n e w c h u r c h l i f e : j u ly / au g u s t 2 0 1 6
“sex,” a substitution that facilitates the rejection of the truth that there are
only two sexes, male and female – which are derived from the Divine love and
wisdom of our Creator.
This redefining and banishment of sex as a category is reminiscent of
the totalitarian society George Orwell envisioned in his novel 1984, in which
women’s membership in the “Anti-Sex League” was one of the instruments of
Big Brother’s iron control over every facet of life. A main theme in that book
is the manipulating of language as a means of controlling thought. Orwell’s
“Newspeak” was prophetic of the “politically correct” language we have today.
Over a century ago, another writer, G. K. Chesterton, noted how language
was subtly changing and identified the underlying cause: atheism. Here is what
he wrote in the Illustrated London News in 1912 (from a Notable and Quotable
item in The Wall Street Journal of June 2, 2016):
An interesting essay might be written on the possession of an atheistic literary
style. There is such a thing. The mark of it is that wherever anything is named or
described, such words are chosen as suggest that the thing has not got a soul in it.
Thus they will not talk of love or passion, which imply a purpose and a desire. They
talk of the “relations” of the sexes, as if they were simply related to each other in
a certain way, like a chair and a table. Thus they will not talk of the waging of war
(which implies a will), but of the outbreak of war – as if it were a sort of boil. Thus
they will not talk of masters paying more or less wages, which faintly suggests some
moral responsibility in the masters: they will talk of the rise and fall of wages, as if
the thing were automatic, like the tides of the sea.
(WEO)
let your light so shine
In the wake of the wanton terrorism that killed and injured more than 100
innocent people in Orlando, Florida, in June – and stunned a reeling world
– debate raged anew over how best to root out this evil. Among the more
positive offerings was this wise insight from the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr.:
The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very
thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing violence, it multiplies it. Through
violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the
truth. Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. So
it goes. Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness
to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive our darkness; only light
can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Violence, hate and terrorism are the venomous symptoms of the evil flowing
from hell that must be confronted and overcome in this world. We need
military and law enforcement to protect us, but ultimately the Lord’s love and
410