Sexual sin – democracy sets the standard

The world’s golden rule is: do whatever you like as long as you don’t hurt anyone. Why hurting people is considered wrong, is not explained², but it is generally accepted that one should not hurt people and so we outlaw anything which hurts.

Obviously this is sometimes taken to extremes such as when bureaucrats send memos out banning things like taking photos of your own children in public.

In 2008 the NSW Department of Education and Training's Guidelines for Safe Conduct of Sport and Physical Activity in Schools was released containing 284 pages of interesting suggestions such as the banning of finishing tape in some foot races in case the runners were choked. I can see how someone could possibly be strangled using the tape and I would not blame teachers for at least entertaining the thought on occasions, but honestly; has anyone actually choked by hitting the finishing tape in a foot race?

I can feel myself getting distracted here so I will get back on task (to use an educational term!). The world may not agree on what is hurtful, harmful or helpful, but it has no other mechanism. We gather and hear all the options, then democratically enact a law. We are frustrated with the bureaucrats, but we need them there as much as we hate to admit it.

One thing which never gets much sympathy is paedophilia. We can all be thankful for that, but even on this front there are organizations whose mission statement is to destigmatise and legitimise paedophilia. An attempt, I guess, to show that it stems from true love and only needs to be regulated. Why does it need regulation? So that no one is hurt. Of course.

The clash of ideologies
Amazon, that global giant in online retail, obviously has a set of principles it operates by. Even if making money is number one, what it defends as sacrosanct is the right of all to read. Education (aka reading Amazon books) is beneficial to all, so there should be no barriers.

And here’s the real kicker: it matters not in the least to Amazon what the subject matter is, reading about it can only have an up side. Consider this statement made recently.

''Amazon believes it is censorship not to sell certain books simply because we or others believe their message is objectionable. Amazon does not support or promote hatred or criminal acts, however, we do support the right of every individual to make their own purchasing decisions.''3

Listen to the author of the book in question describe it:

"This is my attempt to make pedophile situations safer for those juveniles that find themselves involved in them, by establishing certian rules for these adults to follow. I hope to achieve this by appealing to the better nature of pedosexuals, with hope that their doing so will result in less hatred and perhaps liter sentences should they ever be caught."⁴ [The spelling mistakes are in the original]

And Amazon claims ‘it is censorship not to sell certain books simply because we or others believe their message is objectionable’. That’s their story and they are sticking to it. Well, not quite.

This week, the book was deleted from sale. Incredibly, you could purchase an electronic copy for under $5. There has been no official comment on the back flip. That, I assume, is a little complicated when you have just acted in complete defiance of a previously stated inalienable right.

Morality and public opinion
The issue at stake is the same every time there is a scandal of some sort. It could be Bill Clinton, Tiger Woods or a well known footy player. We are confused when two ideologies collide head on.

We want to offer everyone sexual freedom. Our world is saturated in it to the point that we are disturbingly interested in everyone’s position or role within the big picture. Is she or isn’t she? What do you make of him? Who is going out with whom? Is someone having an affair? Is prostitution morally neutral now?

The creator’s design
We have complicated God’s instructions for a healthy society. Sexuality is not morally neutral, at least not since sin has been in the world. “It’s just nudity,” is no justification for pornography. “It is true love,” has never been an acceptable excuse for adultery.

God makes it real simple:

Marriage should be honoured by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. (Hebrews 13:4)

You can understand God’s view of this whole matter just from this verse.

Part 1 – Marriage is the only acceptable forum for sexual expression
Part 2 – The original design of marriage must be strictly adhered to
Part 3 – God will judge anyone who says or does otherwise

We don’t like hearing that these days. It is so undemocratic. That’s good because the Kingdom of God is not a democracy. And if democracy means overturning God’s moral law, then we should oppose it as well, not just books sold on Amazon.

Footnotes
1.    http://www.amazon.com/Amazon-defends-right-offer-this/forum/Fx3PDJ1ITSD60LA/TxBHQV6YA47016/1?_encoding=UTF8&asin=B0049U4CF6

2.    It is actually explained in the Bible: God says it is wrong. As Christians, our moral code comes from the creator and this is codified for us in Scripture. The secular world simply chooses which rules it accepts and puts them into practice by majority vote, without ever really examining the basis for such ‘laws’.

3.    http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/paedophile-guide-taken-off-online-bookshelves-20101111-17pgd.html

4.    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40112145/?gt1=43001