Grace Notes - Casting off restraint

(Grace Notes November 2004

When asked to summarise what their party stands for, politicians these days invariably seem to include the word ‘freedom’. It is virtually a mantra. The concept of freedom has been deified. Man must have freedom of choice. The age of regulation (‘interference’) must be put behind us. The government should be a facilitator so that people in their ‘maturity’ can exercise their right to make their own ‘lifestyle choices’. Christians can argue over extending choice in the areas of health and education, but deregulation in moral matters is surely a disaster. All politicians assume far too much of human nature.

What we are seeing is a shaking off of restraint, the overturning of Bible-based legal constraints on sexual behaviour, gambling etc. We are seeing the casting off of restraint for children, with moves to outlaw smacking. We are seeing the shaking off of the restraints of codes of taste and decency.

Hosea 4:1-3 (NKJV)

To take just two mundane examples where it seems that people are throwing off restraint.

• Jumping red lights is becoming a frighteningly common occurrence. The latest figures show that traffic cameras in London alone are catching almost 10,000 drivers every month. While drivers might once have hurried through an amber light, they are now slipping through on a red light, taking the gamble that there will be enough space before traffic starts to run in the opposite direction. Jumping the lights is a reflection of an aggressive, queue-jumping society, in which people have a low tolerance for waiting.

• Then at junior football matches (I am speaking of U-13s) parents have become increasingly aggressive towards the referee when his decision goes the ‘wrong’ way. It’s not just foul language – they march onto the pitch and physically intimidate him. I doubt if my experience is unusual nowadays.

But of course there are more serious issues:

Plans for sweeping deregulation of the gambling industry were publicised by the government on 19 October. A Gambling Bill is being introduced in this session of Parliament. The proposals will dramatically change the face of gambling in the UK. Many vitally needed restrictions and protections are to be removed. Proposals include repealing the 24-hour period between casino membership and play and repealing the tight restrictions on casino and betting licensing. The Government also proposes to lift the general ban on gambling advertising and create a new category of Las Vegas style ‘resort’ casinos offering slot machines with limitless prizes. As the Christian Institute points out, research shows that gambling is harmful in any society, fuelling crime, poverty and addiction.

Britney Spears has always pushed the limits, but her recent album ‘In the Zone’ is by far the most sexually explicit. Some of the most suggestive songs include ‘Toxic’, ‘Breathe On Me’ and ‘Touch of My Hand’. In concerts promoting the album, she is reported to have outdone even Madonna in sexual provocation. The entire production is devoted to sexual stimulation. It's not so much an artistic musical expression, as a really long, semi-pornographic commercial for Britney Spears. ‘Toxic’ is currently one of the most frequently played Spears songs. It glorifies lust and sexual addiction, as do so many other music videos.

In line with this trend, broadcasting regulators are consulting on plans to scrap 'taste and decency' rules and allow 'R18' hard-core porn to be broadcast on subscription channels. The plans represent a major liberalisation of broadcasting rules.

A recent survey by a team from John Moores University concludes that the ‘promiscuous 10%’ of the population who have multiple sexual partners are fuelling the UK's sexual health crisis. Attempts to cut sexually transmitted infections will fail unless this 10% is encouraged to change its behaviour, the team said. The team also criticised the portrayal of strong sexual images in films and television, where there was usually no attempt to promote safe sex.

Figures show one in 10 young people has already had sex by the time they are 14. About 10% of UK adults have had a sexually transmitted infection and 13% have visited a genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinic.

Not surprisingly, a spokesman for the Terrence Higgins Trust (a charity which campaigns on behalf of HIV and AIDS sufferers) cautioned against using the term 'promiscuous' when describing anyone who has ‘an active sex life’. A spokeswoman from the Family Planning Association said, ‘Anyone can be unlucky enough to get an STI’. Anyone apart from those who have kept to the Biblical pattern of sexual morality, that is.

The received wisdom is that the promulgation of a ‘safe sex’ message, principally condom use, is the way to reduce the rise in STIs. The assumption seems to be that people ‘must’ have sex and can only make it ‘safer’. But, as Norman Wells of Families First has argued, condoms encourage young people to take chances. Teenagers' access to condoms has probably never been greater - and yet government figures continue to show record figures of infections in the population as a whole. Where is the promotion of restraint, abstinence and marriage?

We shouldn’t be surprised to find that almost half the British population has cheated on a partner. In a survey some 47% of 25 to 34 year-olds admitted to being unfaithful. The report also showed that infidelity was a problem for those in long-term relationships as much as for those just embarking on one. One fifth of those questioned said they had cheated on their current partner, with men the worst at 25% compared with 15% of women. Of those 20%, a huge 92% confessed to having strayed before.

We thank God that our country is not under the tyranny of a foreign power. And yet we are enslaved. We are a nation that worships freedom instead of God. We are shaking off the ‘fetters’ of God-given morality and submitting to the tyranny of selfishness and sin. Only the truth – as it is in Christ – can set us free.