As soon as I heard that Hugh Hefner had died Wednesday night, I recorded a four-minute video for Facebook, then penned an article. The message was simple and clear: While I hoped the Playboy icon had turned to the Lord before he died, I also hoped that his death would mark the end of the sexual revolution — a failed revolution if ever there was one.

The video got immediate attention, with thousands of views within hours, along with a steady stream of comments.

Most of the comments were affirming. They included the heartfelt confession of a long-time porn addict, as well as succinct insights like this, from Sharon: “All sins are not equal, God hates all sins but there are different consequences for sin … telling a lie doesn’t give you herpes.”

But there were other comments that were vicious and vile, including:

• The [expletive] in this video is probably a hypocrite and a child predator
• You are deluded! STFU already! Moron … God is not real! A fool says in his heart there is no God, a wise man says it out loud. THERE IS NO GOD!
• Good grief you people are insane. Even death is not a line you can keep yourself from crossing. No matter what you’re all just gonna keep on pushing “god’s” bottom line and promoting yourself while making money off of people with slightly less intelligence that yourselves even as hard as that is given your “faith”.
• You’re an [expletive]. To capitalize on his death, for your agenda, is cold. You may have some point, but this is complete trash and so tactless. Pushing your religion on others by fearmongering WILL NOT WORK. Good luck with that fantasy.
• You’re an idiot.
• This [expletive] guy.
• The sexual revolution continues! ¡Vive la revolucion!
• What are you a [expletive] fag? Go [expletive] Obama’s [expletive] you little [expletive].
• What a PRUDE.
• What an ignorant [expletive].
• The end of the sexual revolution? lmao. You guys are out of your skulls. lol

Venomous Attacks to Be Expected … With Other Topics

Why were these people so angry? Why the venomous barbs?

I expect this when I post on LGBT issues.

No matter how compassionate my words, I’m branded a Nazi or KKK. I’m a hater and a bigot, a homophobe and a transphobe. You’ve heard it all yourself.

But I can understand this. It’s not only an effective tactic to use, it’s also how some people feel. If I don’t affirm same-sex “marriage,” I don’t affirm them. If I say homosexual practice is sinful, I’m saying gays are fundamentally evil. If I don’t believe Bruce Jenner is a woman, I’m insensitive to the struggles he’s endured.

It’s the same with abortion. I know I’ll get slammed when I raise the subject.

How dare I call it murder! Don’t I care about the mother who had to make such difficult choices? What gives me the right, especially as a man, to tell a woman what she can (or must) do with her own body?

And it’s the same with radical Islam. When I critique (especially when I claim it has its roots in the Quran and Islamic tradition), I know that fierce attack will follow.

Sometimes, radical Muslims write back, affirming that I deserve to die. Other times, moderate Muslims are irate. How dare I claim there’s any authenticity to radical Islam!

The same with atheism. If I post a meme challenging “atheist logic,” a flood of criticism will follow, much of it personal.

All this comes with the turf, and the criticism encourages me rather than discourages me. We’ve obviously hit a nerve!

The Darkness Hates the Light

But who in the world wants to celebrate 8-year-olds accessing hard-core pornography? Who wants to applaud 12-year-olds sexting each other? Who thinks it’s good that 20-year-old men need Viagra to perform because of porn addiction? Who’s excited to hear that young married couples don’t sleep together because of sexual burnout? Who thinks it’s positive that hundreds of thousands of teenage girls have STDs?

Those are the things I talked about in my video (and article). That’s what I described as the lasting fruit of the sexual revolution. I also stated that, on average, faithfully married couples reported more sexual satisfaction than promiscuous singles enjoying one-night stands.

And for this I was ridiculed and reviled.

Why?

Because people love their sin. Because the darkness hates the light. Because the flesh is at war with the Spirit.

Critiquing the sexual revolution just brought this to the surface. To paraphrase, “Away with this [expletive] prude and his God!”

Ultimately, that’s why there’s such fierce resistance to the gospel on these other fronts as well, from LGBT issues, abortion and radical Islam to atheism and more. It’s a battle of two worldviews. Two kingdoms. The will of God vs. the will of man.

That’s the bad news. The good news is that the sexual revolution devours itself, while those who honor God in marriage and family will reproduce and thrive. That also means that as we follow God’s life-giving principles, we can outlast the sexual revolution. And by walking in purity, we can reverse it.

For the sake of our children and their children, not to mention for our own sakes and for the glory of God, this is something we must do.

 

For practical instruction on how to walk in purity, with God’s help, see Chapter 10 in Saving a Sick America: A Prescription for Moral and Cultural Transformation.