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Machaira
A professing Reformed Christian, Creationist, non-academic philosopher and connoisseur of the arts. One of the few folks in which 80's metal and conservative Christianity meet, which generally means you should back off from him by at least 80 centimeters or he will pull out a measuring tape and measure those same 80 centimeters for you before knocking you out with a Tiger Uppercut. Holy Nods from across any space greater than 1 meter are recommended. You have been warned.
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Some Thoughts on Sound Doctrine
While I was doing time in Perspective class yesterday, something thought-provoking came to me. But before I begin, why don't you get a ruler, a pencil, a roll of masking tape and a piece of paper?
Got them? Good. Now, I want you to tape the sheet of paper to a flat surface on all four corners. That way, it won't be disturbed when you move your hand and accidentally brush the paper.
Next, take your pencil (or other writing tool) and draw a line using the ruler as a guide. Don't worry, it can be in any angle as long as it's straight.
When you're through, lift the ruler and try re-aligning it with your original line, then draw another one.
If you notice that your line didn't match the angle of the original, congratulations. That's exactly what I wanted to happen, and the analogy of my point. Christians nowadays are content to live merely with the knowledge that "Jesus died for them" and "God has a wonderful plan for their life" that usually involves praying a prayer and stuff like that. We get fed with so-called "doctrine" that usually involves postmodernism and we have churches that merely mumble "We don't care what happens, what matters is God within us" in the face of an entire onslaught of godless messages and philosophies we see and hear each and every day.
As a result, we get a lot of professing Christians who end up compromising with the sorry excuse that "we shouldn't worry too much about what we say, think or do, what matters is that Christ died for us and he has a wonderful plan for our lives". Atheists and secularists bash the Christian faith simply by saying "How can a God of love send people to hell?" or "How can a God who supposedly loves mankind send killer tidal waves crashing right through heavily-populated countries?"
Why is this so? Could it be that Christendom has failed in one crucial aspect? Of a truth, it has. It has failed to uphold sound doctrine. As a result, we have strayed far from the path of righteousness laid down by God. We as Evangelicals are producing baby boomer converts who probably don't know the difference between the Lord's Supper and the Eucharist. We are producing evangelists who rely on the latest techniques to preach the Gospel instead of that solid, grounded conviction to obey the commandment of Christ in Matthew 28:19-20. We are producing apologists and theologians who engage in bunny-hopping through the entire Bible just to find passages that fit THEIR worldview instead of wise men who let the Scriptures speak for themselves. I'll leave you to guess what happens.
Do you see my analogy? We try to fit that same straight rule the Bible provides, but if we get even ONE thing wrong concerning essential doctrines we end up straying in the long run. Remember the line I asked you to draw? If you so much as even misalign your ruler by less than a millimeter, you will end up straying from the angle of the original line; if you extrapolate that to several meters, you'll see the difference much more clearly. And I believe that is what we are experiencing now; a little deviation from sound doctrine ends up taking us in another direction.
Dr. James White once mentioned something about some church sermons being nothing more than rehashed versions of "The Four Spiritual Laws". I say it's like cotton candy: Fluffy and sweet, but little nutritional value.
SUGGESTED READINGS:
Deuteronomy 5:31-32
Deuteronomy 17:10-12
Deuteronomy 28:13-14
Proverbs 4:26-28
Isaiah 30:20-22
2 Timothy 4:3
Titus 2:1
All Scripture references are taken from the New International Version. I really should set my default to KJV 'cause it's no longer held under copyright law.
Resources and Something Else
"What did I get my sorry butt into???" I thought as I listened to the professor's rather disjointed lecture on metaphysics regarding "being". Hearing him talk about heathen mumbo-jumbo...and attempting to connect it all to the Bible, to boot...was a real eye-opener about the state of the institute I was currently enrolled in. No, wait, scratch that. It wasn't just ANY eye-opener. It was like having my eyelids forced open by steel clothespins while a sadistic 15th century Inquisitionist positioned himself over me, menacingly brandishing a pair of bloodstained forceps and yelling "IS THE EUCHARIST THE TRUE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST!?"
For a professedly Catholic school (though it is claimed to be non-sectarian), I was surprised to hear humanist and even pagan philosophies spouted from classroom pulpits (my much more sophisicated substitute for "teacher's desk"). I wonder: is this the "progress" the so-called "Age of Enlightenment" (more like endarkenment if you ask me) was claimed to have brought to the world as so many Discovery Channel and National Geographic-esque programs would have us to believe? If you were to ask me, I feel like an exiled Jew in Babylon right now. At least Daniel had the faith and courage to stand up to people who worshipped pagan deities.
Oh, great. He's talking about family planning and being liberal-minded about ideas or something. Now what? Modernism: Glory to Man in the highest, for Man is the measure of all things? Or POST-Modernism: "pwn3d by 3xp3r13nc3" (as wonky would put it)? Oh wait, that's existentialism. Postmodernism is like "There seems to be no absolute truth out there and if there was any to begin with, we probably couldn't attain it". To make matters worse, he speaks at around 100MPH and makes it VERY difficult for me to understand what he's actually saying (at least it's good practice for when I get to talk to a native Japanese person ;-) Ah, wait. Now he's pushing pluralism. "Doesn't matter what religion you're in, we all worship the same God." So, sir, could you tell me how Allah, whose Prophet denies the deity of Christ, is the same as the God of the Bible whose apostle of love wrote "He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not (John 1:10)" of the very same Jesus? Could you tell me how the lecherous Zeus of Greek mythology is similar to the faithful Lord Almighty who said "Thou shalt not commit adultery (Exodus 20:14)"? When did the once-human deity of the Mormons become categorically similar to the Lord GOD whose servant Moses declared "From everlasting to everlasting, thou art God (Psalm 90:2)"?
To make matters worse, here are my classmates. If they meet a professor they don't like, well, to Beelzebub with the subject (I admit I was chatting with my seatmate, a professing Evangelical, about the prof and his really odd teachings, so I'm guilty of this too). Sure enough, in time they were making a lot of noise. The guy next to me was even reading a portfolio by a Vegan classmate (NOW you #prosians know why I'm so hung up on PETA). The boys behind us were insulting the professor by imitating his manner of speaking. Worse, one of the students asked him a question regarding God as a being. I'm guessing the teacher shot out an inconsistency or something, but then again that particular classmate may not be aware of the principles of causality either (i.e. Everything has a cause--in the theists' case, God is the Prime Cause of all things--the uncaused cause in the Christian case).
I'm honestly tempted to tune out everything going on around me, but I feel I must listen. Many of my classmates are pagans, and even though they may not really care about what the teacher is saying, 1 Peter 3:15 still incites me to some action. I only hope I get to use all this knowledge in God's timing.
The LONG EK rambling AT LAST! (Part 2)
(Continued from last blog post)
The author then goes on to delineate some more causes of enjou kosai, and even a key ethical factor essential to the entire fracas (which I might rightly argue is the heart of it all--more on that argument later). She correctly identifies that a big deterrent to the morality of the issue is that girls involved (or uninvolved) in enjou kosai practically write their own policies as to what is allowable and what is not. Compounding this problem is the presence of crises like family disputes, broken relationships, etc. which drive the girls to consider the immoral practice of compensated dating (here in my country, we might call that the "escort service") as an easy way out. With the presence of an amoral, pragmatic and relativistic attitude towards the practice, nipping this thing in the bud is next to impossible.
However, here comes the really meaty part. Listen to the author in the following quotes (emphases mine):
"In considering this issue, we too often have a certain stereotype of these girls: uneducated and ignorant of their actions. However, many of the teenagers who are involved in enjo-kosai are educated. On the contrary what has been too often said, some of the girls involved actually go to the best schools and they use enjo-kosai as a tool of solving their problems. Whatever those problems are, they go out and try to divert their minds in stead of just shutting themselves in. They know how to cope with their problems and are strong enough to live their lives. Still, many people might think that enjo-kosai is not the right way for solving problems. The reason might be like this: there should be other alternatives, so the girls have to value themselves. But in fact, it is the girls concerned who decide whether they are going to value themselves or not. Mr. Muyadai explains, 'The term, the right to decide oneself, is defined as the right which the person can decide something though one is put at a disadvantage as a result, unless one does not give trouble to anyone'."
More utilitarianism here. Note that she makes compensated dating sound like a reasonable instrument for problem-solving. All this while the fact that she noted the following only one paragraph earlier:
"A girl who had an interview with Ms. Hayami does enjo-kosai because she doesn’t have her own place at home where her father decides everything. Another girl started enjo-kosai to heal her pain from a broken heart. Because of these reasons, the discord within the family, too much interference by parents, teenagers are likely to look for acceptance and find this from middle-aged men."
Good. Ness. If Ness was good at seeing inconsistencies, he would immediately note that what they did is anything BUT a viable solution to the problem. This is nothing more than a form of escapism. Instead of facing up to the issue at hand, the girls look for other outlets--in this case, dating middle-aged men. In the process, they actually compound the problem: not only are they feeding the lusts of guys as morally ungrounded as they are (think about this: you as an enjou kosai girl are possibly dating some other young lady's daddy and perhaps even having sex with him, and this activity in turn fuels an existing family problem involving the man you're dating, thus leading his OWN neglected daughter to practice the same thing you're doing right now. And to make it worse is that your daddy is secretly having an affair with that other girl as a result. Not that you probably care about him, anyway, but what you don't know is that the man you're in bed with is your best friend's dad. THINK, for crying out loud!!), they also dehumanize themselves, kill their conscience (as if it wasn't DEAD ENOUGH already), and potentially expose themselves to a variety of STDs as well as early pregnancy...all without truly solving anything whatsoever.
"Today, many teenagers have their own sense of value for decision-making about sex. They know what they are doing, and they are responsible for their results. The decision-making for sex is a very private matter that neither parents nor others should interfere with. After the Tokyo Metropolitan Government adapted a new law to penalize adults who buy sexual relations from teenagers, Metropolitan government spokesman Toshihiro Nakazawa has commented: “Considering that restricting teenagers’ sexual activity is a very sensitive and private issue that might violate their human rights, the ordinance aims to penalize adults who buy sexual relations” (“Violators”). However, it is clear that police will have difficulty in proving if teenagers received money or valuables, and the adult knew the girl was a minor. Likewise, it will be hard for the law to penalize adults if both the adult and the teen-age girl want their relationship and try to hide it. Although the law has an effect, there is a great possibility of affairs secretly taking place. Indeed, restricting these girls’ behavior is beyond our power."
Firstly, I would like to seriously question that part about teenagers "know[ing] what they are doing." Oh, they know they're having fun and serving their own ends, all right. I just want to question if they know the dire consequences of what they're doing, let alone the destructive nature of the impulses that drove them to it. Can one seriously think that teenagers who abuse sex for their own profit (or even for so called "love" as in the case of live-in partners) actually KNOW what they're doing on the most basic level of things? Probably not, especially if they have NO IDEA about any existing God who judges and will judge all men. True, they are responsible for what they are doing. I just wish they had a little more wisdom on the subject. Godly wisdom at that.
And what's this about the part on decision-making for sex being something neither parents nor any other person should interfere in? That is utter foolishness. Parents are responsible for the proper upbringing of children, and as shockingly delicate a subject as sexuality is, children should be informed about its nature, as well as its proper time and place for use (for instance, see Proverbs 5, 6:20-35, 7, 9:13-17). Promiscuity is not only evidence of greed and lack of self-control, but also unfaithfulness. How many marriages have been ruined because the husband ran off with another guy? I mean girl? How many people have fallen into disgraceful living because they sold off their birthrights for a bowl of porridge, so to speak? How many innocent lives have been destroyed because of unwanted pregnancies? YOU tell me, YOU'RE the ones who think parents should not interfere with children on the topic of sex!
Lastly, will you please look at the second half of the paragraph. "We were having illicit sex but you barged in and tried to stop us! It's unfair! HUMAN RIGHTS!!" Sadly, while libertarian freedom in the human political sense has been permitted knowing that, to paraphrase John Piper, forced allegiance to the law is not true allegiance at all (which is why God, according to Calvinist soteriology, is technically not forcing us AGAINST our will when he calls us into the glorious fellowship of Jesus Christ, because he SUBDUES our rebellious will and turns our hearts to be IN ACCORDANCE with his perfect will...but that's a different story ;-), it has been abused by people who want to have their own selfish ways. Of course, that's why this same freedom is limited by ordained law to begin with, but here we see a failure of law enforcement because the Tokyo Metropolitan rule only aims to penalize adults who solicit the sex act and leaves out the teenagers on the premise of violating their rights to do whatever they want with their bodies, without duly noting the fact that enjou kosai is perpetrated not by the adults (who only act as the willing customers) but by the teenagers themselves, who routinely go to telephone clubs and even the internet to PERSONALLY and WILLINGLY offer their companionship for a lofty fee! It's ENJOU KOSAI we're trying to stop here, people, not merely somebody's wife making out with another woman's husband! It's true that, in lieu of certain undeniable rights, the law is not at liberty to handle every single transgression with ease (like forcibly stop a couple of people from committing adultery or fornication, as the above quote rightly points out...I mean, we're not in ancient Israel anymore, Caleb), but why are its enforcers so reluctant to apply it fully to something with which it has at least some capacity to check?*
Finally, we have a very sobering conclusion. Sobering in that it reflects that our world has definitely gone astray. Read these sentences for yourself and note the humanistic, morally relative tone.
"Teen-agers in today’s society in Japan have a great power. They create fads, they actively go for what they want, and they seem very positive. Sometimes we get perplexed at their behaviors, but I’m often impressed with their mental energy. They take actions when they long to do something without asking for help to their parents. Although we tend to blame those girls doing enjo-kosai, they have various reasons and their own value of decision-making about sex. Through this time of dynamic changes, these girls are trying to adapt themselves to it. Instead of just criticizing them, we need to make an effort to understand them and accept them."
Ah yes, so illicit sex for cash is a fad. Dating older men who are probably married is a fad. Taking actions when one longs to do something without asking for help from one's parents, despite the fact that what you're doing would basically be a slap in their face (unless, of course, they hardly even care at all--which seems to be the issue, and in which case the girls actually mean to take revenge against negligent parents) and that instead of engaging in good, honest work you are taking the easy (?) way and selling your own dignity for a couple thousand yen (unless you consider "dignity" in terms of cash) is a positive behavior. Girls adapting themselves to dynamic changes in what can probably be one of the worst ways possible is a good thing because, surprise, they are learning to be masters of their own fates (an old professor of mine, a devout Catholic, once said that this is a "wonderful thing"...fancy that), and we must thus see them as acceptable. After all, this is the sexual revolution, right?
THIS is the heart of the matter, boys and girls. It's Genesis 3 all over again, played out on a grander scale. Enjou Kosai is just one of the foul offspring of the first rebellious act of mankind, in fact a minority among many other evils (roughly between 5% and 13% of the total highschool girl population in Japan are involved in it, if I recall correctly). But nevertheless it is influenced by the same poison of man's selfish desire for total autonomy, which has been ingrained in our nature ever since Adam ate of the forbidden fruit. This is nothing more than rebellion, mingled with greed. If you would so kindly scroll up, you will read that one girl reportedly practiced Enjou Kosai because her dad was "too controlling" at home. If this is not rebellion, I don't know what is.
The article the author references to at the beginning of this essay, by the way, espouses a view that is a far cry from what Fuijiwara-san would want us to consider. Read these words of Alice Yamada:
"Japan is experiencing a degeneration of morals and ethics after the entire nation had devoted itself to becoming a strong economic power. Children were left to fend for themselves because the adults were too busy making money and as a result, the teenagers now are living lives as they please. It is too late for the adults to try to interfere. The children have developed their own social norms and lifestyles. The only future Japan can hope for is one in which the children learn their lessons and prostitution is discarded from their lives as a result of their own wills."
I couldn't agree more. It is written, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it" (Proverbs 22:6). Ever since the advent of the cultural revolution, these parents have not exactly been doing that, and therefore I wouldn't be surprised if sooner or later something gets screwed up (heck, it's 1:40 AM and I should be sleeping, but I'm still awake and typing this...though I will not blame my own sins on my parents, they are still responsible for what they have done). I'll be a bit lenient on Japan here since most Japanese hardly even know what real Christianity is all about, much less the Gospel message (one art site I know of is entitled "One Way to the Heaven!"...I doubt the author even knows how critical the implications of that phrase are), but I do know for a fact that this will in no way discount them from having any responsibilities in the entire matter (Romans 2:11-16).
However, a couple of somethings. It's not exactly too late for parents to get their children back. Drawing from one aspect of the Gospel message, the selfish, sinful nature is the root here, and both parties have their respective problems regarding that fleshly nature. One offshoot is the lack of communication that pervades the parent-child relationship, and I know on a personal level that this particular shortcoming is a VERY difficult and painful obstacle to overcome (#prosians, sorry to be so not my usual happy-go-lucky self here, but now you know the reason why I chat with you guys very often. Please pray for me). As it is written, the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children (2 Corinthians 12:14). If there's anything parents need to let their children know not just in word but also in action, it's that they can be trusted and depended upon.
Yes, I do admit that, perhaps due to divine judgment, it may be too late to redeem some of the things that have already come to pass. But it is not too late for the parents of the next generation, the ones whose children are yet tender, to espouse a well-grounded set of ethics for themselves, that they may more or less pass it on to their offspring. And there is a way to do this. It begins by begging for mercy at the foot of the cross whereupon the now-risen Son of God was once slain.
Secondly, who are we to think that, apart from any act of God (who turns mens' hearts according as he pleases), the children of today may be counted on to simply realize "Hey, this is wrong, I shouldn't be doing this", make a 180-degree turn and abandon a particular lifestyle, especially concerning the fact that the children are the one who have made their own rules of the game? Yes, it may be possible for one to turn from evil acts on the basis of wrong presuppositions, but at best one can only achieve a temporary or incomplete change. The real root of the evil is in one's heart (Matthew 15:17-20), and the only one who can change the wicked hearts of men is the LORD Almighty (Jeremiah 32:38-40). Sheep without a shepherd usually get lost and killed.
Fancy trying to justify Enjou-Kosai by virtue of independent choices. This phenomenon is but a small one relative to the rest of the world, and there are bigger problems than these. I myself am wondering WHY I devoted so much time and energy to a relatively little thing (in comparison to bigger problems like widespread abortion, drug abuse, criminal activity, the lack of morals, godless doctrines, etc.), but let me point you to a couple of crucial facts that are exemplified by this wave of juvenile irresponsibility. One is that, without a solid moral ground or basis for ethics, people, yea, entire nations will crumble into the shifting sands of relative selfishness. Another fact is that men are by nature corrupted, even at a tender age. It is a sad thing to see people pushing to have their own wicked ways, but it is even sadder to see them attempting to justify malicious intents and behavior, as the author of the article I critiqued in this essay has attempted. Perhaps it is nothing more than a vain attempt to try and alleviate their guilt?
If they could even feel guilt at all, that is.
* I would like to note that, unlike normal prostitution (which is more or less an organized business), Enjou Kosai is often a private transaction, wherein girls have to personally advertise their own services via phone or internet. This would actually make it harder to crack down on such activities.
(Resources next blog post. I'm too preoccupied to go look for them right now)
The LONG EK rambling AT LAST! (Part 1)
As I explained in my first blog entry, I am currently contemplating and preparing to write a short manga about a young girl involved in Enjou Kosai, roughly translated as "compensated dating" (In fact, for those of you who can read Japanese kanji, Sketch no. 15 in the Rakugaki section of my personal art site is the character design for the girl, whose name is Kotoko Hanebayashi*).
However, being the big dunderheaded coconut that I am (there's a Captain Haddock-ism for you Tintin fans), I realized one very vital thing: I don't even LIVE in Japan. Despite the fact that I had once been made aware of young girls prostituting themselves in clubs and the like, even going to far as to wear the very same school uniforms people see often in anime (and we know what an effect those have on people {shudders}), I had no idea what these girls experience. I needed to know more.
So what does a clueless gaijin do with a partially cultural issue? You Google for it. Soon I turned up a whole bunch of articles related to the subject; most were generally repulsed by and thus opposed to the idea of highschoolers selling themselves for money, of course. But one writing in particular caught my eye. Being an article written between 1998 and 1999, it was quite dated, as mutato (a fellow #ProsApologian regular) observed. But although it got a few points correct (such as parents being partly to blame for children running awry), its opinions on the "merits" of Enjou Kosai so bluntly expressed the heartless, postmodern and evolutionary humanist society we live in today.
Why these strong words? Well let me provide you with some quotes.
"To build upon Yamada’s analysis, we need to understand that there are many types of enjo-kosai. Likewise, the purpose for doing enjo-kosai also differs from girl to another. Some girls use enjo-kosai as a tool for solving their problems, while others use it just to earn more pocket money. Unfortunately, when we talk about enjo-kosai, we tend to have a stereotype of these girls that allows for nothing but superficial criticism. Although the teenage girls involved in enjo-kosai have been generalized as uneducated people degrading Japanese society, their decision-making shows these girls have grown tough in order to make their ideal life come true."
Well, if anything about Japan's society is to be blamed, it's the fact that Japan is pretty much lenient towards sexual issues. I mean, the legal age of consent for sexual contact with a girl is 12?? Furthermore, what's this part about "growing tough in order to make their ideal life come true?" Let me translate that for you: "These girls have learned to throw away morals in order to grasp a life they so selfishly crave, whether it be for material wealth, security, revenge or a twisted semblance of love". No matter if it involves sexual contact or not, these young women are playing with fire and toying with men who are as morally weak as they are to serve their own goals. I somehow fail to NOT notice the words "survival of the fitest" written all over this paragraph. In a way, though, the author points out a nugget of truth: this wave of immorality only shows that evil exists and grows in our world like a rippling tide. Since the parents have neglected the girls, and morality regarding sexuality in Japan is actually rather casual, why should the girls care? If they wanted to make money by dating older guys, who will prevent them?
"The media contributes to the problem because it does not offer a balanced treatment of news items. For example, when we think about the construction of nuclear power plant, the media focuses on the danger of nuclear and local people there, but they rarely recommend the merits of nuclear power. After watching the program, viewers are likely to oppose the construction, but their opinions might be changed if the media explains our situation [that Japan lacks natural resources and we need something to substitute] and the merits of nuclear power."
Um, excuse me? Why are you comparing *nuclear power*, which is not necessarily a moral issue in and of itself, to Enjou Kosai, a phenomenon primarily rooted in moral and social problems? Are you going to somehow counter with "Well, nuclear power can be dangerous to human life if improperly maintained, isn't that a moral issue too?" Yes, I wholeheartedly agree with that, but this doesn't even begin to be a good analogy to the entire enjou kosai controversy. In the one, the resource is a material object; the problem only begins to arise when dangerous radioactive material is improperly handled, and therefore demands a healthy modicum of responsibility (after all, even if we were talking about your mother-in-law here, you wouldn't exactly want her to die in a meltdown would you?). In the other, the *cough* "resource" *cough* of one's own body is already being improperly handled. That's not responsibility; that is the utter absence of it! And one's own sexuality is hardly even a liquid asset (i.e. disposable) in the Materialist sense of the word; our bodies are not even ours to to us for our own pleasures. God is the only one with the right to dispose of our corrupt, earthly tents at will.
Do you understand this? The driving principle for the practice of enjou kosai is pragmatism and/or utilitarianism: the goal is the only thing that's important and results alone dictate the righteousness of any endeavour. The problem is that BOTH ends and means MUST be considered ethically for justification! So can the act of playing hanky-panky with older, perhaps even married men for some semblance of control be considered "just"? Can the ends thereof, that is, the gain of material wealth, a sense of vengeance and perhaps even a feeling of control, be considered "just" (this is actually much more important, BTW, but that doesn't discount means from being ethically considered as well; if one depended only on the results to justify the means, then ANY method is technically justifiable)? According to ethical relativism, maybe! Furthermore, this isn't exactly some ethical dilemma we're talking about here (in the which you are hard-pressed to sacrifice certain ethics for a higher good); this is nothing but hardline relativism applied to real-world problems: "WE do what WE think is right with OUR own bodies!"
In this light, why is it different from nuclear power again? Because in the use of energy derived from fusion reactions, one has to take into stock the fact that the proponents of a nuclear power plant are also responsible for its proper maintenance, for the sole purpose of protecting lives benefited by the practice. In the business of peddling one's own sexuality (not one's talents or skills, unless for some very sick reason you think making whoopee is a talent) for a buck or two--well, at least 200 bucks anyway--one is not only taking something ordained of God to be a covenant sign of love and faithfulness ONLY between married man and woman (the primary reason why any sex outside of marriage is sinful, by the way), one is in effect saying "To Beelzebub with my morals and my health, what matters is that I get what I want!"
Heh...if nuke plant servicemen adopted the same principles, we'd all be knee-deep in radioactive sludge right now. In fact, a lot of prostitutes often end up not only throwing their souls away for the cash (whether it be for themselves or someone else, in case someone raises that objection as well), they also manage to wind up throwing away not only the remainder of their years due to sexually-transmitted diseases, but also their unwanted fetuses should they botch (or forego, whether unconsciously or otherwise) the "safe sex" aspect of the "job". Life for life, in a twisted sort of way. Contrast the responsibility and ethical considerations of both means and ends in the one with the utter disregard in the other:
NUKE PLANT
Goal: Provide a large population of people with cheap, efficient energy. (ethical; you're providing a much needed service to hundreds of thousands of people. With all the contraptions we have come up with using the gifts God has so graciously provided us with, it's hard to imagine living in a world without electricity)
Ethical Considerations: Radioactive material is hazardous to human, animal and plant life if improperly contained (Even if your neighbor was an animal-rights nut who constantly pressures you into giving up meat and has attempted on several different occasions to steal your pet Alsatian and let him go into the wild where he might be killed by a pack of coyotes, you wouldn't exactly want him to die, would you?).
Means: construct a nuclear power plant and disposal facility according to the most stringent safety standards possible (ethical. You are considering the safety of those who will be benefited by your actions...see the considerations above. Besides, even if we were to think humanistically, how would your beneficiary be able to enjoy the 24/7 electricity you're providing if he's a smoldering pile of green-glowing cinder?)
ENJOU KOSAI
Goal: Money, money, money. For that absolutely gorgeous Giorgio Armani scarf, of course. If not money, then revenge on mommy and daddy who are often away at work and neglecting you in the process. If not revenge, then trying to pacify a broken heart, because your (sorry excuse for a) boyfriend basically made advances on you, took you to his home while his parents were at work, nearly got you pregnant and left you for another man the following day. Oh the irony. Gee, you think these reasons are even ethically justifiable at all?
Ethical Considerations: Varies according to the individual. "I don't want to get pregnant or get AIDS, so I will use a condom." "I wouldn't want to spend the cash given me, it was hard-earned by those good men who basically used me like a rag doll in a love hotel somewhere in Kanegawa Prefecture." UH?????
Means: .....................I wouldn't even want to go into detail here. Humanists (notably atheistic/relativistic materialists) will miss the point here, of course, since I am answering the matter from a theistic paradigm. But, aside from the usual banter of physical hazards we often hear medical professionals and the like saying, God has expressly laid down the rules in entire passages like Leviticus 18 and 20 (it was very horrible having to wade through these passages, personally...disgusting images kept creeping into my head faster than I could get rid of them). You go read those Scripture portions for yourselves. My point is that IT IS WRITTEN. God basically said in Genesis 2:23-24 that sex should only be a covenant sign between married men and women. In this wise it is hardly even comparable to uranium. Why do you think he hates adultery and fornication? Because it is a sign of disrespect against God (you are pre-empting His revealed divine will on the proper time and place for intercourse and inserting your own selfish reasons for misusing a gift which he himself gave you) and furthermore, it is a sign of infidelity. Imagine being given a priceless gift by your husband as a token of his marital love for you, and then you either give that away to your boyfriend (as a token of YOUR love for HIM, no less) or sell it to some two-bit money changer so you could buy that lovely gown you've always wanted.
Bottom line: A human being's body is not a plutonium rod to be used and disposed of by themselves or other people at their own discretion. We are created in God's image and only God has the absolute right to our physical essence. Heck, we aren't even plain animals "evolved" from some primordial sludge (the possibility of life arising from nonlife is completely nil, anyway)...the implications of materialist evolutionary philosophy is strongly present here. And I might also note that the lack of a foundational belief in God is key to the propagation (and in this case, the defense) of such godless actions. Without an absolute ethic of any sort, men are "free" to do anything they want and justify it to boot, because the only thing they would consider to be their real guides would be their personal desires, their own sense of right and wrong and their subjective feelings (I was about to say society, but who cares what society wants?). Is it no wonder Christ said "Whosoever commits sin is the servant of sin" (John 8:34)?
(Continued in next post...)
The Long EK Article
...which is not here yet, by the way, is being completed in the interim. If any #ProsApologian regular is reading this, help. I need a few guys to proofread my written analysis of an article I found regarding Enjou Kosai, because (in plain language) I am not as mighty as wonky or as wisdomy as Shamgar, CalvinDude, MarkE22, centuri0n, unicalman or...well, just about anybody in #pros. Seriously, you guys. I don't want to mess up this apologetic and make Christians look like bigoted idiots. Well, we may be "bigots" in the eyes of the rest of the planet, but we're not supposed to be idiots.
In fact, I'm looking through this site at the moment. Might turn up something.
It's tough being Christian and conservative. But hey, considering the wide gap between the vain philosophies of men and the mind of Christ, it goes with the job description. And, uh...well... (spots a couple of articles)
Teenage Prostitution in Japan
Japan Times: Juvenile Crime Wave Prompts Jusice Ministry Crackdown
Means and Ends
When Absolutism is Relative
...Well this changes things a bit.
Just Why Are You Interested in EK? Sukebe!
Good question. It's because 1) I'm writing a story about it to delve deeper into why it's wrong in the first place, and 2) I have a very bad past. Which I will not publish here for the sole reason of looking cool. But seriously, good question. Why AM I getting hung up on this? All the cool stuff I could write (like the adventures of samnj and wonky) and I end up losing sleep over a prostitution issue. I better get some rest and think about this with a clear head or I'll end up ranting in channel again and pissing off somebody, like tiredofUT.
Oh well. At least I'm still kyoudai in Pete's blog. That, and OzPhantom is a man who understands the blurx I keep typing in #pros.
Some Thoughts on The Hedonist Extreme
This just came to me earlier, and I wanted to share my thoughts. When one is unregenerate, that is to say he is a child of wrath under sin (Ephesians 2:3, 5:6; Colossians 3:6), one tends to revel more or less in the sinful pleasures of this world (Isaiah 5:12). Good and bad are nothing more than abstract terms with meanings relative to one's personal desires and opinions, and this actually causes a lot of hoopla. (Proverbs 21:2)
But when one is cleansed by the blood of Christ, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5), he suddenly sees, on the human level, his own sinfulness and rebellion against God. However, he also realizes in effect that the world he had once been enjoying was really a bastion of corruption. His surroundings suddenly become a very scary place as he begins to understand that he's technically not in Kansas anymore (1 John 5:19). Why? His point of view has changed. Suddenly (to paraphrase a rather popular seeker-sensitive author right now...#prosians, bear with me), it's no longer about himself; what he wants, what he believes, what he thinks is right for himself. Moral relativism is thrown out of the window as he realizes the presence of a greater good, the glorious absolute truth of God Almighty himself.
And you know what? This absolute ethic suddenly begins to color all things; things you once thought were wonderful in your blindness you now see in their true state of decay (John 3:19-20), and thus they both repulse you and yet drive you to pity at the same time (Philippians 3:18-19, Matthew 5:43-48). You realize that the worlds were framed by the word of God, and not by chance (Hebrews 11:3, Genesis 1), opening up the concept of external accountability to a divine Creator (Romans 3:19). And you realize that those who were once your closest companions are now your foes (1 Peter 4:3-5).
The world sure seems a lonely place for a new Christian. But thankfully, God has said "I will never leave you, nor forsake you" (Deuteronomy 31:6, 8; Joshua 1:5; Hebrews 13:5). That much we can count on. More than enough, in fact.
I have to go now. Class starts in a few minutes. God bless you all.
Romans 1:18-32 Portrayed in the News
Sometimes the news never fails to surprise me. For example, a Satanist was beaten up badly by a couple of kids who were subsequently charged with hate crimes. In response, look what the satanist says:
"My allegiance is to Satan and I hate Christianity, Judaism and Islam, but I don't hurt anyone," Mr. Romano said. "I take out my anger in mosh pits and S-and-M clubs. I think it's ironic that the Christians got violent with the Satanist."
Judging by their behavior towards him, I don't think his assailants were even Christian at all. However, one must question that kind of response. "I hate Christianity, etc., but I don't hurt anyone"? As if not hurting anyone would somehow justify him or make him superior (thanks to centuri0n for pointing this out)? In the eyes of men, perhaps. Ironically, this is why REAL Christians are commanded to "let [their] light shine before men" so that people will "see [their] good works, and glorify [their] Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 5:16)
In other news, I received a Reuters story from a friend about atheists and secular humanists whining about religion and planning to make a big splash in 2005 to counter "religious fundamentalism". Among other things, they complain that Bush's election "strengthened...Christian fundamentalists" in restoring the Bible to it's proper place, and that "key Humanist values", such as "racial and sexual equality" (read: complete and utter sameness), "respect for human rights" (read: leave us alone, you Bible thumpers) and "morality based on reason rather than on the dictates of a supreme being through a holy book" (read: we worship the creature rather than a Creator, that is if there ever was one) as "under attack". Why WOULDN'T we attack them?? Your so-called "values" and "social breakthroughs" such as gay marriages (note the last section of the article) and evolutionary teachings have caused a lot more societal, moral, spiritual and intellectual damage in the last couple of centuries than your twisted caricature of Christianity and religion (e.g. using the Crusades and witch hunts) has ever accomplished!
Funny, I thought these were the people who cry "tolerance"? So why aren't they tolerating me and my brethren? For a bunch of people who mostly don't believe in a supreme being and claim to have no affiliations with any religion whatsoever, they sure are good at pushing theirs.
"Tolerance" Strikes Again
This is very sickening. I was browsing through the Ladies Against Feminism webpage (a site that is slowly growing to become a favorite of mine) and I found this external article listed in their main page.
After scanning it very carefully, I was both enraged and ashamed. Enraged at the perverse darkness enveloping this soon-to-be-judged world of ours, and ashamed for the fact that I am technically in a similar situation and yet I don't speak/act out against evil like the poor girl did.
May God grant me the courage to do more than angrily rip a pizza delivery pamphlet, one that had been marked with profanity and hateful words by an animal rights activist, off of the school bulletin board. May He grant me the srength and conviction to conduct myself wisely toward outsiders (Colossians 4:5) that I be blameless and harmless, an unrebukeable child of God in the midst of a perverse generation (Philippians 2:15). And may he grant me the deep abiding faith in the victory of His Son Jesus Christ, the faith that will enable me, despite all odds, to say in all truth that "Here I stand, I can do no other; God help me. Amen."
Machaira's blog.
In the Red Corner...
Yay. I can now tell people about the more mundane things in life, like having to carry my dog down to the first floor of our house whenever we come home from travels, school or work. It's quite an odd thing lugging an overweight Japanese Spitz around like a jumbo-sized pillow.
But I'm not here to tell you about mundane things. I'm here to be serious. Like I was after I had read this article.
One of the commentators used an interesting term: "Philistine Hell". Of course, he was referring to his own country (wherever that may be), but I would like to remind our readers that the same level of idolatry and promiscuity we see here was indulged in by the Philistines, Canaanites, etc. Oh, wait, what did God do to them again? Why don't you go to Deuteronomy 9 and find out for yourself.
Kinda makes you think, doesn't it? I love the manga style of art, yes, and I personally use it...but these people are literally SOLD to it! After reading the part about otaku camping out in makeshift cardboard shelters just to buy a plastic disc showcasing uber-pretty girls or whatnot, I fell to thinking "Man, these guys need a LIFE!" But God knew differently than I did.
That IS their life.
They glory in it, they dwell upon it, and the same shall be part and parcel of their judgment (Romans 1:18-32).
I'll close with this quote from an article entitled "Oriental Lolitas - The Back Half - Japanese Erotic Comic Books" by Susanna Jones for now:
"The manga schoolgirl is made out of ink and paper, but does that mean no one gets hurt in the making of it?"
And in the Blue Corner...
I'm currently writing a story about a girl practicing Enjo Kosai, or "compensated dating" (others would label it as "prostitution"). Enjo Kosai involves girls, often high school students, who sell themselves to (mostly) middle-aged customers for cold hard cash to fuel their materialistic fancies.
Hmm, I wonder...didn't Christ say something about a man's life not consisting of the things he owns? (Luke 12:15) I'm surprised at how we as people can sell ourselves for something that cannot last. In contrast, Christ tells us "not [to] work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life (John 6:27)".
Just kinda tells you in a blunt way what our priorities really are.
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Apologetics
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Christian Sciences
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Reformed Resources
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I Don't Care What Anyone Thinks; I'm Singling Out My Local Congregation's Central Church Website
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Combat-Happy Joes
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