In an article summarising the results of a recent ComRes poll (Coalition-for-Marriage-Poll-October-2018) , the UK’s Christian Institute concluded that a “quarter of young people favour ‘phone-style’ marriage contracts”. A few key points of this poll are as follows:

Among 18–24-year-olds:

1. 24 per cent supported the notion of fixed-term marriage contracts (and a much higher percentage want a low-threshold divorce system).
2. 32 per cent supported polygamy (although this percentage drops with age).
3. 30 per cent favoured ‘fluid arrangements’, i.e. promiscuity (although, again, this percentage drops with age).
4. 13 per cent backed bringing incest into the legal definition of marriage (although 84% of all respondents oppose this notion). It’s just as well chapter 8 of The Creation Answers Book explains the ethics behind Cain’s marriage.

While these percentages are for older teens and twenty-somethings, these views are not held solely by that age group. Significant, although lower, percentages are found across the whole gamut of ages. This, to me, means that these ideas do not originate with the younger generation; they exist among older people too. A moral standard will not disappear from society like the flicking of a binary switch, i.e. on/off, but will, over time, be compromised and eroded.  Every journey begins with a small step; likewise, most lies begin with a small negation or dilution of the truth.

Everyone did what was right in his own eyes

The Bible has much to say about what happens when people do what they want, or in other words, what seems right in their own eyes; and here I would like to draw your attention to the book of Judges. This portrays a sad tale of moral decline, interspersed by brief periods of deliverance of the people by ‘judges’, raised up by God. The judges themselves become morally degraded also, as the book progresses. However, that is not the whole story. Shifting the focus from the judges to the people, chapters 17 and 18 detail the decline in obedience to God and an increased focus on self, people only adhering to God’s rules when it suited them, and forsaking those rules that they deemed inconvenient. It is a sorry tale of the people going from bad to worse as “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:6).

Are we heading the same way?

The wise preacher Solomon says, “Is there a thing of which it is said, ‘See, this is new’? It has been already in the ages before us” (Ecclesiastes 1:10). Ever since Adam and Eve sinned in the beginning (Genesis 3) people have been choosing the path of destruction, the way of self. What is good/pleasant for me? Eve thought it, Adam did not stop it but participated in it, and undoubtedly you and I have often behaved this way too (Romans 3:23). Is it any surprise, then, that as society becomes more and more disconnected from God and His teaching, as shown in the book of Judges, it is becoming more godless and more selfish?

Why should we be surprised at the poll results shown above?

Redefining identity

Elsewhere the ComRes poll includes the following statistics from all age groups surveyed:

5. 20 per cent believe that young people (under 18) should be able to self-define their gender.
6. 35 per cent agree with permitting transgender individuals to take part in sports competitions under their new gender identity.
7. 32 per cent support those who want to self-define their race.
8. 19 per cent support those who want to self-define their age.
9. 10 per cent support those who want to self-define their species.

These statistics make alarming reading. Regarding item 5, the Christian Institute’s Colin Hart reported that, “the Equalities Minister [UK Government] Penny Mordaunt has ordered an inquiry into why there has been a more than 4,000 per cent increase in the number of girls seeking support from ‘transitioning’ services in the last decade”.

It is not enough to ‘tut’ at the outcome of these polls. It is time to repent and for Christians to take a stand. Stand on what? Stand on the true foundation of the doctrines taught in Genesis 1–11, that mankind was created in God’s image. Jesus did, so we’ll be in good company, irrespective of what percentage joins us.

adapted from article Marriage and identity crisis – Redefining marriage, gender, age and species by Lucien Tuinstra November 18, 2018