In case you missed it (Don’t expect the mainstream media to think it’s newsworthy.), this week
the Vatican held a special conference concerning the family, sponsored in part by the Catholic
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The Pope warned about the current marriage crisis
facing the West by decrying the breakup of the family and children who are being raised without a
father/mother family. The Pope called it the “culture of the temporary,” a moral climate where many
have given up on marriage altogether. Now comes a report of yet another assault on the family: the
acceptance of incest.
The German Ethics Council (There’s a misnomer.) has recommended accepting incestuous marriages.
The Council, comprised of doctors and scientists, argues that the genetic risks to a child are no longer
so scary to justify keeping people from the loves and relationships that they choose. At this point the Council’s
viewpoint is only a recommendation but it does carry weight. Said the Council, “The fundamental right of adult
siblings to sexual self-determination has more weight in such cases than the abstract protection of
the family.” Whoa. What twisted logic from the nation of the Reformation!
What stirred this controversy in part is the marriage of Patrick Stuebing and his wife, Susan, who also happens to be his sister.
Patrick married Susan when he was 23 and she was 16. In America we not only call that incest, but
statutory rape. Said Susan in an interview with Vocativ media, “We fell in love as adults and our
love is real. There is nothing we could do about it. We were both attracted to each other and then
nature took over from us. We followed our instincts and our hearts.”
Will Germany upset the taboo and moral code of thousands of years? What about the damaging effects of inbreeding?
Of the four children of Patrick and Susan, two are disabled and a third needs a heart transplant. Yes, in the
past, such unions were sometimes used, as in ancient Egypt, to perpetuate the royal lineage of
dynasties; but the word itself comes from Latin meaning “impure.” Even the old myth of “Oedipus”
warned of dire consequences. The Jewish Torah condemned it in the moral codes of Leviticus and
Deuteronomy. The offspring are considered illegitimate, “bastards.” Islam likewise abhors
incest.
In a sex-obsessed culture where traditional moral distinctions of fornication are widely disregarded where might we go next in
America? The way the Germans are seemingly headed? The western world sorely needs to rediscover the
Christian teaching of sex as a spiritual mystery that reflects marriage as a union mirroring Christ
and the Church (Ephesians 5:32). By no stretch of logic can Christian redemption typify incest.
An encouraging
word: OBEY GOD’S DECREES
“Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying
your decrees.” So said the Psalmist (Psalm 119:5). The Living Bible speaks of wanting to follow
the laws of God “consistently” to avoid “being disgraced.” What has been lost on our world is the
steadfastness of fidelity to the ancient moral codes of Moses and the higher moral law of Jesus.
Humanism, relativism, Darwinism, behaviorism and other substitutes of God-inspired, revealed truth
have taken over where once religion gave direction. The result is a culture of shame and disgrace
that is without an ethical compass. Think of your own life. Do you with purpose and resolution do
all you can to walk in obedience to God’s Word? Beware the temper of the times and remember to
always obey the decrees of the Lord.
Bob Larson has trained healing and deliverance teams all over the world to set the captives
free and Do What Jesus Did (Luke 4:18). You can partner with Bob and
support this vision to demonstrate God’s power in action by calling 303-980-1511 or clicking here to donate online.
