My wife and I enjoy having a quiet evening at home, sometimes reading a good book, but other times watching mysteries. We typically stay away from the current shows on television, preferring those shows that haven’t yet become overrun with pop culture and modern day sensibilities. Midsomer Murders comes to mind; a simple whodunit, often referred to as a “cozy mystery.” But no matter how hard we try, whether in books or in television shows, the post-Christian worldview seems to inevitably seep into the plot.
Recently we found a cozy mystery television show set in the late 19th century. I felt that this one, of all shows, would stay true to the plot and avoid preaching a secular worldview, but I was wrong. The first few episodes were fine, until we viewed the fifth. After a man is murdered on his wedding day, we find out that the marriage was a sham, a marriage of convenience, arranged to appease his mother so that he could inherit half of the family business, but at the last minute, he wanted out of the marriage because he was secretly in a homosexual relationship. At first, all of the references to the man’s sexual choices were in line with what you might expect from this time period. The man was initially referred to as a sodomite, amongst other slurs, but the language was softened to homosexual after a character was chastised for using the outdated term. I knew then, that the preaching was about to come.
As the murder investigation progressed, the dead man’s secret lover, who was also in a marriage of convenience, after his double life was revealed committed suicide by hanging himself. A couple of scenes later, we are treated to a heated argument between the lead detective and the female coroner, who seem to share a romantic interest. This is where the writers inject 21st century morals into a 19th century story. The detective is a devoted Catholic. How do I know? Besides it being stated in an earlier episode, he crosses himself at every murder scene, goes to confession, and prays the Rosary. She, on the other hand, is secular, driven by science and reason. The following interaction between the two characters I transcribed from the program. The dialogue, spoken by fictional characters, is a reflection of the writers’ mindset.
At the scene of the crime, while the coroner confirms the man’s death was suicide by hanging, the detective, while going through the dead man’s personal effects, says, “A beautiful home, wife, and child. Not only does he throw all that away, but he condemns himself to eternal damnation by committing suicide.”
The coroner says, “Perhaps he felt that Hell was no worse than the torment he was living in.”
The detective says, “There is always hope.”
Shaking her head and raising her voice an octave, she says, “He was living a sham. Everything was a lie. Secretly he was in love with someone he could never be with, and furthermore, that person was about to marry someone else.”
He says, “Yes, but to kill himself?”
She says, “Really, William. I’m surprised at your closed mindedness!”
He says, “Even leaving the Bible aside…”
With contempt, she says, “Yes, could we?”
He says, “It goes against nature.”
She says, “Oh, rubbish. Nature is full of omnisexual behavior. Have you never seen male dogs at play?”
He replies, “But those are dogs.”
She says, “We are all animals, William, behaving as nature intended. If God didn’t want us to express our desires, then why would he give us desires in the first place?”
He seems taken aback, and says, “To test our resolve.”
She says, “At whose expense? Surely this is not God’s plan.”
I find the coroner’s argument specious and childish. To equate two male dogs frolicking in the backyard with human homosexuality is absurd. The former is as nature intended, whereas the latter is contrary to nature. And to have this devoted Catholic at a loss for words, and to later question his faith because of her argument, invites incredulity, but that was the intent of the show’s writers after all, to have someone of faith doubt what they believe. Satan in the garden comes to mind. Yes, human beings are considered animals, but only as it differentiates us from minerals and vegetables. God created man in his own image, which distinguishes us from the remainder of the animal kingdom. We have the ability to reason. We have the ability to control our emotions and desires. God gave man many desires, one of those being a desire for sex, but he also gave us parameters for when those sexual desires are to be fulfilled. It is within marriage, that between a man and a woman, that sexual desires are to be fulfilled. Any sexual fulfillment outside of marriage is considered immoral. Not by me, but by the One who created me.
Yes, we have desires, but not all desires are good, and for this piece, I will limit my thoughts and examples to sexual desires. Many of mankind’s desires are evil. From Genesis 6:5- “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” As you can see, our rebellion started early on. What would society be like if every man and woman went about fulfilling their every desire, no matter the consequence? If there is no standard, and we simply behave like unreasoning animals, who’s to say what is right and wrong? The end result of that thinking is that there are no universal moral principles, a mindset often referred to as moral relativism. My guess is that everyone will place a limit on behavior to some degree. At some point, everyone will recognize some behaviors as going too far. Below are scenarios of behaviors that are driven by human sexual desire. Which ones are acceptable to you? Of which of these do you approve?
Scenario 1: A man and a woman are married, and on their honeymoon they engage in sexual intercourse, fulfilling their desires and consummating their marriage.
Scenario 2: A man, growing bored with his wife’s lack of interest in all things sexual, pays a prostitute to fulfill his sexual desires.
Scenario 3: A woman, whose husband is out of town during the week, finds her married, next door neighbor attractive, and to fulfill her sexual and emotional desires, she secretly begins a sexual affair with him.
Scenario 4: A Catholic priest, unwilling to fulfill his vow of celibacy, is attracted to an altar boy and entices him to have sex, and over the next thirty years he has sexual relations with over 100 such boys.
Scenario 5: A man, living alone, searches the internet for ways to fulfill his sexual desires, spending countless hours viewing pornography, visiting chat rooms, and engaging in virtual sex.
Scenario 6: A man, unattracted to the opposite sex, finds a likeminded partner of the same sex, and the two of them live together and fulfill their sexual desires with one another.
Scenario 7: A man, living alone and no longer finding satisfaction in online pornography, finds fulfillment for his sexual desires in his pet dogs.
Scenario 8: A high school boy and girl are attracted to one another and begin dating. They often find themselves alone. On one such occasion, they succumb to their sexual desires and engage in sexual intercourse.
Scenario 9: Rich and powerful men, in secret, fly to a private island to have sex with underage boys and girls, thus fulfilling their sexual desires. [Notice the secrecy stated or implied in many of the above scenarios.]
Which of the above scenarios did you find disgusting? Why? To which did you give your approval? Who determines which one is disgusting or acceptable? If you asked one hundred people those questions, would you get the same response? There are some in our society who find homosexuality acceptable. There are some who find pedophilia acceptable. There are some who find bestiality acceptable. There are some who find marital infidelity acceptable. There are some who find premarital sex acceptable. Since not everyone agrees on which is acceptable and which isn’t, where does that leave us? Do what is right in our own eyes? Say yes to all of our sexual desires? Or exhibit self control and harness our desires? God has given us an outlet for our sexual desires. When we choose other outlets, we are in effect saying to God, “What you’ve given me is not enough. I want more.”
The truth is, man can’t be depended upon to determine what is right, for we are corrupt in our fleshly natures, and where our evil desires lead us will end in death. James said it this way, from James 1:13-15 (NKJV): “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” The culture in which we live has done its best to remove all moral boundaries, especially in the area of sexual desire, by doing what the character in the show suggested, “leaving the Bible aside,” which has created a society of chaos and confusion. Which may explain the escalating suicide rate among the youth.
I, too, once lived a life of fulfilling my every desire as I saw fit, regardless of the desire or whether it was considered moral, and not caring what God or his word had to say. My desires were my masters. Many of the nine scenarios above, I have lived. But I was convicted of my sin against God and my fellow man, and sought a savior in his Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus has not only forgiven me, but he’s placed me on a path that pleases God, and now, rather than seek to fulfill my every desire, I strive to fulfill his.
In a later scene from the show, while the detective is in confession, he says to the priest, “Two men dead, by all accounts good men, condemned to eternal damnation…” And then after stating that he can no longer follow his faith blindly, the detective says, “I imagine a world that is more compassionate, and enlightened.” I find the priest’s response ironic, especially considering the scandals that rocked the Catholic church in the latter half of the 20th century and beyond. Considering that more enlightened world, a world in which homosexuality is no longer frowned upon, a world in which many of us now find ourselves, the priest said, “Some day it may be. Perhaps not in our lifetime.” As if God is pliable. As if God changes his nature to match our standards, rather than the other way around. “Just give Him time, He’ll come around.”
Regarding the relationship between you and your desires, the question becomes, which of you is the puppet and which is the puppet master?
If you liked this piece, you may also enjoy my book, Pondering God.
Pondering God 