In this episode Peter brings up a interesting article regarding pedophilia from a Old Dominion professor which had massive consequences!
What constitutes Pedophilia? And what does the Bible say?
So many are degusted when we hear the word pedophilia but don’t take the time to think through the issues. Check out this Podcast to delve into one professors thoughts on this issues and the ideas that got him in trouble.
Survey says….
Is sex identity changing? Peter Martin walks us through a article on the younger generations sexual identity. And wouldn’t you know it…. the results are all over the place! But are you surprised? What do you expect in a existential sexual philosophy. One thing we can learn from this survey is that education and discipleship works! Where do youth get educated today as different from prior generations?
30% of millennials identify as LGBTQ+
39% of Gen Z identify as LGBTQ+
Religious beliefs had no bearing on this survey by the Barna Group.
Peter and Beau take this Podcast to discuss a article by Robert Jensen on Pornography titled: Pornography: Doing the worst to women, bringing out the worst in men
Peter and I were stoked to sit down and discuss the LGBTQ community, especially the word equality. It is a word that is used often, but what does it mean to have sexual and gender equality? This might seem to be a dumb question, but when we don’t ask questions we tend not to get answers. Noam Chomsky once commented in a small book on the propaganda distributed by mass media:
“You want to create a slogan that nobody’s going to be against, and everybody’s going to be for. Nobody knows what it means, because it doesn’t mean anything. Its crucial value is that it diverts your attention from a question that does mean something.”
Well, we want to know what is mean by equality, and that might take some time; or in our case, some podcasts!
As we discuss equality, we quote GK Chesterton, C.S. Lewis, Noam Chomsky and Kurt Vonnegut Jr’s super awesome write up called, “Harrison Bergeron.”
G.K. Chesterton said, “There is a thought that stops thought, and that is the only type of thought, that ought to be stopped.”
Sometimes when trying to ask questions about what is meant by the word equality on sex or gender issues you can be immediately shut down. This is unfortunate.
The Bible talks about equality, but how does it talk about it? In what way are we equal and it what ways are we not?
Check out this Episode hope it challenges you intellectually and spiritually.
An excerpt from the workbook by Peter Martin. From the Chapter on Anxiety!
This is why I love the Serenity Prayer so much:
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time; enjoying one moment at a time; accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will; that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him forever in the next. Amen.
It is so awesome to me how this prayer focuses on the truth that there are some things that are within my control, and some things that aren’t. How much of our time do we spend worrying about things that we can’t change while we ignore the things that we can? Or, how much of our time do we spend paralyzed by fear as we convince ourselves that we can’t change things, that we actually can? This is most obvious to me when I stress out about the past or the future. Again, it’s not that it is wrong to think about the past, if we don’t think about our past ever we won’t be able to learn from it. And it isn’t wrong to think about the future, God wants us to be good stewards of our lives and that requires planning and discernment. But when we obsessively ruminate over the past and allow guilt and regret to consume us, we aren’t learning from our past, we are being controlled by something that we can’t change. Likewise, if our thoughts are consumed with “what if” questions about the future, which is by nature uncertain and outside of our control, we aren’t going to be able to effectively plan for the future. Instead, our minds will come apart with fear and instead of planning and making rational decisions, we will stress-out and dwell in paralyzing fear and indecision.
This will also steal all potential joy in your present circumstances because you will be so worried about what was, and what could be, you can’t simply enjoy what is. This is what Jesus is warning us about when He says: “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.”
Each day has enough trouble of its own. It is only as God gives us the power to accept the things that are out of our control, and helps us see that the only thing that ultimately matters about your future, whether or not you will spend eternity with Him, has already been accomplished by Him; that we can gain the peace to enjoy and function in the present, the courage to learn from the past and change, and the confidence to plan for the future and make decisions, knowing that the future isn’t in your hands, but in the hands of God.
There is a common theme throughout the Bible which is the Glory of God. We hope the following message by Pastor Peter Martin gives you new perspective on your battle against unwanted sexual desire or sexual lethargy. There are many that get off of pornography and yet still do not bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit. They instead become full of self righteousness; looking down on others who are not quite where they are at. This epidemic of self righteousness could be the reason for the current crisis in our country on religious people feeling despair due to the shame for there sexual desires, wishes and wants; whom visit so many psychiatrist, psychologist, faith based recovery groups, conferences and centers.
Does the Church have an answer for people besides, “Just stop?”
The Bibles remedy for sinful inclinations (lust, pride, laziness, self righteousness etc…) is the Gospel. The good news teaches us that we are utterly a mess. Everyone is a broken person. It also tells us that Gods love us so much as to bring forgiveness to us through the cross. The famous mathematician Blaze Pascal observed these two truths of the gospel.
“Christianity is strange. It orders man to recognize that he is vile, and even abominable, yet orders him to seek to be like God. Without such a counterbalance, that elevation would make him horribly vain, or that bumbling would make him terribly abject.”
“The Gospel…it teaches to the just, whom it raises to the very point of participation in divinity itself, that in this sublime state they bear still the source of all corruption, which makes them, throughout life, subject to error, to misery, to death, to sin; and it cries out to the most impious that they are capable of receiving the grace of their Redeemer. Thus, making tremble those whom it justifies, and consoling those whom it condemns, it tempers fear with hope with so much precision, by virtue of this double capacity for grace and sin which is common to all, that it humbles infinitely more than reason alone can do, but without leading to despair; and it exalts infinitely more than does natural pride, but without presumption. It thus reveals that being alone free of error and vice, it alone can properly instruct an correct mankind.”
At Running Light we hope to help by seeking to understand the Gospel alongside others.
Romans 1:16 “I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God to salvation.”
Enjoy Peter’s message!
