From Christianity Today online.

Young people are growing to expect sex on demand and without consequences, a Wheaton professor has warned

William Struthers, Associate Professor of Psychology at Wheaton College, believes that pornography is reinforcing unrealistic and unhealthy views of sex among young people.

“Pornography is a violation of the childhood mind, creating expectations that anybody and everybody is willing to engage in sex on demand and that consent will always be freely given,” he said.

“Pornography is setting a moral standard for young people. They watch other people doing things and put themselves in their place.

Read it all.

This is very troubling on multiple levels. First the addictive nature of pornography has been thoroughly established, along with its destructive effects on relationships. Second, if young people grow up thinking sex is just something couples do or that there are no consequences from engaging in it outside of marriage, they are just simply wrong about the God-given purposes of sex.

I’m not trying to be a prude here. I am worried that if pornography is indeed setting a moral standard for our young people, then it spells real trouble for them if/when they decide to get married. If couples believe that sex is just another commodity and downplay the critical importance of intimacy that must always accompany sex, they will discover that their marriage is greatly impoverished and that doesn’t bode well for the long-term success of their marital relationship.

Been there, done that. Not good.

From Fox News.

[NY Times public editor Margaret] Sullivan wondered if [the paper’s coverage] was enough. She noted that on the 10th anniversary of one of America’s darkest days, the Times published “an ambitious special section, along with major stories on the days leading up to the anniversary.”

But what Sullivan dubbed “anniversary journalism” often finds little to cover outside of related local events, she said.

“There isn’t always much to say that is original,” Sullivan wrote.

Read it all.

And speaking of radical Islam (see this post), this story is both troubling and sad, although fairly typical of the modern secularist and the politically correct crowd, of which the NY Times is part and parcel (you’ll search long and hard to find any of the mainstream media publishing a story like this). Sullivan misses the point entirely. You don’t have to say anything original. You cover the anniversary because we dare not forget that unspeakable evil still is a very real threat. We are a forgetful people and we must be on guard even as we pray for God’s Kingdom to come on earth as in heaven.

You do not deal with evil by burying your head in the sand or denying it does not exist. If you are a Christian, you deal with evil by taking up your cross each day and bringing the love of Christ to bear on his sin-sick and desperate world. And you work to see that your duly appointed government seeks to see that justice is accomplished.

9/11 is a stark reminder that all of our scientific advancements and so-called progress still haven’t eradicated radical evil and it never will. In fact, if anything, our technology has made it easier for evil to be perpetrated. For it is out of the heart that all kinds of evil come and the forces of evil are only to happy to encourage the process. Sadly, without the love of Christ to transform our hearts, evil needs little help in its effort to bring forth its work from our hearts. That has nothing to do with materialism and/or science. It has everything to do with the transforming love of God in Christ.

From Fox News.

Those who knew Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and the others killed expressed shock and grief Wednesday at the tragedy, which occurred on the 11th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. Obama and Clinton both condemned the killers, while stressing that the U.S. bond with the Libyan government would not suffer as a result.

“Make no mistake. We will work with the Libyan government to bring justice to killers who attack our people,” Obama said, adding:  “There is absolutely no justification to this type of senseless violence. None.”

Read and reflect on it all.

I wholeheartedly agree with the president on this one. Once again, militant Islam rears its ugly head and demonstrates that it is a blight on all humanity. Civilized people do not engage in this kind of behavior. Period. It is to be strongly condemned and the light must be shone on these murderous hate-mongers so that people see them for what they are and duly condemn their actions.

These militants are also a blight on anyone who professes to be a Muslim. To be sure, every religion has its lunatics, along with the secularists and atheists. It is the plight of the human condition. But instances like this happen way too often for anyone to dismiss them as anomalous to Islam. Any faith that fosters and does not work to end this kind of behavior can never be taken seriously by any reasonable person. And for those who claim that militant Islam is not a threat to the West, you had better wake up and smell the gunpowder because given half a chance, these fanatics would gladly bring their party to your front door, figuratively and literally. That this happened on 9/11 is likely no coincidence.

As those of us who call ourselves Christian, in addition to praying for the families of the innocent victims who were murdered, we must also pray that God will turn the dark heart of their murderers so that they repent of their wickedness and turn to the Lord to be saved. This is seemingly an impossible thing, but with God all things are possible. We may find this kind of praying distasteful but our Lord commands us to pray like this nevertheless. Doing so does not negate our desire to see these murderers brought to justice. Rather, it signals our desire for all people to have a saving, healthy, and vital relationship with the living God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and to become the truly human beings God created us to be. May it be so, even for these murderers.