Or we could try self control . . .

Therefore, the treatment for sexual addiction is a form of pseudo-redemptive window dressing in which no one, especially the addict himself, really believes. But what choices does the wife have? One potential “cure” is chemical or surgical castration—no man volunteers, not to mention the wronged wife would be deprived of sex anyway, a sort of cutting off your nose to spite your face. The second choice is to view the addiction as a time-limited condition, accept the man for who he is, and wait until his desires extinguish. Lets stop pathologizing every human behavior, like male libido.

via Every Man Is a Sex Addict – The Daily Beast.

I’ve no idea who Dr. Karasu is.  If we accept his premise, that all men are sex addicts at heart, I think there is a third option for dealing with this.

Throughout history man’s baser instincts have been controlled.  The ability to control these instincts has traditionally been developed through religion.  Religion seeks to teach the man how to control and properly express these physiological needs.  This is a benefit to society, as it promotes healthy families in which the subsequent generation is raised.

Dr. Karasu misses this–or dismisses this, perhaps.  Our options aren’t just castration or waiting it out.  A third option is simple:  confront such behavior as sin and call the sinner to repentance.

As with any other sin, sexual sins can ultimately only be healed by CHrist.  And Christ heals through our repentance.

h/t Hot Air

Must Read

The firefight ebbs. The mortar fire ceases. A few last stray rounds streak past. A cry from behind causes me to turn. Lying in the road is a young Iraqi woman. I run over to help. She’s caught a round just below her temple. Her stunning beauty has been ruined forever.She cries, “Paper! Paper” over and over until the ambulance arrives to take her away. An old lady emerges from the schoolhouse-turned voting site, sheets of blue paper in hand. She gives one to the wounded girl, who clutches it to her like a prized possession even as the ambulance carries her away.The ballot was her voice. All she wanted was a chance to exercise it, just once, before she died.

via Our Mission is Finally Accomplished… Anyone Care? | David Bellavia.

David Bellavia puts into perspective what our troops accomplished in Iraq.  This should be a must read for every citizen.  Agree with the invasion or not, it cannot be denied that our fighting men and women secured a brighter future for an oppressed people.

Read the whole thing.

Does Christianity teach that men are superior to women?

No, it most definitely does not.  In fact, Genesis 1:27 affirms that God created both man and woman in His image—thus we share a common dignity and value.  The confusion comes in when we recognize there are obvious differences in our creation.  Those differences, physical, emotional and so forth, indicate God had distinct, complementary purpose in our creation.  In other words, we are equal but different.  Men aren’t women and women aren’t men.  Nor should we try to be.  Instead, we should affirm our distinctives.

Unfortunately our culture equates value with roles.  And so women are often made to feel less valuable because they are distinct.  This is where the drive to ‘make it in a man’s world’ often comes from.  The woman feels she cannot really be considered an equal unless she is climbing the corporate ladder, or earning a similar wage or what not.  Thus, we have the modern family where everyone is busy, everyone is stressed and no one is really happy.  Of course, history is full of men who, ignoring our inherent equality, abused the physical differences in order to dominate the fairer sex.

The solution is embracing our Creator’s design—equal but distinct roles.  Scripture teaches that men and women are of equal value and distinct roles.  You might say we were created like a team—we fulfill different roles, but we cannot succeed without both.

Ask the Pastor runs weekly in the Beecher Herald.  Got a question?  email us at comchurch@sbcglobal.net

U.S. Starts Afghan Surge – WSJ.com

MARJAH, Afghanistan—U.S. and Afghan troops invaded this Taliban-held town early Saturday, launching the main thrust of the largest coalition offensive since 2001, a test of whether Americas surge strategy can rescue the faltering war effort.

via U.S. Starts Afghan Surge – WSJ.com.

As our forces ratchet up the fight in Afghanistan, please pray for them and their families back home.  Regardless of your view on our present conflict, we can all agree that lasting peace and safe return for these men and women are goals worth praying for.

What is the Evangelical Free Church?

I get that question a lot.  Many visitors are curious about our movement, our beliefs and practices.  The Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA) is a movement of about 1500 autonomous congregations that began in the Scandinavian countries of Sweden, Norway & Denmark.  In the 19th century a growing number of Christians saw the state church becoming nothing more than an arm of government.

Though it was illegal, small groups of men and women began meeting in house churches (referred to as free churches).  These groups centered on a few common convictions such as the authority of Scripture and the urgency of missions.  Eventually, these churches received official sanction from the state church.

As Scandinavian immigrants moved to the new world, they brought their free churches with them.  In 1884 the first Free Church in America was founded in Boone, Iowa.  Over the next 65 years, the Free Churches would grow closer together until 1950, when they formally joining together as the Evangelical Free Church of America.  Holding to the same convictions that started the first home groups, the EFCA is devoted to glorifying God by multiplying healthy churches around the world.

For more information on the EFCA, check out efca.org.

These posts come from Ask the Pastor, a weekly column published in the Beecher Herald.

Be a Parent

Yahoo! News is reporting a study that links some traditional family behaviors with healthy kids.

Apparently eating dinner together 5+ nights per week, making your kids sleep 10.5 hours a night and limiting TV to 2 hours a day correlate to significantly lower obesity rates.  It is almost like spending quantity time with your kids is more important that quality time.

The saddest part of the story?

Helmcamp said it can be hard to institute some of these behaviors. But she suggested that parents “make these behaviors a priority. Sit down and figure out how you can make it happen. Maybe your child doesn’t need to be involved in four or five different activities.”

She said if it’s tough to eat together five times a week, shoot for at least three nights a week. And, she also recommended removing TVs from children’s bedrooms, which can help with limiting screen time and with getting enough sleep.

Seriously?  ‘It can be hard?’  I didn’t realize parenting was supposed to be easy.  Of course it’s hard; it is supposed to be hard.  How could shaping and forming the next generation of mankind be easy?

Anyway, read the whole thing.