Cape Town, the 'Gay Capital' of Africa? Humanists undermine morality. The qualities of a 'real man'.

Creation Order violated.
Following a "Gay Film Festival" the International Gay and Lesbian Tourist Association opened its conference in Cape Town on 23 February, 2001. Prior to this the homosexual community had declared its intention to make Cape Town the Gay Capi-tal of Africa (like San Francisco in the US and Sydney in Australia). They want to market Cape Town as a "pink" tourist destination - making it into the Sodom of the continent. Africa Christian Action held a protest against this in 'gay' Green Point. But, sadly, the Church at large does too little to resist evil and uphold God's standards of righteousness.

Chuck McIlhenny is a San Francisco pastor who has preached against homosexuality and ministered to "gays". He says: "Ministry to the homosexual community is of the utmost importance... It is two-fold: both spiritual and political. We cannot minister to their physical and spiritual needs without also opposing gay legislation and encroachments in our public schools and private businesses, etc." We have to be for them, he says, in that we show the compassion of the Saviour and tell them of the remedy for their enslavement. We have to be for them in showing that God loves and is anxious to save sinners who call on Him. But we have to be against them by being "consistently opposed to any policy or practice that contributes to the moral breakdown of the family and the community; against them, in that it is to their best interest that the nuclear family must be especially defended so that they can have their own healthy families according to God's holy ordinance; against them, in that you oppose de-Christianizing sex education and stand for abstinence until marriage; against them, in that their cause for rampant wickedness will itself be their own destruction and the destruction of society around them; against them, in that they, in their present unrepentant state, are under the wrath of God." 1)

Unfortunately many governments are wrongfully for them in that they condone and legalise homosexual behaviour. On 19 December, 2000, the Netherlands, despite strong opposition from Christian parties, became the first country to legalise "marriage" for same sex couples. In doing so, they redefined marriage itself, making 'care' the essence of matrimony, not the union of a man and a woman. "Family law" was changed to "relationship law". The sexes were declared equal and thus God's creation order was abolished. 2) - The same spirit has entered into the European Parliament. On March 16, 2000, it called on all member countries to introduce "registered living together of persons of the same sex" and to grant homosexuals the same rights as matrimony. 3) Contesting this, the European Movement for the Protection of Life and Human Dignity issued a petition. They deplore the increasing media attacks on the concept of the Family. They fear that the extremely negative effects of unnatural marriage ties have not been fully assessed, and they petition the European Parliament, the Council of Europe, and all member states, "to strengthen the natural and Christian principles basic to the family consisting of father, mother, and children." 4)

Marriage and Family.
The hollowing out of the institution of marriage weakens the already greatly threatened social structures, not only overseas but also in South Africa. There is far-reaching social disturbance. Marriage and Family are ailing. Therefore it is urgent to strengthen marriage and family. For God deals with peoples and nations through their families. The family's chief end is to glorify God by obeying His law and advancing His kingdom, and to enjoy His material and spiritual blessings, not only here and now, but forever. In God's scheme the family, the nucleus of social order, is so important that He gave countless commandments for its protection. He gave the Ten Commandments as the pillars to uphold sound families and civilised society. The first Tablet contains the 4 laws governing man-God relationships: We are to have no other gods, not make graven images, not take the name of the LORD in vain, and keep the sabbath day holy. The second Tablet contains the 6 laws governing man-man relationships. They are given primarily for the protection of the family. God wants to bless us, so He commands that we trust and obey Him. He wants to protect our social foundations, so He commands: "Honour your father and your mother." He wants to protect the lives of our family, so He commands: "Do not commit murder." He wants to protect the sanctity of our marriages and the purity of our youth, so He commands: "Do not commit adultery." He wants to protect our family property, so He commands: "Do not steal." He wants to protect our good family name, so He commands: "Do not accuse anyone falsely." He wants us to be content, so He commands: "Do not covet." (Exodus 20:1-17) - Marriage and family are instituted by God and strictly ordered by Him. They are covenants of love and trust. Indeed, they are the image of a greater covenant, namely the covenant between God and man. To disturb this social and religious order with unchastity, unfaithfulness, and perversion, is anathema to God and invokes His judgment.

But ever since the decline of Christianity and the ascendancy of Humanism the "ties that bind" have been re-interpreted into shackles that enslave. The Humanist Manifesto of 1973 advocates "maximum individual autonomy." "In the area of sexuality," it says, "we believe that intolerant attitudes, often cultivated by orthodox religions and puritanical cultures, unduly repress sexual conduct. The right to birth control, abortion, and divorce should be recognized... We do not wish to prohibit, by law or social sanction, sexual behaviour between consenting adults... Individuals should be permitted to express their sexual proclivities and pursue their life-styles as they desire." 6) These and similar ideas have caused untold heart-ache, a massive breakdown of the family, and disastrous national health problems. Deploring the role of the media in this, the Christian author James Dobson writes: "TV executives and movie moguls have contributed nightly to the existence of the Aids plague. For decades, they have depicted teens and young adults climbing in and out of each other's beds like so many sexual robots. Only the nerds were shown to be chaste, and they were too stupid or ugly to find partners. Of course, the beautiful young actors in those steamy dramas never faced any consequences for their sexual indulgence. No one ever came down with herpes, or syphilis... or AIDS..." 7)

Women's Liberation
It is especially the women who have become excited by the idea of "maximum individual autonomy". Looking for self-fulfilment they claim freedom from the restraints of marriage and family ties. Much of this thinking is based on the atheist philosophy of Jean Paul Sartre. Sartre taught that man is placed into an absurd world of nothingness and liberated from all ties. Man, he said, establishes his own meaning of life and aims to live only unto himself. From such ideas, Simone de Beauvoir, Sartre's mistress, developed the atheist ideology of Feminism. In less than 100 years Feminism has completely changed the role of women in society. Now, the woman most highly regarded by society is no longer the wife and mother at the centre of a family with children, but the career woman, who may still have one child but regards marriage and family as secondary. Women who are influenced by Feminism reject marriage and motherhood - choosing to co-habit rather than tie the knot. They reject long-term commitment, family responsibility, and children. Perceiving themselves masters of their own destiny, they pursue their own careers instead of supporting their husbands for the sake of the family. Claiming to be masters over their own bodies, many abort their children. Millions of little humans have been aborted worldwide. In South Africa, according to official figures, nearly 143.000 babies were murdered between February 1997 and December 2000. 8)

But "God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. And God blessed them, and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over... every living thing that moves upon the earth." (Genesis 1:27-28) This Commandment is a forerunner of the Great Commis-sion of Christ to bring everything into subjection of the Lord by involving the family and teaching the children to continue the work. Children are not a hindrance to freedom. They are not an economic liability. They are instruments of God's Kingdom. The Psalmist says: "Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward." We must not sacrifice this heritage on the altar of a growing economy, good jobs, career progression, and affluent living.

"Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind." (Rom. 12:2)
In order to bring South Africa back to sound family and social life, we need to pray for the renewal of our minds and hearts. God says: "If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." (2 Chron. 7:14) We need to pray like the Psalmist: "Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy steadfast love; according to thy abundant mercy blot out my transgressions." (Ps. 51:1) Only by the mercy of God can we hope for a renewal of ourselves, a renewal of our families, a renewal of our society, and a transformation of our nation. Since marriage is the central nucleus of our social structures, let us put right what is wrong in our families. Let us help our children to shun homosexuality and abstain from all other extra-marital relations. Let us remind ourselves of God's great purpose, namely that the family's chief end is to glorify Him by obeying His law and advancing His kingdom. May God help us through our Lord Jesus Christ to serve Him in newness of spirit (Rom. 7:6) and reap for ourselves and our country South Africa His material and spiritual blessings, not only here and now, but forever.

May God bless you richly,
D. Scarborough.

Footnotes:
1. Chuck & Donna McIlhenny & Frank York, When the wicked seize a City, pp. 233-234, Huntington House Publishers, 1993
2. Marriage Watch Updates, Holland legalizes same-sex "marriage". Impact will be felt worldwide, 20.12.2000
3. Prolife, South Africa, European Parliament opens doors to same sex "marriage."
4. Medizin und Ideologie, p. 31, June 2000.
6. Humanist Manifesto II, art. 5: The Individual, 1973
7. Dr James Dobson, In Defence of a Little Virginity, published by Focus on the Family, Colorady Springs, quoted by Miriam Cain in Make a Difference! p. 52,
Africa Christian Action PO Box 36129, 7702 Glosderry, Cape Town, 1999.
8. Department of Health, Statistics on Termination of Pregnancy Update, compiled on 4.12.2000. Source: Africa Christian Action.