Thursday, November 24, 2005
"Safe Sex" By the World's Standards is Anything But Safe!!!
My friend and fellow-pastor/author, Rev. Grant Swank wrote the following article:
CRAZY SEX
Recreational sex. Is that what they call it? Now it could be called anything but safe. It’s crazy "out there." That is, if you want to downplay the seriousness of humans beings disappearing because of the dreaded disease overflow.
According to Reuters’ Kamil Zaheer, the United Nations has sounded the blaring alarm. Five million people are coming down with HIV worldwide, just in this year alone.
This is the "highest jump since the first reported case in 1981. Taking the number living with the virus to a record 40.3 million."
So the biblical message of sex within the marital commitment makes sense. Monogamous sexual relationships. That’s what makes safe sex. It’s an old preaching theme, but it is the right one when it comes to sexual activity.
Yet liberals of all stripes have derided the biblical definition for so long that the present generation globally thinks nothing of one-night stands, several in a bed, and multiple partners ad infinitum. That includes both heterosexual and homosexual alliances.
Therefore, with sex the main topic of today’s entertainment industry, the biblical note gets put way back on the back burner or slid off life’s stove completely.
Nevertheless, there is a remnant of moralists that has figured out what makes sense and safety when it comes to sexual participation. It’s monogamy. It’s that promise made when married that sex will be thoroughly enjoyed within the bonds of commitment.
Once again, God gets in the last word, being the Alpha and Omega, beginning of ending of everything planetary. God gives the body. Give provides the sex gift. God then makes the rules. It’s only right.
And those who break the rules pay. Along with those breaking the rules are the innocent ones who did not break any rules but suffer nevertheless. That too is part of being an inhabitant of a spiritually damaged world.
"The 4.9 million new infections were fueled by the epidemic's continuing rampage in sub-Saharan Africa and a spike in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, the UNAIDS body said in its annual report.
"’Despite progress made in a small but growing number of countries, the AIDS epidemic continues to outstrip global efforts to contain it,’ the report said."
Of course to make the message all the more complicated, there are religious groups who espouse recreational sex of both homosexual and heterosexual varieties as God-blessed. These include the Episcopal Church, Unitarian Society, and United Church of Christ (Congregational). There are many in the Presbyterian Church, United Methodist Church and Evangelical Lutheran Church of America who are pushing for denominational sanction of the same.
Therefore, instead of spreading the gospel, these denominations spread HIV/AIDS. Instead of using the weekly pulpit for preaching the biblical message of salvation through Christ, the pulpit is used for the politically correct damaging allowance. Such apostates will all answer at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
The biblical congregations still preaching the God-revealed message are not seeing the rise of HIV/AIDS within their memberships. Instead, they are presenting the alternative lifestyle of Christian holiness that yields a change of morality within the life. That in itself staves off the HIV/AIDS virus within those faith communities.
Such biblically-based denominations include the Salvation Army, Southern Baptists, Pentecostals, Missionary Church, Plymouth Brethren, Christian and Missionary Alliance, Evangelical Free Church, Church of the Nazarene, Church of God/Cleveland TN and Church of God/Anderson IN, as well as the Seventh-Day Adventists, Church of Christ (not to be confused with the United Church of Christ/Congregational), Free Will Baptists, Free Methodist Church, Evangelical United Brethren, and various independent congregations.
"More than 3.1 million people have died this year from AIDS, including 570,000 children — far more than the toll from all natural disasters since last December's tsunami. Southern Africa, including South Africa — which has the world's most cases at more than 5.1 million — continues to be worst-hit.
"Saying nine out of 10 people in developing countries do not know their HIV status, UNAIDS Executive Director Peter Piot called for an unprecedented response to the global AIDS crisis." In other words, the world already has an HIV epidemic never dreamt of when the first case was reported.
"’A business-as-usual approach will not do,’ Piot told a news conference in New Delhi. India, with about 5 million HIV sufferers, has the second-highest number of cases after South Africa and there are concerns many cases are unreported."
True. Piot is right on target. But will anyone in public life espouse the biblical holiness lifestyle that puts away the HIV/AIDS virus completely? That would surely be giving a message that would not be "’business-as-usual,’" that’s for certain.
--------------------------------------------------Email: joseph_swank@yahoo.com
CRAZY SEX
By J. Grant Swank, Jr.
As pulished on: MichNews.com
Nov 23, 2005
Recreational sex. Is that what they call it? Now it could be called anything but safe. It’s crazy "out there." That is, if you want to downplay the seriousness of humans beings disappearing because of the dreaded disease overflow.
According to Reuters’ Kamil Zaheer, the United Nations has sounded the blaring alarm. Five million people are coming down with HIV worldwide, just in this year alone.
This is the "highest jump since the first reported case in 1981. Taking the number living with the virus to a record 40.3 million."
So the biblical message of sex within the marital commitment makes sense. Monogamous sexual relationships. That’s what makes safe sex. It’s an old preaching theme, but it is the right one when it comes to sexual activity.
Yet liberals of all stripes have derided the biblical definition for so long that the present generation globally thinks nothing of one-night stands, several in a bed, and multiple partners ad infinitum. That includes both heterosexual and homosexual alliances.
Therefore, with sex the main topic of today’s entertainment industry, the biblical note gets put way back on the back burner or slid off life’s stove completely.
Nevertheless, there is a remnant of moralists that has figured out what makes sense and safety when it comes to sexual participation. It’s monogamy. It’s that promise made when married that sex will be thoroughly enjoyed within the bonds of commitment.
Once again, God gets in the last word, being the Alpha and Omega, beginning of ending of everything planetary. God gives the body. Give provides the sex gift. God then makes the rules. It’s only right.
And those who break the rules pay. Along with those breaking the rules are the innocent ones who did not break any rules but suffer nevertheless. That too is part of being an inhabitant of a spiritually damaged world.
"The 4.9 million new infections were fueled by the epidemic's continuing rampage in sub-Saharan Africa and a spike in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, the UNAIDS body said in its annual report.
"’Despite progress made in a small but growing number of countries, the AIDS epidemic continues to outstrip global efforts to contain it,’ the report said."
Of course to make the message all the more complicated, there are religious groups who espouse recreational sex of both homosexual and heterosexual varieties as God-blessed. These include the Episcopal Church, Unitarian Society, and United Church of Christ (Congregational). There are many in the Presbyterian Church, United Methodist Church and Evangelical Lutheran Church of America who are pushing for denominational sanction of the same.
Therefore, instead of spreading the gospel, these denominations spread HIV/AIDS. Instead of using the weekly pulpit for preaching the biblical message of salvation through Christ, the pulpit is used for the politically correct damaging allowance. Such apostates will all answer at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
The biblical congregations still preaching the God-revealed message are not seeing the rise of HIV/AIDS within their memberships. Instead, they are presenting the alternative lifestyle of Christian holiness that yields a change of morality within the life. That in itself staves off the HIV/AIDS virus within those faith communities.
Such biblically-based denominations include the Salvation Army, Southern Baptists, Pentecostals, Missionary Church, Plymouth Brethren, Christian and Missionary Alliance, Evangelical Free Church, Church of the Nazarene, Church of God/Cleveland TN and Church of God/Anderson IN, as well as the Seventh-Day Adventists, Church of Christ (not to be confused with the United Church of Christ/Congregational), Free Will Baptists, Free Methodist Church, Evangelical United Brethren, and various independent congregations.
"More than 3.1 million people have died this year from AIDS, including 570,000 children — far more than the toll from all natural disasters since last December's tsunami. Southern Africa, including South Africa — which has the world's most cases at more than 5.1 million — continues to be worst-hit.
"Saying nine out of 10 people in developing countries do not know their HIV status, UNAIDS Executive Director Peter Piot called for an unprecedented response to the global AIDS crisis." In other words, the world already has an HIV epidemic never dreamt of when the first case was reported.
"’A business-as-usual approach will not do,’ Piot told a news conference in New Delhi. India, with about 5 million HIV sufferers, has the second-highest number of cases after South Africa and there are concerns many cases are unreported."
True. Piot is right on target. But will anyone in public life espouse the biblical holiness lifestyle that puts away the HIV/AIDS virus completely? That would surely be giving a message that would not be "’business-as-usual,’" that’s for certain.
--------------------------------------------------Email: joseph_swank@yahoo.com
