bits from bob....
On Whom Should the Dogs Be Set?
by Robert J. Young
©, 2003, Robert J. Young
[permission is given to reprint with credit noted]
I feel compelled to begin with an apology! You are likely as tired as am I with press coverage, articles, and focus on sexuality--abuse, homosexuality, harassment. I justify one more article amidst the many because one perspective--the plea for morality and a biblical standard--is too seldom touched.
The word, harassment, of French origin, originally meant "to set a dog on," or "a cry to incite the dogs." Today it has come to mean "to trouble, to worry, or to torment as with repeated questions or attacks." As I observe our society and culture, I suggest that people who are trying to be Christians today are victims of sexual harassment! If you love Jesus, love His Word, and strive to do right, you have probably experienced sexual harassment. Have you realized it? Consider the following.
I believe I am sexually harassed...
- every time I want to relax and watch a good TV show, for it's not long before someone is taking off clothes, half-dressed, or in bed with someone else, most often not their spouse.
- when I try to find just one good "sitcom," for such shows are today filled with innuendo, affairs, and constant 'humor' (?) involving anatomy or sexuality. I resent the questioning of the biblical view and the manipulation of my view of human sexuality with repeated attacks.
- when I try to enjoy good comedy. It is easier to find a needle in a haystack than a comedian or comedienne who doesn't resort to sexual innuendo in an act or monologue. Vulgar, raw, profane speech is the rule of the day.
- when I want to attend the movies. Good themes are spoiled by inserting totally unnecessary scenes, but such is no accident, for such appeals to prurient interests and sells films. If I have learned anything about sexual harassment in our society, it is that no one has automatic right to such speech or behavior. Today followers of Jesus must write off many movies as simply not worth the harassment.
- when a commercial interrupts the evening news revealing a half-clothed (or less) model sexily telling me what products I should buy. The connection between bikinis and toothpaste has yet escaped me.
- when I read in the newspaper of a child beating or child abuse, and it is casually reported that it was done by a "live-in" boyfriend.
- when I try to take my family to an amusement park (or to the mall) and many bodies aren't properly covered.
- when I receive constant reports in the my newspaper or on the TV about sexual rights, sexual activities, and gay organizations and causes.
Examples of such themes abound in our society. We are under attack. The bodies God gave us, human sexuality as He designed it, marriage as God ordained it, and the family unit as God established it are all under question and attack--harassment! Frankly, I'm tired of the hypocrisy.
I am saddened by our world. The condition of our culture does not speak well for our govern ment, our nation, our society, our morality, or the influence of the church in our culture. I am saddened because of what Christians face every day in a world obsessed with sex and bent on questioning, attacking, and tormenting any whose view of sexuality is different.
Frankly, the dogs have been set on the wrong people!
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Last updated November 4, 2003.