*Tozer writes with clarity and speaks once again prophetically,
consider what he wrote over 50 years ago, and consider where we have gone since
this writing.
It teaches us
to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live
self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, Titus 2:12
THE period in which we now live may well go down in history as
the Erotic Age. Sex love has been elevated into a cult. Eros has more
worshipers among civilized men today than any other god. For millions the
erotic has completely displaced the spiritual.
How the world got into this state is not difficult to trace.
Contributing factors are the phonograph and radio, which can spread a love song
from coast to coast within a matter of days; the motion picture and television,
which enable a whole population to feast their eyes on sensuous women and
amorous young men locked in passionate embrace (and this in the living rooms of
"Christian" homes and before the eyes of innocent children!); shorter
working hours and a multiplicity of mechanical gadgets with the resultant
increased leisure for everyone. Add to these the scores of shrewdly contrived
advertising campaigns which make sex the not too slyly concealed bait to
attract buyers for almost every imaginable product; the degraded columnists who
have consecrated their lives to the task of the publicizing of soft, slinky
nobodies with the faces of angels and the morals of alley cats; conscienceless
novelists who win a doubtful fame and grow rich at the inglorious chore of
dredging up literary putridities from the sewers of their souls to provide
entertainment for the masses. These tell us something about how Eros has
achieved his triumph over the civilized world.
Now if this god would let us Christians alone I for one would
let his cult alone. The whole spongy, fetid mess will sink some day under its
own weight and become excellent fuel for the fires of hell, a just recompense
which is meet, and it becomes us to feel compassion for those who have been
caught in its tragic collapse. Tears and silence might be better than words if
things were slightly otherwise than they are. But the cult of Eros is seriously
affecting the Church. The pure religion of Christ that flows like a crystal
river from the heart of God is being polluted by the unclean waters that
trickle from behind the altars of abomination that appear on every high hill
and under every green tree from New York to Los Angeles.
The influence of the erotic spirit is felt almost everywhere in
evangelical circles. Much of the singing in certain types of meetings has in it
more of romance than it has of the Holy Ghost. Both words and music are
designed to rouse the libidinous. Christ is courted with a familiarity that
reveals a total ignorance of who He is. It is not the reverent intimacy of the
adoring saint but the impudent familiarity of the carnal lover.
Religious fiction also makes use of sex to interest the reading
public, the paper-thin excuse being that if romance and religion are woven into
a story the average person who would not read a purely religious book will read
the story and thus be exposed to the gospel. Leaving aside the fact that most
modern religious novelists are home talent amateurs, scarcely one of whom is
capable of writing a single line of even fair literature, the whole concept
behind the religio-romantic novel is unsound. The libidinous impulses and the
sweet, deep movings of the Holy Spirit are diametrically opposed to each other.
The notion that Eros can be made to serve as an assistant of the
Lord of glory is outrageous. The "Christian" film that seeks to draw
customers by picturing amorous love scenes in its advertising is completely
false to the religion of Christ. Only the spiritually blind will be taken in by
it.
The current vogue of physical beauty and sparkling personalities
in religious promotion is a further manifestation of the influence of the
romantic spirit in the Church. The rhythmic sway, the synthetic smile and the
too, too cheerful voice betray the religious worldling. He has learned his
technique from the TV screen but not learned it well enough to succeed in the
professional field, so he brings his inept production to the holy place and
peddles it to the ailing and undersized Christians who are looking for
something to amuse them while staying within the bounds of the current religious
mores.
If my language should seem severe, let it be remembered that it
is not directed at any individual. Toward the lost world of men I feel only a
great compassion and a desire that all should come to repentance. For the
Christians whose vigorous but mistaken leadership has wooed the modern church
from the altar of Jehovah to the altars of error I feel genuine love and
sympathy. I want to be the last to injure them and the first to forgive them,
remembering my past sins and my need for mercy, as well as my own weakness and
natural bent toward sin and error. Balaam's ass was used of God to rebuke a
prophet. It would seem from this that God does not require perfection in the
instrument He uses to warn and exhort His people.
When God's sheep are in danger the shepherd must not gaze at the
stars and meditate on "inspirational" themes. He is morally obliged
to grab his weapon and run to their defense. When the circumstances call for
it, love can use the sword, though by her nature she would rather bind up the
broken heart and minister to the wounded. It is time for the prophet and the
seer to make themselves heard and felt again. For the last three decades
timidity disguised as humility has crouched in her corner while the spiritual
quality of evangelical Christianity has become progressively worse year by
year.
How long, 0 Lord,
how long?
No comments:
Post a Comment