DOES SEXUAL FREEDOM LEAD TO SLAVERY?

By Bill Dunn

In a recent edition of this newspaper, the following headlines reported five separate news stories in our immediate vicinity:

“Rape victim urges no mercy.”

“Confession: Alleged homosexual deed led to killing.”

“Rapist gets 18 years for attempt at kidnap.”

“Sex offender accused of stalking.”

“Bus driver accused of sex assault.”

Wow, that’s a lot of newsprint in just a single day devoted to lust and hormones raging out of control. On the same day those five news stories appeared in the paper, other news sources reported a story from California with this headline: “More porn HIV cases disclosed.” Health officials in Los Angeles County say the number of adult film actors and actresses who recently tested positive for the AIDS virus is not a mere few, as previously reported, but has now reached 22, a number that is expected to increase as more blood tests are conducted.

Does anyone besides me think the whole sexual revolution thing, which exploded throughout society in the 1960s, might have been a bad idea after all? Is it possible Hugh Hefner’s philosophy—have sex with whomever you want whenever you want—just might have a downside? Could it be when a culture is obsessed with enflaming lustful sexual desires in its citizens 24/7, that maybe it will cause some unanticipated problems, such as those chronicled in a single day’s headlines: assaults, rapes, murders, and deadly diseases? (And don’t forget other problems not specifically mentioned in that day’s newspaper: divorce, fractured families, unwanted pregnancies, unwed mothers, 19 million new cases of STDs diagnosed each year, and secret trips to Argentina to commit gubernatorial adultery.)

I don’t know. Maybe I’m just an uptight prude, one of those religious fuddy-duddies who are so often accused of not wanting people to have any fun. On the other hand, I don’t think the abused children, the rape and murder victims, nor the porn stars with the viral death sentences were actually enjoying themselves all that much.

Yeah, I guess I’m a religious prude. My faith tradition offers a bunch of “thou shalt nots” regarding sexual behavior. In the Bible, Jesus said, “Anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28). Whoa, talk about strict.

I personally believe those commands came directly from the Divine Creator. For me, that’s a good enough reason to take them seriously. But I fully understand there are many folks who are not part of my faith tradition. A sizable segment of the population does not believe certain commands originated from on high.

Not all religious beliefs adhere to the traditional and more modest view of sexual behavior. Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, used religious language way back in 1922 while writing about human sexuality: “Through sex, mankind may attain the great spiritual illumination which will transform the world, which will light up the only path to an earthly paradise.”

How’s that earthly paradise coming along today, Maggie? Too bad you’re not around anymore to see what a false prophet you turned out to be.