Once every quarter, I meet with paid subscribers to discuss ideas, trends, and ways of rescuing people from the Sexual Tsunami. Here’s what surfaced in the most recent “think tank”.
Suffering
I began the evening by sharing some reflections about two dystopian classics: 1984 and Brave New World. Both are about totalitarianism. George Orwell’s novel is about Big Brother’s invasion of privacy and the fear of torture. In Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, however, the tool of control was pleasure. People were lulled into submission because they didn’t want to lose their entertainment, free sex, and feel-good pills.
In a future post, I will go into more detail, but Tuesday night I suggested that we have succumbed to Huxley’s version of enslavement. Christians in our culture fear losing their cushion of comfort.
Yet there’s no rescuing tsunami victims without sacrifice. And be sure of this—addiction to porn, and the sex-trafficking industry are rising dramatically.
One subscriber, a leader in a renewal movement, stated that nothing short of a Great Awakening will turn things around, but in the meantime, Christians need to learn to walk in the Spirit and take it to the streets, courageously ministering to the broken around them.
Demonization
For twenty years, I have been counseling people with sexual brokenness. There’s always been some degree of demonization with different forms of abuse and addiction, but in recent years I’ve noticed an upswing in the frequency of manifestations.
In general, the greater the perversion, the more likely the warfare. It seems the further sexual activity strays from God’s design in the Garden, the more footholds are clasped by the enemy. Those who have frequented orgies, nudist colonies, and BDSM getaways have been the most likely to evidence pushback from the enemy as the person gains freedom.
Again, that’s in general. There are no formulas.
But given the tsunami effect of internet access to porn and cybersex, the darkness has been advancing rapidly. Count on it.
In Pure Hearted: Banding Together for Sexual Purity, I teach how to use a prayer practice where one renounces the ancient deities Baal and Ashtoreth. As their identities evolved, they became widely known as representing masculinity and femininity. Worship of them, especially in Canaan, involved gross immorality with temple prostitutes. Israelites were strictly warned against such worship (Deut. 23:17-18; Hosea 9:10). Baal worship included Asherah poles which eventually became phallic symbols. It was worship of the penis.
Those who today dive into debauchery can unknowingly align themselves with these deities of darkness. In the past, I used this prayer only occasionally when nudged by the Spirit. In recent years, however, it often arises in a counseling session as people evidence greater and more extensive bondage to darkness.
And so as we discussed the growing evidence of evil, I taught them how to use this prayer in ministry situations.
Compassion
To my delight, we had a missionary leader from Spain join our Zoom session who provided a unique perspective on the downward spiral of our culture. Spain has always been ahead of us, unfortunately. They had quite a head start with sexual immorality.
He described the excavation and restoration of an ancient city in Spain which dates back to the Roman period. Phallic symbols were so frequently unearthed, it seemed the entire city had been built around the phallus.
But this missionary, in drawing the connection between ancient debauchery and present day excesses, began to weep. For him, this was not mere academic chitchat or clergy shoptalk. The welfare of the Spanish people and the need for holiness among Christians was a matter very close to his heart.
The next morning one participant told me that those tears exemplified what is missing in all Christian discussions of sexuality—a lack of heart-gripping compassion. So true. Help us, Jesus!
Interested in joining future discussions? Become a paid subscriber!
Why paid subscriptions? It limits access to the comments for each post. Those weighing in are invested in the blog, and not mere trolls looking to drop torches. It also helps with costs. Using Substack as a platform is free. But legally purchasing pics and artwork is more expensive than you might think! And some of the money helps me buy books that keep me informed and current.
May God grant us great compassion, wisdom, and spiritual discernment as we reach out to victims of the Sexual Tsunami.
I heartily encourage paid subscriptions to Mark Ongley's blog Tsunami Surfing. This further enables Mark's ongoing research into current societal trends and how they impact healing ministry for sexual wholeness. It also fosters mutual accountability for growth and ministry in this arena.