Fight the New Drug

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***To see my featured talk "How Love Defeats Porn" given at the Catholic Information Center in Washington, D.C. click here. ***

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

The Fall of Eden: What Pornography, Contraception, and Abortion have in Common

Their fall is our temptation today



 Genesis 3:1-8
Now the snake was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the LORD God had made. 
He asked the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You shall not eat from any of the trees in the garden’?” 
The woman answered the snake: “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; it is only about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, ‘You shall not eat it or even touch it, or else you will die.’” 
But the snake said to the woman: “You certainly will not die! God knows well that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, who know good and evil.” 
The woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and the tree was desirable for gaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.  When they heard the sound of the Lord God walking about in the garden at the breezy time of the day, the man and his wife hid themselves from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 
----

Lately I've been putting up videos on my Facebook page showing the truth behind Planned Parenthood practices.  I think it should be clear that as much as I don't agree with their practice, Planned Parenthood, people who work there and people who operate it are NOT the enemy.  There is only one enemy in our world---the Devil.

I believe three hot button issues today---pornography, contraception, and abortion---all come down to this very passage (above) in scripture, the first dialogue between Devil and man.  The key line?  Here's what the Devil says.

    "God knows well that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, who know good and evil.” (Gn 3:5)

If we are to ever dialogue about hot button issues I first must ask you: who do we put in control, God or ourselves? 

The Devil has tricked Eve, Adam, me, you, and everyone that WE can and should be in control of our choices and our bodies.  He's so good at this that he disguises himself as if he's not part of the conversation letting us self destruct ourselves.

Let's look at some examples:

    If I don't want to wait to be with someone to feel part of the pleasure that sex brings---I can CHOOSE use pornography.

    If I don't want to wait to have children before I can experience part of the pleasure of sex with a partner---I can CHOOSE to use contraception.

    Finally, if I am practicing contraception and not ready for a baby and contraception doesn’t work (and it often doesn’t, from my experience working with couples in my previous job) the mentality is still, “I can’t raise a baby” ---so I CHOOSE to have an abortion.

But what about rape and incest?  As traumatic and awful as they are, we believe that abortion only adds a second trauma on top of an existing trauma.  At the pregnancy resource center I worked at, I saw it over and over again that when someone was raped, we gave them love, support, and truth, connected them with parents who are looking to adopt, journeyed with them, and have seen baby and mother come out HAPPIER than when they first arrived to our center.  Baby gets to live, mother does not add additional emotional trauma abortion can bring, and adoptive parents get to be mother and father.  Three wins from an otherwise awful situation.

The point I'm trying to make is when it comes to choice---do we make it in our interest or God's interest?  

And why choose God's?  Because he has our best interest in mind, too!  The stats back it up:

People who refrain from pornography are more likely to be happier.

Couples who refrain from contraception are more likely to be happier.

Pregnant woman who refrain from abortion are more likely to be happier.

As for sex.  Or the best kind of it---love making.

     Imagine the best kind of love making possible.  Imagine it to be with someone who knows and loves everything about you, your faults and your weaknesses along with your triumphs and strengths.  Imagine it to be with someone that you do not worry will ever leave you because he or she has promised their life to you, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in good times and in bad.  Imagine this person loving you so much that he or she proclaimed these promises not only to you but publicly in front of your friends, family, and God.  Imagine the kind of love making that is free from worrying about contracting a harmful disease.  Imagine the kind of love making that can naturally plan and space the conceiving of children without the use of artificial elements.  Imagine the kind of love making that is so joyful, so life-giving with someone who loves you so much, that he or she wants to create another you.  Imagine the kind of love making with someone who does not say, “I want everything…but not that” and instead says simply, “I want everything.”

Having experienced choosing my will over God's in the past (watching pornography, not waiting until marriage, even contemplating abortion), it does not even begin to compare to what I get to experience now: love that is free, total, faithful, and fruitful.

    Imagine the best kind of love making possible.  Why cut ourselves short?  And who's choice do we let in?  God's or ours?

    Let’s all work and dream for this.

Amén.

2 comments:

  1. Amen! And thank you for your honesty. Purity is something I've always struggled with, but I am finally becoming free. I will use this post in the future when I'm talking about why I'm waiting until marriage to my friends and why they should, too.

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    1. Veronica,

      Praise God! What an awesome message. Let's all continue to dream the big dream.

      Peace and joy,
      Matt

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