Escaping the Grip of the Sexual Revolution
by Jim Kenaston
Most of us have either grown up during the Sexual Revolution or have been living in its ever-expanding shadow. Whether through our personal choices informed by its hedonistic ideology or as a victim of other people's selfish acts, its consequences have been devastating. Any honest assessment would lead one to conclude that it was all based on a string of lies.
The greatest lie at its foundation is one originally acted upon by Adam and Eve, that we humans could determine for ourselves right from wrong apart from trust in the Word of God. Echoes of Genesis are found in the Book of Job, which clearly informs us that we live our lives amid a larger spiritual conflict, one that escapes our ordinary view. Yet every generation has had to choose sides in that unseen war, whether to live by faith in God's Word, or to go one's own way and suffer the consequences.
With the Sexual Revolution, our generation has gone its own way, ignoring God's rightful place and leading in our lives. Romans 1:18-31 explains our idolatrous error and its consequence: God's judgment, with Him turning us over to our lusts.
The Sexual Revolution's web of deceit
Here we can only scratch the surface on this theme, but by way of introduction, it would help us to learn as much as we can about the nature of the lies that the Sexual Revolution is built upon. Relative to modern times, one of those lies was introduced with the so-called Enlightenment of the 17th and 18th centuries when western culture dismissed the God of the Bible as the arbiter of truth and morals, trusting instead in autonomous man as the measure of all things. This is the same error made by Adam and Eve, one that we have each made in turn, and for which we are all called to repentance.
A second contributing influence for the Sexual Revolution has been Marxist ideology, positing a completely materialistic universe where humans are merely complex electrochemical beings. Marxist thought further dehumanizes us by reducing our relationships to class struggles between oppressors and the oppressed. Any human dignity within this worldview is ascribed to those who can impose their will upon others. We otherwise merely serve as fodder for the next revolution. There is no grace to be found here, only power plays of one class of people perpetrated upon another. In today's world, the game is to claim a moral authority tied to one's supposed victim status, and then to leverage that status toward solidifying as much political power as one can.
A third lie of the Sexual Revolution is a resurgence of the 2nd century heresy of Gnosticism. Dr. (and Pastor) Donald T. Williams describes Gnosticism as
"...the belief that the Spiritual is somehow independent of the Body. The body is either the enemy of the spiritual or irrelevant to it—which is why gnostic sects historically either were celibate and anti-body, or grossly immoral, because what the body did had no effect on the real person, which is 'spiritual.' For biblical Christianity, God owns us both spirit and body, and we are to glorify God in the body (which makes no sense to the Gnostic). Our fallenness leaves us open to perversion, whether it be fornication, adultery, homosexuality, or bestiality. (Note that fornication is just as much a perversion of God’s design for sexuality as any of the others) What is new is a much greater drive to justify perversion as morally and spiritually irrelevant. The more gnostic your world view, the harder it is for you to see that your chosen 'lifestyle' has any bearing on your standing with God."
Two modern lies built on this frame are 1) that our identity primarily stems from whatever our most base desires happen to be, and 2) that our significance as individuals is found in our ability impose our will upon the world, autonomously defining oneself irrespective of the "givenness" of one's body. Power plays flow from here as well, and as we seek to force others to affirm us in our willful expressions of identity. Borrowing from the Marxist playbook, we take pride in our status as victims of a class of traditionalist oppressors. We create new victims of such people in the present. Again, no grace is to be found.
Considering the path of repentance
An alternative to all this is to repent of the life we have built upon such lies. Rather than treat others as sexual objects for our own gratification, regarding them as subhuman when their very existence stands in our way, we can begin to view others as fellow image-bearers of our creator God, people who have an inherent dignity that demands our respect.
And rather than define ourselves according to a sexual appetite, we can first find our identity as recipients of God’s grace to us in Christ, accepting His atoning death and resurrection as proof of His power over the consequences of our sin. We can then begin finding our identity and purpose in the talents that God has blessed us with, and in the areas of service He has called us to. As a follower of Christ, whatever one's past, it can be turned into an opportunity to help others escape the grip of sin in their own lives.
In taking an initial step of repentance, we can anticipate a life of spiritual battles, for we do indeed live our lives amid a larger spiritual struggle. Yet God will ultimately prevail, as "...He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 1:6)
A help in our fight is to accept that in following Christ we pick up our cross and, like Him, die to the self. For our generation, this will amount to waging war against the tenets of the Sexual Revolution. Doing so is to join a counter-cultural movement, one that bows to the God of the Bible and not to the fads and philosophies of our day. As with Christ, when we bow to God's call, persecution by the secular powers of this world will follow.
In such a battle, we should recognize the concerted effort that the secular culture undertakes toward keeping us entrapped in our past (and in grooming today's young people for future entrapment). Most modern cultural inputs, whether in books, music or films, seek to reinforce the lies of the Sexual Revolution. Knowing that we're in a spiritual battle, we do well to reject them, choosing new and better ways to feed our souls. We do well not to trust the messages of those who have built their fortunes by cultivating human lust through any and every means.
Therefore, "...whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8)
But part of our calling is not merely to reform ourselves for our own good, but to help others in their journey as well. We do this in fellowship, seeking godly mentors to guide us along, and by offering ourselves as both repentant sinners and mentors to those whom God brings into our care over time.
While accountability to godly mentors is a blessing to any repentant sinner, so are the inputs of thoughtful Christian writers who have ventured to comment on these themes. Toward that end, here is a listing of articles on the Sexual Revolution and its negative influence upon individuals and society at large. Redemptive models are included, hoping to offer further light for our path forward.
With a call for repentance from the idolatry of the Sexual Revolution...
"...I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1-2)
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