By Bill Randles
And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. (Matthew 18:2-6)
The world I was born into was already undergoing a moral and social transition which probably alarmed my elders, but it is all but gone now. The only thing my children, grandchildren, and their generation can know of it is the anecdotes we who once lived in it pass on to them.
Particularly in the summertime, it almost seems now like a fantasy world: children running the streets or country fields, all running and playing outside, girls chanting sing-song rhymes as they turned a jump rope and played jacks and hopscotch, little boys playing baseball with made up bases, a few gloves, a beat up bat and ball, or playing army, or tag, or hide and go seek in the summer, hoping not to be called inside by our mothers when the street lights went on.
I am not saying it was a perfect world; there were already spiritually deadly encroachments pouring in as television became darker and more sensual, and the old barriers against pornography collapsed (one shouldn’t look at everything, particularly in the tender years).
But in spite of the imperfections, there were still a good deal of adults around us who made an earnest effort to shield us from the unseemly aspects of the world and to preserve something of the blissful ignorance of our youth, of things which are toxic to the soul. My mother, for example, would always say something like, “don’t watch that movie,” or “don’t read that book,” and she would give the reason why we shouldn’t? “It is not good for your soul,” she would say; and though I had no idea what she meant by that, for a while I took her word for it.
For the most part, we knew none of the depressing and confusing vocabulary foisted upon modern children these days, such as “Gay,” “Lesbian,”,”Transgender,” “Bisexual,” “safe sex,” or “birth control;” I could go on and on listing the bewildering and confusing terminology modern children are laden with, at ever younger and more tender ages.
Why should a child know what a homosexual is? Who does this help? The child or the degenerate?
It would have been unthinkable to imagine a time when American school districts would bring in homosexual activists to teach children the perverse and complex sexuality in which they themselves are immersed. One would have thought it a joke to be told that in the future a wholesome institution such as the Boy Scouts would be forced to allow degenerates in as Scout Masters.
In our day, many adults still realized something of the sacredness of children. I belief their outlook was still influenced by the stern warning of Jesus Himself when He told us:
Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 18:10)
It was the Judeo-Christian revelation which elevated children, in much the same way as it elevated women.
In the old pagan world, children were seen as inconveniences and even non-persons. The Romans practiced “exposure,” which means when a Roman had an “unplanned pregnancy,” they would often put the newborn babe out in the wild to get rid of it. The early Christians condemned this practice and even “reaped” those exposed babies, taking them in at their own expense and adopting them to be raised as Christians.
Roman law gave the father complete rights over wife and children; a Roman father could beat a child to death and not be tried or punished for it under the law of Pater Familia.
The following is from an article, called “How Christianity Invented Children”:
As the historian O.M. Bakke points out in his invaluable book When Children Became People, in ancient Greece and Rome, children were considered nonpersons.
Back then, the entire social worldview was undergirded by a universally-held, if implicit, view: Society was organized in concentric circles, with the circle at the center containing the highest value people, and the people in the outside circles having little-to-no value. At the center was the freeborn, adult male, and other persons were valued depending on how similar they were to the freeborn, adult male. Such was the lot of foreigners, slaves, women . . . and children.1 [This article is referenced for informational purposes and not as an endorsement of the source.]
The Jewish world was not as callous in their view of children, having been tutored under the law of Moses, which definitely elevated children. But the Lord’s disciples, being typical first century Jews, had to be rebuked when they acted as though Jesus had no time to waste on mere children.
Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence. (Matthew 19:13-15)
The fate of women and children go together. To restore the dignity and value of the one is to directly impact the other. On the other hand, to diminish one is to diminish the other. The right to abortion, which we saw the Irish celebrate in the streets recently (as though they had won a war), does not elevate women; rather, it diminishes them.
What makes a woman special, beyond the fact that she too is made in the image of God? It is the fact that to her has been entrusted the conception and development of life in the womb. This is why no western nation would send women off to combat as though they were interchangeable with men. Women are to be protected; the womb is a sacred place because life itself is sacred. This is the unique Judeo-Christian revelation, which has give the world a brief glimpse of what true freedom and happiness can be like.
But we are currently paganizing and leaving all of that. Many modern children know nothing of the older world, other than the negative emphasis of it taught in the propaganda mills they are calling schools. All that is old is bad, evil, oppressive and binding, they say. They don’t know that in so many ways, it was so much better.
Once we, as a society, have cast away the sanctity of life itself, we diminish the Bearer of life as well. Once we divorce human sexuality from potential life and reduce it to a momentary ecstatic experience, then women are rendered as objects, a means to an end, interchangeable with a perverse variety of other objects for gratification.
This is why homosexuality and all other forms of perversion are devastatingly destructive to women, children, and the family. The acceptance of homosexuality, whether in practice or politics or out of a twisted sense of equity, is the current watershed, as is abortion. Those who accept it and embrace it prove by doing so that they are damned.
Our present society should take note and remember that God knows how to make a millstone for the lake of fire.
Used with permission. source: Bill Randles blog
Sandra Lee Smith
“Those who accept it and embrace it prove by doing so that they are damned.” This comment sums it all up rightly. I was s student nurse when the APA and DSM publishers were literally extorted into “accepting” homosexuality as “normal” and taking it off the behavioral disorders lists in the DSMs from there forward. In very short order after the next new DSM came out, NAMBLA was angling for like acceptance; if you aren’t sure what NAMBLA is; it’s a pedophile ring (North American Man Boy Love Association). Thankfully I learned to recognize homosexuality and all it’s little offshoots that we’re surrounded by today, for the delusional beliefs they are, and I refuse to accept them as otherwise than that!
admin
Well put Barb. Thank you for sharing.
Barb
So, so true. The first step was to remove Mom from the home. I remember as a teenager when my only ambition was to be a wife and mother, but the school system began to constantly push all girls to plan for college and professional careers. It was the height of the feminist movement and they promised that women who wanted to be homemakers would certainly still be able to do so. Well, we see how that worked out. Most mothers now must work outside the home. The stress on families is incredible and we see the results in the number of divorces, unwed pregnancy, and abortion. The consequences reverberate on and on and the pundits speculate on why there is so much depression, drug and alcohol abuse and suicide. Mothers used to be the fiercest protectors of their children physically and spiritually, but now they are too busy and we see the flood of immorality that has swept in while they are otherwise occupied.
CW
I learned about Satan’s war on children first-hand when I was pregnant with mine. The spiritual warfare was unbelievably oppressive, in virtually every way, shape and form. I had to stay in God’s Word every day, praying and seeking Him. He watched over me and the babies and took care of us in unusual and miraculous ways (some medical professionals were astounded), for which I give Him ALL the Glory! I encourage all pregnant moms who are Bible-believing Christians to expect the warfare, be prepared for it, take unto themselves the Armor of God, and stand strong against the wiles of the devil by the Mighty power of God. He Is Able to do what no man can do!
Anna Rosa
As for dating, I have much to say as that resonates with me so much. I tried dating a while back and just gave it up. I also hear from other single Christian women in the same situation. Men only care about the carnal issues, like they are looking over some slaves at a market. Women are sexually objectified. All they care about is sending them a photo and if it is sexy, like you’re just a piece of meat. So many married ‘Christian’ men are addicted to porn (always a sin) and can’t be natural with their wives. Even men calling themselves ‘Christian’ don’t want to wait until marriage for sex, and if you make them (because no one can force you to sin), you will stay a single female like me (and honorably so). On Christian dating sites that is all you find, or at churches, and they are all apostasized in one form or another anyway. There just is no one out there. All the ‘good’ ones in church are married and there are hardly any single men anyway. I heard stories of younger ones in other churches just preying on the young ladies. I’m older and divorced and am fine but I thank God that I am not a young maiden looking for love out there! It’s a scary place. So be careful and don’t compromise, you are worth the wait ladies!
Anna Rosa
So true! I am from the older generation and my mom had me later in life so she tells me about how things were before WWII. It was SO different! Of course not all things, but life in general. I see that today, children have no more innocence. Even the kindergarteners have purple mohawks, brand name shoes, dress like gang members, are rude and defiant to adults, use profanity, play guns, play violent computer games, are obsessed with the occult and evil movies, and know all about sex. Yes, in kindergarten! It is a travesty. And all the other stuff that they are being indoctrinated with all over adds to it. I noticed a connection, so many women are getting abortions now (not a right) and later when they do have kids, they tend to value them less, like they too are expendable, they just got lucky. Parents don’t raise their children, they pretty much let them grow up in the wild now, like an after thought. And all of them are too busy looking at social media on their ipads to care about anything or anyone.