Sexual Morality

Sexual morality isn’t normally a topic of apologetics ministries but it should be, because it’s an important teaching which is usually overlooked due to how the world looks at it.

For the Christian all sexual activity must be within the bounds and bonds of marriage, yet so very many of our young believers fall into sexual sin because the world says there is no such thing as sexual sin.

I have played my pipes for at least 50 weddings in the past 40 years (and attended at least 20 as a guest), both Christian and for unbelievers. The sad thing is that it is very obvious with both kinds that with many the couples have been living together or at least sexually active.

My wife came across a TV program while sitting doing hand work (sewing, crocheting or other craft) which shows most couples have no shame. The show is titled, Say Yes to the Dress, which is on TLC. (Free ROKU.) It’s about a place in Atlanta which has wedding dresses costing from low into the upper thousands of dollars. It’s so very apparent that most of the couples have been living together for some time and yet they want the fancy white dresses for big weddings. 

The idea of the white dress, as far as I was taught, was the purity of the bride when taking a husband. And yet on that show it doesn’t appear as if any of the women are “pure.” (Of course the husband to be should also be “pure” but his attire doesn’t have such a symbol.)

As noted above, I’ve played for lots of Christian weddings also and, sadly, many of them are obviously not virgin brides due to the devaluing of virginity even in Christian weddings.

This whole discussion was brought about by two things: the TV series and the following citation with which I will end this post.

[A] consequence of devaluing virginity has been the devaluing of marriage. Until the latter half of the twentieth century, one reason men married was that marriage provided the one socially acceptable way to have sex on a regular basis. It was not the only reason men got married—religion and society made marriage and family central values—but now that A) society does not promote marriage, B) religion is dying, and C) many men can get sex with no commitment, fewer Western (and Asian) men and women are marrying than ever before.

Dennis Prager, The Rational Bible, Deuteronomy: God, Blessings, and Curses, pg.350

What Evil Is

There is…a level of cruelty and evil that transcends the word “sin.” All evil is sin, but not all sin merits the word “evil.” Where exactly that line is crossed cannot be defined. But to deny it exists is to declare all sins equal and all sinners evil, which empties the word “evil” of its horror and renders it superfluous.

Dennis Prager, The Rational Bible, Deuteronomy: God, Blessings, and Curses, p.78

Do You REALLY Believe in God?

One cannot say, “I believe in God,” while deliberately ignoring God’s instructions. God understands that every human being will at times fail to do what He wants. But deliberate failure to do God’s will on an ongoing basis means that one does not really believe in the God of the Torah. Belief in God means living by God’s laws. Our faith is known through our actions.

Dennis Prager, The Rational Bible, Deuteronomy: God, Blessings, and Curses, pg.158

Does God Answer Our Prayers?

Now, it is both natural and theologically legitimate to make requests of God—to pray for one’s health or the health of a loved one, for help in resisting evil, or with regard to any of the other myriad challenges and tragedies that befall us. But answering requests is not the primary role of God, and many people who believe it is will become disappointed and perhaps even alienated from God.

God’s role is to teach us how to lead a moral and holy life, and how to attain wisdom—hence the Torah [first 5 books of the O.T.] and the rest of the Bible. With regard to unjust suffering, God’s role is to provide a guide for how to reduce man-made suffering in this life, to provide ultimate justice in an afterlife, and to be with us when we suffer. He is most certainly there “when we call out to Him,” as myriad people have experienced when they have suffered, but that does not mean—it cannot mean—that God answers all requests as we would wish. …

Expecting God to give us what we want has led many religious people to feel disappointed in God and then abandon their faith. Ask not what you want from God, but what God wants from you.

Dennis Prager, commentary on Deuteronomy 4:7, pg 46-47 of The Rational Bible, Deuteronomy: God, Blessings, and Curses

One Man, One Woman Only

By ending Adam’s alone-state by making one woman—not more than one woman, not another man, not children, and not a community of people—God is declaring the human ideal is that a single man bond with a single woman.

Dennis Prager, The Rational Bible: Genesis: God, Creation, and Destruction, pg.40

Marriage is a Prescription

As this verse [Genesis 2:18] is followed by the creation of woman, with whom Adam is to bone (i.e., marry—see verse 24), it is clear God wants men to marry. Marriage is a prescription, a moral and social value, more than it is a male instinct. The dramatic decrease in marriage rates at this time attests to this (with regard to women as well), as does the fact that more people in the West and other developed societies are living by themselves than at any time in recorded history. So, while more and more men and women choose not to marry, loneliness has become a major social pathology. In the words of the National Institutes of Health, “Loneliness is a painful universal phenomenon.”

Dennis Prager, The Rational Bible: Genesis: God, Creation, and Destruction, pg.39

The Existence of God

God’s existence does not necessitate a bit “leap of faith.” There is an element of faith but, given the otherwise inexplicable existence of the world, of life, of intelligence, of order, and of design, belief in God the Creator, while not provable, is rational, even rationally compelling. However, given all the evil caused by human beings and all the suffering caused by nature, belief in God’s goodness may necessitate a leap of faith. That’s why God informs us, “I am compassionate.”

Dennis Prager, The Rational Bible, Exodus: God, Slavery, and Freedom, pg.329

Children, Honor Your Parents

Yet another reason why honoring parents and long enduring civilization are connected is strong families form a major bulwark against totalitarian regimes. A standard feature of totalitarian regimes is the shifting of children’s loyalty and obedience from their parents to the state. One of the first things totalitarian regimes seek to do is weaken parental authority and replace it with the party or state. In such countries, children are encouraged to inform on their parents if they make critical comments—or even tell jokes—about government leaders or about the dominant ideology (in the modern period, that would almost always refer to communism, Nazism, or radical Islamism). Consequently, parents would often fear to speak openly in front of their children.

Dennis Prager, The Rational Bible, Exodus: God, Slavery, and Freedom, pg.258

Children, Honor Your Parents

Honor your father and your mother so that you may have a long life in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. Exodus 20:12.

Children, obey your parents as you would the Lord, because this is right. “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with a promise, “so that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life in the land.” Ephesians 6:1-3

Yet another reason why honoring parents and long enduring civilization are connected is strong families form a major bulwark against totalitarian regimes. A standard feature of totalitarian regimes is the shifting of children’s loyalty and obedience from their parents to the state. One of the first things totalitarian regimes seek to do is weaken parental authority and replace it with the party or state. In such countries, children are encouraged to inform on their parents if they make critical comments—or even tell jokes—about government leaders or about the dominant ideology (in the modern period, that would almost always refer to communism, Nazism, or radical Islamism). Consequently, parents would often fear to speak openly in front of their children.

Dennis Prager, The Rational Bible, Exodus: God, Slavery, and Freedom, pg.258