Integrity

We had some nice family time over Fall Break. However, I did get a couple of opportunities to read some articles. One was in a recent  Atlantic Monthly (here is a link on line) http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/09/boys-on-the-side/309062/ It was about the sexual proclivities of contemporary college aged women. To be honest, it was terrifying. The basic thrust of the story was young woman are freed up to be sexually aggressive and to "hook up" at their own preference. The author believed that the research indicated that later in life these women were also more successful.

I am not going to comment on the entire article except to say that the responses I had included this: the values of the world are not the values of faith. In our college search process my prayer has always been that my kids would find a school where their faith will also grow and be nurtured. I think that can and does happen in all manner of settings. I also think that the general cultural shift in boy-girl relations cannot be avoided by a "church ghetto" approach to life. After all, "the world" is part of any and every church, ghettoized or not, and in some cases it is the culutre of the world from another era which is being retained.

The idea that girls sleeping around may be a good thing, as startling as it is, is probably commonly held by people younger than me. Not by everyone, but by lots of folks. And the whole 'end of marriage as we know it' is being driven by lots of cultural power groups.  I read recently that reparative therapy (helping people deal with unwanted same-sex desires) is going to be outlawed. The efforts to criminalize traditional views on marriage continue unabated. If the core meaning of marriage is up for grabs then our society will look like it looks.

I also read a USA Today article on the continued decline in church membership. Is it related to the rise in 'hook ups' in the culture? I think so. The value system at play in both would make sense of that to me. It is hard to maintain a secular sexual morality in a Christian setting. The Episcopal Church is shrinking as fast as most any church and it has championed many of the things which the younger generation claims to believe. The data is clear, when people reject the Christian teachings on sex, they also reject church (even churches which are saying what they want to hear). I have opined ad nauseum about my thoughts (and feelings) about the decline of the church. The sad truth is our land is fast becoming like Europe. The third thing which ties in with this was the Vice Presidential debate. While I only watched part of it, the part I did see included an exchange on one of the key issues: abortion.

Clearly, one candidate is making "planned parenthood" a cornerstone of his future. There have been lots of warnings about women losing their access to medical care and choice. Nothing new about this debate, we have heard it all before. But it certainly ties into the sexualized young women. If a pregnancy is a 'disease' for sexually active women then abortion is a 'cure'. A culture which rejects ancient church teaching (i.e. Jesus' values) can easily argue that choice and individual freedom trump all else. Humans after all are free to choose. What was stunning in the VP debate was both candidates are self proclaimed Catholics. And one of them, after declaring how important his Catholic faith and beliefs are, proceeded to say he is against abortion but was unwilling to impose his beliefs. Now, in what followed, he made several statements about how his presidential running mate would insure access to abortion. And I wondered. How can anyone claim abortion is wrong (as the Catholic church understands it) and yet advocate so strongly for abortion being available?

A side note, I think many people, Catholic and not, who are against abortion are also willing to accept it is a personal choice. And the same people think we should not impose our beliefs on others. I know this because I have talked to people who think that way. My son, however, raised the issue in clear terms. "I think it is killing a baby," he said, "and killing babies is wrong and I cannot imagine letting other people kill a baby could be right." Simple and unnuanced, but it was a conversation, not a debate. And his point is generally spot on. If someone thinks killing babies is wrong then they should feel very free to impose restrictions of killing babies.

However, what I want to take issue with is imposing beliefs. I am fine with someone saying this, even about something as important as abortion, IF they are consistent. But here is the problem, the same VP candidate had no trouble imposing all manner of things on others. For example, (in his mind following Catholic social teaching) he believes in taxing the "wealthy" in order to help "the poor." Now, I am not arguing for or against such a position, that is not what I am addressing. What I am saying is, if someone works hard and legally makes money, on what grounds does anyone have a right to take part of those earnings? If it is for things like roads and national defense one can say, what benefits all all should pay for, those whose benefits are greatest should expect to pay the greater portion. But providing food, shelter, medical care, etc. to the needy are not that sort of thing. When one group of people decide to take money from another group of people that is imposing beliefs. I am offended by the lack of integrity in the argument. Be consistent and be honest....

A final word. I am troubled by both parties. I think each side has much to answer for and each side spins half truths and misdirection in an effort to gain power, and lets be clear, politics is also about power. I am not trying to push for a political agenda either. My Christian faith is clear, taking care of the poor is non-negotiable. What I would like is for Christian Republicans to be a prophetic voice in their party and Christian Democrats to be a prophetic voice in their party. Self criticism would do wonders for improving the political process and improving our government. There needs to be more integrity. Good people should continue to try to be good, even if it costs an election. Sadly we all get seduced by other voices. Unfortunately, the church has often times failed in our prophetic vocation and we have not shaped politicians in the Kingdom of God vision offered by Jesus. And in a culture where the church is in rapid decline, it will have less and less opportunity to do this. And in a culture where sexual hook-ups are a welcome part of the freedom to choose, then choosing to end pregnancies through abortion will also continue. And if many of the remnant Christians think they have no right to impose this, well, then we will continue to see "choice" as the leading killer of unborn babies. Just some random reflections from a week of vacation....