Sex and Worship

A potpourri not for the faint of heart

This article is born out of my shock and alarm at seeing afresh the depths of human depravity in our nation today. he "left-behind" are godly Christians, a distinct minority. I have lived long enough to have seen a once great nation crash and burn, lurching and succumbing to deep evil and fallenness.

Younger people today are sadly ignorant of history--not just lacking in knowledge about God our Savior.

I am a member of the remnant community of followers of Christ in a time of great apostasy. Since I am part of a Body, the Body Christ, I know that "If one suffers all suffer" (1 Corinthians 12:26).

I don't like Christian cliches. I don't want to lead anyone astray. But how to rescue "innocents" from the septic tank? But this is a family matter for followers of Jesus Christ who take Him seriously. For widows, the divorced, the happily married, the unhappily married, and most singles older than about twelve. Twenty some years ago I was writing and thinking about the worrisome state of the nation back then! I wrote a slew of articles back then and rereading them now is a wake-up call for me! Some of friends hope God will grant another revival and heal our land. I personally don't see that with only 6% of American today professing to know Jesus Christ (Barna).

Some months ago I wrote two rambling articles about The End of Sex which I believe will happen soon.
There is nothing new here.
But every day God sheds more light on what He is up to and my excitement and anticipation is unbounded.
Ignorance is NOT bliss!

A House of Cards

Wachet Auf (Wake Up)

Population Decrease Ahead

Mankind’s Downward Spiral

Many years ago, my friend Ted Wise and I spent a month in India. We made it from San Francisco to Bombay (Mumbai) OK, but got stuck there awhile because the domestic airline was on strike. One day we took the morning ferry to an island in the harbor. I’ll never forget seeing my first lingam. It was on Elephanta Island in the temple of Shiva. Realities Ted and I had been talking about life being upside down in India. What is unconscious, repressed, hidden away in India is on open public display there. This seems to be because the Bible and Christianity have dominated collective thinking for two millennia. What Ted and I saw was sex from the inside of the woman, as it were. It's an insider's view. The lingam and yoni are major Hindu religious icons. The penis as the male generative organ is openly worshiped in many nations, and secretly venerated in our nation today. Pornography today is much more homosexually oriented. than it was 50 years ago. Cults exist today where the penis is openly venerated and idolized.

Idolatrous Worship
Idolatry Notes

Some temples and shrines are outwardly pornographic by Western standards.

I believe these root pagan values characterized by the default religion of Hinduism
are being quietly assimilated now by our younger generation. 

Love, Sex, and Marriage in Ancient India by Sal

Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life?...
Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived... 

Neither fornicators, pornos
nor idolaters, eidōlolatrēs
nor adulterers, moichos
nor homosexuals, malakos
nor sodomites, arsenokoitēs nor thieves, kleptēs
nor covetous, pleonektēs
nor drunkards, methysos
nor revilers, loidoros
nor extortioners, harpax
will inherit the kingdom of God.

On Fetishism

A fetish (derived from the French fétiche; which comes from the Portuguese feitiço; and this in turn from Latin facticius, "artificial" and facere, "to make")
is an object believed to have supernatural powers, or in particular, a human-made object that has power over others.
Essentially, fetishism is the attribution of inherent value, or powers, to an object.

Interview: A straight man with a penis fetish He is married about ten years and they have three kids. He "fooled around" with other guys in High School. He graduated from a "Christian" college. He is only fixated on a "living penis" not a dildo. His wife admits being strongly attracted to other women. They have sought counseling but I saw nothing in this interview to suggest that this man, and the two guys who interviewed him, have any current, on-going relationship with Jesus Christ.

Some of us remember the first Kodak box cameras! Then came 35 millimeter deluxe cameras with many lenses. The huge game-changer was the iPhone. They come complete with way better cameras than the old mechanical clooges of yesteryear.

Right away younger people started sending selfies to one another. At first these were innocuous snapshots to be shared safely with family and friends. But soon they were explicit: penises, vaginas, breasts, and every fetish under the sun.

The pornography industry now generates $12 billion dollars in annual revenue -- larger than the combined annual revenues of ABC, NBC, and CBS. Of that, the Internet pornography industry generates $2.5 billion dollars in annual revenue. 

Every kid who gets a smart phone for Christmas has immediate access to anything that suits his imagination! As a people, we Americans are more idolatrous than the worst pagan civilizations of the past! Nuff said.

Idolatry and Images

Idolatry is the worship of an idol as though it were God. 
In Abrahamic religions, namely Judaism, Christianity and Islam,
idolatry connotes the worship of something or someone other than God as if it were God.
In these monotheistic religions, idolatry has been considered as the "worship of false gods"
and is forbidden by the values such as the Ten Commandments.
Other monotheistic religions may apply similar rules.
In many Indian religions, such as theistic and non-theistic forms of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism,
idols (murti) are considered as symbolism for the absolute
but not The Absolute, or icons of spiritual ideas, or the embodiment of the divine. 
It is a means to focus one's religious pursuits and worship (bhakti).
In the traditional religions of ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, Africa, Asia, the Americas and elsewhere,
the reverence of an image or statue has been a common practice,
and cult images have carried different meanings and significance.

The opposition to the use of any icon or image to represent ideas of reverence or worship is called aniconism. 
The destruction of images as icons of veneration is called iconoclasm,
and this has long been accompanied with violence between religious groups
that forbid idol worship and those who have accepted icons, images and statues for veneration. 
The definition of idolatry has been a contested topic within Abrahamic religions,
with many Muslims and most Protestant Christians condemning the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox practice of
venerating the Virgin Mary in many churches as a form of idolatry.

The history of religions has been marked with accusations and denials of idolatry.
These accusations have considered statues and images to be devoid of symbolism.
Alternatively, the topic of idolatry has been a source of disagreements between many religions,
or within denominations of various religions,
with the presumption that icons of one's own religious practices have meaningful symbolism,
while another person's different religious practices do not.| (Wikipedia)

Ezekiel and the Destruction of Jerusalem "Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel commits here, to make Me go far away from My sanctuary? Now turn again, you will see greater abominations. And he brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, and behold, there was a hole in the wall. Then he said to me, 'Son of man, dig in the wall': and when I dug in the wall, lo, there was a door. And he said to me, 'Go in, and see the vile abominations that they are committing here.' So I went in and saw; and there, portrayed upon the wall round about, were all kinds of creeping things, and loathsome beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel. And before them stood seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah, ("Yahweh hears"), the son of Shaphan standing among them. Each had his censer in his hand, and the cloud of incense went up. Then he said to me, 'Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, every man in his room(s) of pictures? For they say, "The LORD does not see us, the LORD has forsaken the land."' He also said to me, 'You will see still greater abominations which they commit.'" (Ezekiel 8:6-12)

God says what He means and means what He says!

The Example of Israel, the Exodus, and the Promised Land:

Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.

Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, "The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play." Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell; nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. 

Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. 

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry." (1 Corinthians 10:1-14)

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The Uncut Truth

Masturbation and the Bible

The Seamy Side of Life

Circumcision

Ahab and Jezebel

The End of Sex as we Know it (Part 1)

The End of Sex as we Know it (Part 2)

The Beast in the Basement

Circumcision in Ancient Egypt (6th Dynasty). This ancient ceremony, instituted between God and Abraham as a sign of their covenant, symbolizes the consecration of one's sexuality and one's life to God. (Genesis 17). In the New Testament, circumcision is accomplished in the inner man, "by putting off the body of flesh in the circumcision of Christ," according to Colossians 2. The health benefits of male circumcision are debated today but this issue is not a relevant Biblical issue any longer under the terms of the New Covenant.

El Shaddai

Nature is Really Weird!

Get it? God Made Adam's Penis for Planting Sperm in a Eve's vagina. He did want sexual intercourse to be enjoyable, redemptive and exciting. Sex was about having kids when I was young. Recreational Sex and Entitlement Sex were unknown! It was clear that sexual expression was limited to heterosexual marriage! Would you believe! Yes, procreation is out of control and no one has been able to slow the population explosion---7900 million people on earth and exponentially increasing. A big population decrease is described in last book of the Bible.

Adam and Eve had a bunch of offspring by the end of their lives:

It is usually assumed that Adam was about thirty years of age when he was created. That is, he was created as a full grown adult man. He was not born of woman (and therefore had no navel). He did not experience childhood and adolescence as far as we know. From the record of Genesis it seems that the average age of parents when they began to bring children into the world was about 100. The record of ten generations from Adam to Noah shows that each Antediluvian Patriarch had at least 5 children. More are likely. By the time of Adam's death when he was 930 years old, he would have been surrounded by at least ten thousand descendants and 120,000 would not be unreasonable! That's a lot of viable sperm.

It appears that the successful sperm—competing with perhaps 200-300 million other sperm—has won the lottery by chance. I don’t think so—since there is no such thing as “chance.” God is perfectly able to bring the right sperm to the elect ovum at the right time. “With God nothing is impossible.” More about Spilling Seed, Onan, and such?

[Sperm cells cannot divide and have a limited life span, but after fusion with egg cells during fertilization, a new organism begins developing, starting as a totipotent zygote. The human sperm cell is haploid, so that its 23 chromosomes can join the 23 chromosomes of the female egg to form a diploid cell. Note from Wikipedia]

Here in every conception is repeated over again the original creation of Adam:

And the Lord God formed man (mankind) of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life (ruach, spirit); and man became a living being (nephesh, soul). (Genesis 2:7)

But we are all destined to die because our birth into the world was always “in Adam.”

For since by man (Adam) came death, by Man (Jesus) also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming. (1 Corinthians 15:20-23)

Each new individual carries 50% of his or her genetic inheritance from the father and 50% from one’s mother. Our core sexual identity is determined by a chromosome in the sperm received at conception from our father. It’s important to remember that we are carriers of a vast genetic inheritance that originated about 100 generations ago in the original genome God created in Adam/Eve, the first human. The Complexity of the Genetic Code

We are created spirits occupying a temporary physical house. Our mortality is centered in our temporary (damaged) bodies which must ultimately be replaced.

Nothing has been said here about arrogance, self will, ambition, low self-esteem, self-righteousness, contrition, arrogance... these are all states of the ego, conditions of the spirit.

Persons who are spiritually dead are neither unconscious, nor extinct, nor lifeless. The term "dead" (as in "dead in trespasses and sins") in this context means the individual does not yet have a personal relation with God the I AM. For example, pride and humility are usually thought of as opposites. Aware Christians become accustomed to recognizing both characteristics in themselves and in others, knowing that 

“God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 

What is crucial for every follower of Jesus is walking with, trusting in, relying upon Jesus, 24/7/365. 

"i am" in union with "I AM."

“.. the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:23-24)

All the kings of the earth shall praise You, O Lord, 
When they hear the words of Your mouth.
Yes, they shall sing of the ways of the Lord,
For great is the glory of the Lord.

Though the Lord is on high,
Yet He regards the lowly;
But the proud He knows from afar.

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me;
You will stretch out Your hand
Against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will save me.

The Lord will perfect that which concerns me;
Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever;
Do not forsake the works of Your hands. 
(Psalm 138:4-8)

Jesus did not marry during His first visit to our planet. That is very clear from the New Testament. The important task of redeeming mankind and breaking the power of evil in the universe was always foremost in His mind. On His return trip to earth, Jesus will be taking a Bride.

In weddings today the bride walks slowly down the aisle dressed in a magnificent wedding dress, accompanied by her father and bridesmaids. The groom, on the other hand, stands unnoticed to one side dressed like a penguin.

At the "marriage supper of the Lamb" it would be a poor match if the Bride showed up in shabby clothes showing little interest in Jesus the Bridegroom. Between now and our participation in the marriage supper of the Lamb, the Spirit of God must provide us with a wedding dowry worthy of Christ the Groom. This seems like a tall order, but the wedding of Jesus will lack nothing. 

"Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory,

for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready."

And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, 

for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. 

Then he said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!'" 

And he said to me, "These are the true sayings of God."

(Revelation 19:1-9)

Revisiting the Fall of Man c. 5792 BC

The Last Church at the End of the Age, now ending was admonished by Jesus, "I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see." (Revelation 3:18 NIV)

"And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account." (Hebrews 4:13)

The opening chapters of the Bible are utterly amazing still, more than fifty-eight years since I first bother to read them. The best-ever notes on Genesis are by my mentor, the late Ray C. Stedman. My own articles on creation and science might interest you. (Your Email is welcome). Time and Space?

So when the woman  saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit  and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened,  and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. And they heard  the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife  hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”

So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden,  and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” Then the man said,  “The woman whom You gave to  be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.” And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said,  “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” So the Lord God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this,
You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And  you shall eat dust All the days of your life. And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between  your seed and  her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.”

To the woman He said: “I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall  be for your husband, And he shall  rule over you.”

Then to Adam He said,  “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree  of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’:
“Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And  you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And  to dust you shall return.”
And Adam called his wife’s name  Eve, because she was the mother of all living.

Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them. Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden  to till the ground from which he was taken. So  He drove out the man; and He placed  cherubim  at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of  life. (Genesis 3:6-24)

God Does not Tempt us

Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. 

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted (apeirastos) by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death."

[exelko: to draw out, metaph. to lure forth: in hunting and fishing as game is lured from its hiding place, so man by lure is allured from the safety of self-restraint to sin. In the language of the hunting is transferred to the seduction of a harlot. deleazo: to bait, catch by a bait, metaph. to beguile by blandishments, allure, entice, deceive.] 

Do not be deceived, (led astray) my beloved brethren. Every good gift (every act of giving) and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. (Astronomy: no parallax, no eclipsing). Of His own will (having willed it) He brought us forth (apokyeo: begat us again) by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.” (James 1:12-18)

Our actions in life today as fallen persons are mostly selfish and self-centered.

Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy...

I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep...

As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd. “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.” (John 10:7-18)

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You Have Died

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.
Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.

For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience,
in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.
But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.
Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds,
and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,
where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free,
but Christ is all and in all. (Colossians 3:1-11)

Jesus is Very Personal

Intimacy

Christ in You

In the Cross

The Exchanged Life

God our Healer

Six Hours in Eternity on The Cross

A Wedding Invitation from Jesus

A Song in the Night

Seek the Things that Are Above

One Body, One Soul, One Flesh

Homework

The Enticement of Evil Temptation Sex, Drugs, Rock 'n Roll Hiding in the Rock What LSD Did for Me How God Trains Us The Ruthlessness of God

God’s Discipline Man's Lost Dominion The Anguish of Adam Adam's Diary of Creation and the Fall Made in the Image of God The Theme of the Great Harlot

The Consequence Engine The Scars or Sin Carnal Christians Jezebel and Athaliah A Realistic Approach to Attractions Deliberate Sin  Denial: Not a River in Egypt

Not dealt with here in this paper: Money, Wealth, and Power

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June 14, 2021