Some days you don’t need to write much of a commentary.
If you want a description of our times, Can I refer you to Paul’s greatest letter, his theological masterpiece. For he describes our time, and our situation, in three paragraphs.
16For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, “The one who is righteous will live by faith.”
18For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of those who by their wickedness suppress the truth. 19For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made. So they are without excuse; 21for though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless minds were darkened. 22Claiming to be wise, they became fools; 23and they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling a mortal human being or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles.
24Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the degrading of their bodies among themselves, 25because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
It is worthwhile noting that the motivation for suppressing the truth is wickedness: this is the error of Queer theology, which does not allow an argument from nature, or a structure relating to nature, instead saying that all is narrative, and the power structures around suppress the story that makes me feel better.
Fools. They forget that most stories are lies, and lies have no power.
But within that net you find those who are entranced by the beauty of this world and the wonders of the works of man and worship the seen: the material — from pagans to dialectical socialists. For they worship not that which bears witness to the creator, but the creation.
And there is a consequence of this. Your desires enslave you. You are controlled by your appetites. This is why we have an epidemic of obesity, of debt induced by gambling, of exploitation in the blind pursuit of profit, and a huge industry providing lethe — in the form of drugs and seductive stories and images.
Confront those who preach this, and do not be like them. The latter is the challenge. for we all have desires: but in Christ we should be developing self-control.
The irony is that the neo-Stoics of the self improvement arm among the nascent men’s movement preach self control, discipline, knowing your mission and doing it. All of which is wise. And all of which is not being suppressed — as is any confrontation of the precious orchids of the clerisy, who can not stand having their feelings hurt. But one group has some wisdom, for they chase truth and beauty: the other states ugliness and lies should be accounted as true, beautiful and good.
No matter. The time for this clerisy is ending. Turn instead to Christ, and to the creator.
