The number of killings by children younger than 18 increased 125% between 1984 and 1994.13 In 1994 the nations' juvenile justice system spent $20 billion to arrest and jail children, only to see 70% commit new crimes.14 Parts of America's inner cities have become so alien to many Americans that they are like some third world foreign countries. Much of this alienation is caused by the destruction of the American family. For instance, in the black community woman raise the children, and 60% of them grow up without a father in the home.15 By the turn of the century that figure is expected to climb to 70%.16 When those children attend school, 83% of their teachers will be women.17 In a similar manner, when they go to Church, Sunday School teachers, care givers and other leaders will also be women. Men, as noted earlier, are to blame for most of this problem. The problems here are complex, but it is necessary that something is done about them or our entire civilization may soon verge on collapse. This very idea was tersely noted by the former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich when he said: "Today we have 12 year olds having babies, 15 year olds shooting each other, 17 year olds dying of AIDS, and 18 year olds that cannot read the diplomas they get from graduating from high school. Civilization can not sustain itself under those conditions".
In Search of a More Productive Way
Without strong families built on a framework of Biblical morality, there is no amount of money, no federal, state, county or municipal program that can get us out of this dilemma decaying moral and social values. Don't blame the economy or race for these problems. Racism doesn't get teenage girls pregnant. Today working parents have no time to teach their children the moral values they need. Instead, they receive these values from day care centers and televisions. In fact, the television has replaced many baby sitters and parents. Television mentality, with all its violence and filth, will create a rebellious generation. More than 30 talk shows appear on the television daily. Almost all of them focus on perversion, premarital sex, multiple sex partners, and many other of the most decadent aspects of human morality. Moral values need to be taught to children before they reach the age of 10. This principle is emphasized in the Bible. For instance, in Deuteronomy 11 there is some sage advice on how to train your children, because a country which violates the laws of God will not be blessed. Deuteronomy 18-21 reads as follows: "Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 19You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 20And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates,21 that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers to give them, like the days of the heavens above the earth.(NKJV)"
Another important Biblical reference on this matter is found in Proverbs 22:6 "Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it. (NKJV)"
The plight of senior citizens is deplorable. In many cases this situation is fostered by a selfish lifestyle of their children who send their parents to nursing homes, where they spend the rest of their life in loneliness, boredom and desperation. Once a year on Fathers day or Mothers day, some of them visit their parents for a few minutes, and bring them some flowers. Others only call them by phone to say " I love you mommy" or " I love you daddy ". In Eastern cultures, by contrast, the family is a close knit unit and the children take care of their parents. Most of them consider it as an obligation, privilege and a sacred duty. However, in western cultures when people are young and healthy they never think about their own plight in old age. The Bible sets an important precedent for this type of situation. It is found in the New Testament when the apostle Paul was writing to Timothy when he said that: 1 Tim 5:8 "But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.(NKJV)"
Another reason for the family disintegration is the spread of homosexuality in our nation. America is experiencing a homosexual epidemic. Homosexuality is almost as old as man. The first mention of it in recorded history is found in the book of Genesis written over 4,000 years ago. It concerns Lot and the notorious cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. The word sodomy, men practicing sex with men has become a standard definition for homosexuality, and is derived from the name of the ancient city of Sodom, where that perversion was openly practiced. Homosexuality was prevalent among the time of Egyptian Pharaohs. By the 8th century BC, the prophet Isaiah spoke out against the leaders of Israel, and warned them that they not only practiced the sin of Sodom, but were flagrantly open about it in a similar way that the Gay pride movement is today in U.S.A. This prophet's warning is seen in Isaiah 3:9 "The look on their countenance witnesses against them, And they declare their sin as Sodom; They do not hide it. Woe to their soul! For they have brought evil upon themselves. (NKJV)" The fall of Israel and the subsequent scattering of the ten "lost tribes " was also caused by their sins of sodomy. This is seen in Isaiah 3:12 "As for My people, children are their oppressors, And women rule over them. O My people! Those who lead you cause you to err, And destroy the way of your paths (NKJV)". The Hebrew word for the women who ruled Israel at that time is most interesting. Some lexicons translate it "Woman like men" or effeminate while others render it "men who act like woman". In other words Israel's government had been invaded by homosexuals, and thereby invoking divine wrath.
In contrast, Judah, the southern tribe under the leadership of King Hezekiah, and the preaching of the prophet Isaiah, turned to God and repented. Consequently they were spared the captivity that befell the ten tribes of Israel. However, less than 150 years later they returned to those sins, and sinned even more that Sodom and Gomorrah, so that eventually, Jerusalem was destroyed, and they were led into captivity by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar. These events are recorded in Ezekiel 16:46-48. Here God condemned Judah for being a sister to Sodom and accused them of being even worse that Sodom. Evidently one of the rampant sins of the Hebrew people at that time, like that of Sodom before her, must have been homosexuality.
Historians are well versed in the bisexuality of Grecian culture just three and four hundred years before Christ. Socrates was a practicing homosexual, as were most Greek leaders and philosophers. Plato wrote and entire section in his "symposium" exalting homosexual love. Alexander the Great had both male and female lovers. Historians verify that homosexuality was rampant in the days of Rome, especially in the upper echelons of leadership.18 Sutonins in his book "The twelve Ceasars" indicated that 14 out of the first 15 emperors of Rome were homosexuals. No wonder both Gibbon and Toynbee concluded that homosexuality was one of the moral sins that contributed to the decline of the Roman Empire.19 The practice of that perversion was so prevalent at that time that the population of the nation actually declined.
Homosexuality is such a disgusting practice, that those that practice it have had to resort to secrecy in order to work their way into acceptable circles of many cultures and civilizations. In western history it has been linked to such well-known personalities. Many of them have been considered creative geniuses. During the last three decades there has been a tremendous increase in homosexuality or at least it has become more visible in our society. In spite of the cries of the homosexual community that "I am born this way" or " I've always been different" homosexuality is a learned behavior, the result of individual choice.20,21
Homosexuality is a Sin
Homosexuality is one of six sexual sins condemned by God in both the Old and New Testament. Some examples of this include: Leviticus 18:22 "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination (NKJV)". Punishment for this offense is death. Another example is found in Leviticus 20:13 "If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them (NKJV)."
Some homosexuals, that claim to be Christians, believe that Old Testament condemnations were negated through Christ and that we are no longer under the law. The only thing that has changed in the New Testament is the death penalty. The New Testament condemns the practice even more harshly, but lists the end as spiritual rather than physical death. 1 Corinthians 6:9reads "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, (NKJV)" 1st Timothy 1:10 tells us that "The Law" was not made for a righteous person, but fornicators, sodomites, kidnappers, liars for perjurers and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine. God's view on homosexuality is described in Romans chapter one. Clearly, it is ungodly, vile, against nature, and shameful. It leads inevitably to a reprobate mind that is a conscious bent toward sinning. Certainly no sexual practice is so destructive of an entire society as homosexuality. Other sins mentioned in the Bible do not seem to involve the intense sexual obsessions that are usually associated with homosexuality. Homosexuality is the ultimate sin of men's abominations, and that when its rampant in a society, God destroys that society. Many homosexual civilizations are no longer in existence, such as the City of Sodom, ruins of Pompeii, Rome and others. The many earthquakes, floods and fire in California since 1988 should be a matter for concern for God loving people.
Sigmund Freud's Contribution to Sexual Perversion
A major contribution to the present day tendency to accept and encourage homosexuality is Dr. Sigmund Freud. His views on sexuality has had more influence on the standards of our day than anyone who has lived in the last 150 years, but few people realized that also includes homosexuality.
Freud graduated from the University of Vienna in 1881 at the height of the Victorian age. Inspite of his Jewish heritage, he was an atheist and very hostile to Christianity. It is widely accepted today by psychologists and others that he had many personal "hangups" that adversely influenced his theories and conclusions. He was a very intelligent and insecure " Mama's boy". He concluded that one's chief motivation was sexual gratification, which subconsciously drove him to nervous disorder, and mental illness, because it usually conflicted with religious laws and taboos. Freud's solution was to censure religious standards and principles as harmful and to urge people to give in to their repressed feelings, urges and drives. Since he did not believe in God who taught men what was right and wrong, he advocated " freedom of social expression" as an aid to mental health. Like most of his followers, Freud never did understand the human conscience, that is a part of all human beings unless destroyed culturally or by repeated violations.
Freud's theoretical explanation for the cause of homosexuality was quite simple, and it became accepted, and spread throughout the western world. He thought that since all children were sexually curious, that they were all " Incestuous ", at least mentally. Furthermore, he believed that boys are particularly susceptible to their mothers (as he was). Thus, a boy tends to identify with his mother rather than his father. He labeled this "the Oedipus Complex" after the Greek tragedy Oedipus Rex in which Oedipus killed his father and married his mother. The Victorian society of his day thought of it as a perversion against God and man. Freud, on the other hand, suggested that it was a cause of retarded psychic development in that a mother loving a boy sought a similar love from other males, which stimulated him to grow up to be an adult homosexual. In other words, homosexuality was no longer to be considered an illegal form of sexual perversion in which one willingly engaged a person of his own sex. Instead it was regarded to be a "mental illness" which one blamed on his mother. Consequently, according to this line of thinking, a homosexual is not responsible for his behavior. Instead, it is his mother's fault. Removing from man the full responsibility for his behavior was a consistent pattern in Freud's theories. Nevertheless, the psychiatric community officially regarded homosexuality as a form of mental illness until 1973.
What Sigmund Freud was to the sexual revolution in general, Havelock Ellis was to homosexuality. Ellis was a student of Freud, but took vigorous issue with his teaching. Unlike Freud, Ellis himself was possessed not only of a contrary sexual feeling but he was an enthusiast for motherhood among other things, which included a fervor for sexual experimentation and a desire to understand sexual deviance. That may be why he married a lesbian. Ellis took exception to the idea that homosexuality was caused by dominant mother's or a "mother's" fault. Instead he taught that it was "inherited" and could well be a sign of greatness.
No other books by a single author have been more influential than Kinsey's in forming the bedroom practices of the western world. Alfred Kinsey was not a trained authority on sexual behavior. Instead, his major claim to fame was that he had spent 28 years studying, classifying and writing about gallflies. After publishing two volumes on that subject he turned to human sexuality, and under a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation finished a research project which formed the nucleus of his work titled "Sexual Behavior in the Human Male", which was published in 1948. The tragedy is that this book has been quoted more than any other book of its kind by writers of this subject. Kinsey stated that " the ability to respond to homosexual stimuli existed in every member of the human species. So everyone is potentially bisexual." Most of the people identified with Kinsey's research were not only sexually permissive, but also anti-Christian. One recent study says that homosexual behavior is in the genes, in order to avoid accountability. However, the majority of scientists have concluded otherwise.
The problems caused by a passive father
The father's love and approval of his son's manhood is very important to any boy. This is particularly true of one who manifests other tendencies which may develop a predisposition toward homosexuality. Homosexuals are not born that way. Instead, it is a proclivity that can be enhanced by parents. The backgrounds of most homosexuals fit a common pattern. The father is frequently absent from home, and his mother turns to the boy as an outlet for her emotional needs. A boy needs to identify with his father's masculinity. It is necessary to bring the father back into the home, and the father and son must spend time together. Children raised in a loving and well disciplined home where the mother and father are themselves good role models for their offspring, rarely have their children become homosexuals. Only parental discipline will enable young people to grow up to become responsible, self-disciplined adults.
References Cited
1. U.S. News & World Report, 2/27/95. p. 4
2. Evans, Tony. Spirtual Purity, Seven Promises, Focus on the Family. Colorado Springs,
Colorado, 1994. p. 79
3. Ibid. p. 79
4. U.S. News & World Report, 2/27/95
5. Ibid. p. 4
6. Ibid. p. 4
7. Ibid. p. 4
8. Ibid. p. 5
9. Ibid. p. 5
10. Ibid. p. 5
11. U.S. News & World Report 2/7/95
12. U.S. News & World Report 2/7/95
13. Ibid. p. 8
14. Ibid. p. 8
15. Ibid. p. 8
16. Ibid. p. 8
17. Ibid. p. 8
18. LaHaye,Tim. What Everyone Should Know About Homosexuality. Wheaton, Illinois: Living Books, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1987. p. 128
19. Ibid. p. 132
20. Houston Chronicle, 7/8/95, Group reviews gay gene study, P4A.
21. Maddoux, Marlin, & Corbett, Christopher. Answers to Gay Deception. International Christian Media, 1994. p. 36