You shall not give any of your children to offer them to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God; I am the Lord. Leviticus 18:21~
The proscription in Western Civilization against sexual activities outside God-ordained marriage goes back to the Old Testament. Leviticus, the primary book containing Jewish law, includes in chapter 18 God’s admonition against sex acts with close relatives, within homosexual relationships, and with animals.
Within the 30 verses of that chapter resides verse 21: “Do not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molek, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the Lord.”
A portion of scripture about sexual behavior contains this decree forbidding child sacrifice. And this admonition comes, not at the beginning or the end ,where we might relegate it to a different section. Sandwiched between proscriptions against incest and adultery in the early part of the chapter and homosexuality and bestiality at the end is this law forbidding child sacrifice.
It’s important to remember that, at this point, the Jews were the only culture with rules limiting sex to husband-wife relationships. Only Jews and later Christians held to the ideas of sexual exclusivity between husband and wife and of heterosexual marriage as God’s ideal.
For other cultures–those in the Middle East, Greece, and Rome–sex was a free for all. Women had little to say about what happened to them sexually. Children had no voice at all.
Writing for Crisis magazine, Dennis Prager explains:
“When Judaism demanded that all sexual activity be channeled into marriage, it changed the world. The Torah’s prohibition of non-marital sex quite simply made the creation of Western civilization possible. Societies that did not place boundaries around sexuality were stymied in their development. The subsequent dominance of the Western world can largely be attributed to the sexual revolution initiated by Judaism and later carried forward by Christianity.
“This revolution consisted of forcing the sexual genie into the marital bottle. It ensured that sex no longer dominated society, heightened male-female love and sexuality (and thereby almost alone created the possibility of love and eroticism within marriage), and began the arduous task of elevating the status of women.”
Along with elevating women came the protection of children.
It’s surprising to those of us who grew up during the “sexual revolution” of the 1960s, to consider this idea of an ancient “revolution” of morality.
The 1960s didn’t ring in a new way of living never before seen. The revolution marked the return to pagan idolatry–without statues and flames. The general acceptance of such practices is nearly complete. Aside from bestiality, the last moral pillar to remain standing holds proscriptions against sex with children.
How long can it stand nearly all by itself?
The American Conservative commentator Rod Dreher quotes Allyn Walker, a “non-binary assistant professor at Old Dominion University,” who writes that “there is evidence to show that attractions to minors can be considered a sexual orientation. . . . MAPs [minor attracted people] often report becoming aware of their attraction to children during adolescence, a trend that is typical of other sexual minorities.”
Notice the change of term from pedophile to MAP and the language that presents the attraction to children as something akin to an awakening rather than a disorder and the notion that pedophiles are part of a “sexual minority.”
We might be tempted to dismiss this view. But seeds planted at the university level often take fruit in our neighborhoods over time.
Dreher comments:
“Surely there must be some way to get these suffering people the help they need without moving towards considering pedophilia just one more ‘sexual orientation.’ Because if it ever should become that, we are halfway to legalizing it, following the same path that standard homosexuality took. If sexual desire is the equivalent of identity, and if to sexually desire minors is at the core of one’s identity, then how can we stigmatize or otherwise suppress pedophiles if we recognize that other kinds of sexual minorities have civil rights?”
The sexual revolution of the 1960s has been a runaway freight train tearing through the years since, leaving pain and trauma in its wake.
It’s time to ask ourselves how we can stop the train. It’s time to get the suffering people help instead of enabling them to harm others. It’s time to stop profaning the name of God by allowing children to be victimized in the name of self-idolatry.
It’s time we stopped the destruction of our very culture through acceptance of sexual sin.
It’s time.
It is our moral and legal obligation to protect the vulnerable. Society needs educating about this topic. Thank you for sharing important background and information relevant to our current situation. There’s nothing more precious than our children and we have the teachings of Jesus and many other religious leaders to guide our correct response.
We do, indeed, Katherine. Thank you and God bless!
Part of me wants to turn away in disgust and hope this all goes away. But that’s exactly what our culture wants us to do: look the other way.
It’s not just “time we stopped the destruction of our very culture through acceptance of sexual sin.” It’s long overdue.
Amen, Ava. It’s way overdue. Thanks and God bless!
Thank you, Nancy, for instructing us about historical patterns and heightening our awareness of this horrendous pattern of accepting sin. Like a snowball rolling downhill, the effects and acceptance of sin grow quickly.
The effects grow quickly, indeed. Thank you, Jeannie, and God bless!
Not only has our society willingly climbed aboard for the proverbial hand basket ride, there are congratulations all around for such enlightenment. As usual, you have struck the nail squarely, Nancy.
Thank you, Jon. The handbasket ride is truly in process. God bless!
After homosexuality was forced upon society, I had the question. What’s to stop anything else? If pedophiles just say they were born that way, why would they be prosecuted for child molestation? We have to have the courage to speak out against this and continue to contact legislators who are the ones voting for bills that consider anything against these practices as hate speech.
It is why, perhaps, we are here for such a time. Thank you, Barbara, and God bless!
Hideous thought! This issue sickens me. We are to protect the innocence of children, not allow them to be used and abused and harmed. Down here in Texas the events on the border with human trafficking of small children are daily news. Watching the news typically makes me cry. Texas is working hard to stop this, as are other border states, but human trafficking is feeding a perverted “need” for pedophiles. Pedophilia is a sin, not a sexual identity. These people who are so tempted need help! We’re becoming pre-Christian pagan society again.
That’s exactly so. Lord, please help us. Thanks, Melinda. And God bless!
Thank you again Nancy. It is a scary subject and again you tackled it head-on and so well. I always appreciate reading your posts.
Thank you, Sylvia. God bless!
I can never thank you enough Nancy for sharing such wonderful Godly views of the social issues. I too worry that society will someday except these people as norms and make their actions legal. I pray for the Lord’s protection on all my grandkids.
Amen, Yvonne. May God protect the children. Thanks and God bless!
Nancy, what a thought-provoking post. I hadn’t heard most of this information, and it’s truly disturbing. Thank you for making me aware of the ways certain parties are seeking to “normalize” pedophilia. That’s scary. Thank you for sharing this.
Thank you for reading, Jeanne. God bless!
Excellent article and much-needed as our society is exploring so many identities right now. What I have seen above and reflected in your article is so true. Pedophilia is not a sexual identity. It’s a crime.
Yes, Jessica. We need to stop calling sin a disorder or, worse, an intrinsic quality to be nurtured. Thanks and God bless!
So heartbreaking. I just read about this university professor’s message to normalize pedophilia this week. May we not sacrifice our children on the altar of personal desires of the flesh. Lord, protect the children and help us be their protectors!
Amen, Melissa! Amen! Thanks and God bless!
There is nothing new under the sun, is there? We must engage on this critical issue to protect our children. Thank you for your well-researched article.
Thank you, Annie. God bless!
Oh, yes, it is time. Frightening to think of MAP as a way to jump on the sexual immoral train making attraction to children “normal” and a sexual orientation. I pray we help stop this train from barreling down the tracks of normalizing.
I do too, Karen. Thanks and God bless!