A New Creed Against Sexual Heresies: The Joy of Putting Our Love in Proper Order

“No man can live without delight, and that is why a man deprived of spiritual joy goes over to carnal pleasures.”
–St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae

The deepest, most controversial issues that divide our society today nearly always relate to sexual ethics. “Premarital intercourse, fidelity versus adultery, abortion, contraception, homosexuality, divorce – the most popular objections to Christian morality are all against the Christian view of sex,” notes Peter J. Kreeft of Boston College. As a part of our mission to defend and advance biblical values, understanding the idolatry of the age is key because it shows us where proper alignment is most needed in the soul of a society. The order of love – ordo amoris – is often out of order, but Christianity aims to set it aright.

The Aftermath of the Sexual Revolution

Kreeft writes about modern, secular man:

Their fear of permanent, objective moral laws is amazingly selective. It almost always comes down to just one area: sex. In my experience, students, like professors, bluff a lot and do adroit intellectual dancing. But I’d bet a wad of money that if only the sixth commandment were made optional, nearly all the hatred and fear of the Church would vanish.

Saint Augustine was one of the few honest enough to admit his obsession. After puffing great philosophical profundities about the intellectual problems that kept him back from the Church, he finally admits in the Confessions, “The plain fact was, I thought I should be impossibly miserable without the embraces of a mistress.” If that profoundly philosophical motive was what held back one of the most honest, truth-seeking wisdom-lovers in history, do you really hope that nobler ideals motivate the spiritual children of Woodstock?

Consider one of greatest revolutions of soul in world history. The agenda of the Sexual Revolution from “The Sixties” (1965-1975) supported six things related to sexual ethics and drove them to often unprecedented highest of popularity and acceptance across the modern world:

• Promiscuity
• Homosexual Behavior (“sexual identity”)
• Abortion
• Pornography
• Mass Divorce
• Artificial Birth Control (“The Pill”)

Today we live in the aftermath of that powerful revolution. In the name of “sexual freedom,” sexual addiction has became rampant, as has an idolization of sex. Kreeft puts it this way:

Sex is the god of our world, our culture. It is our most non-negotiable demand. The teaching of Christ’s faithful Church about sex is the main reason the world hates and fears the Church, for the Church is “judgmental” about our society’s addiction and its real religion. Christ revolutionizes the sexual revolution. How does he do that? Not by opposing religion to sex but by opposing real religion to false religion.

That is, God shows us our deepest love is for Him, who gives the greatest joy and happiness in life. He puts our loves in order, ordo amoris, and gives hope for the sex addict: “When you have the real thing you are freed from addiction to its image,” writes Kreeft. “When you have a love (agape) relationship with God you are freed from addiction to love (eros) relationships to creatures. And only then, only when we do not desperately need them, we can enjoy and appreciate creatures freely. The alcoholic is not free to appreciate alcohol, and the sexaholic is not free to appreciate sex.”

The Truth Will Set You Free: A New Creed for Sexual Integrity

Helping such a mission to set love in order is the aim for a multi-denominational group of Christians in Australia who recently forged a powerful new creed to combat the “sexual heresies” rampant in modern society. They include the beliefs that “male and female are fluid or interchangeable, that marriage is open to any pairing, that sexual sin is a mere lifestyle choice, and that children should be encouraged to explore sexuality.” The Australian Creed for Sexual Integrity concisely establishes biblical viewpoints in response to modern problems, especially same-sex marriage, transgenderism, and promiscuity.

Several high-profile Christians were involved in the drafting process, such as Glenn Davies, Bishop of the Diocese of the Southern Cross (Anglican), and Julian Porteous, the Archbishop of Hobart (Catholic), as well as over 100 other faith leaders from a wide range of denominations. This creed surpasses denominational divides and represents the values shared by all Christians who believe in the Holy Bible as the divinely inspired Word of God. The drafters noted that the creed was named for its place of origin, not the limit of its reach. They hope the creed becomes an “emblem for Christian orthodoxy worldwide.”

“The Australian Creed for Sexual Integrity is the result of much prayer and consultation from archbishops, bishops, ministers, priests, pastors, theologians, academics and denominational heads, along with the leaders of Christian schools, non-profits and other organizations,” the creed’s website explains. “Among them are people who have been married for decades and those who are single; doctors of theology and recovered drug and pornography addicts; successful entrepreneurs and working mums and dads.”

The authors of the creed are concerned that Christians today have compromised on many of the values presented in God’s Word, such as same-sex marriage and pre-marital sex, which are not specifically addressed in previous creeds such as The Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasia Creed, which were written in the 2nd, 4th, and 5th centuries respectively. The drafters believed Christians needed a modern creed to address the modern problem of “sexual heresies.”

The Australian Creed for Sexual Integrity

We believe in one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who designed sex as part of His loving plan for humanity, and whose will for sexual integrity is clearly revealed in Holy Scripture.

We believe God created each person in His image as male or female, and any person’s attempt to deny or change this distorts God’s good design.

We believe God blesses sexual intimacy solely between a man and a woman within the holy covenant of marriage, a life-giving mystery that reflects Christ’s love for His church.

We believe God calls a husband and wife to be fruitful and multiply, that every life is sacred, and that children are precious to God and must be protected from sexualization.

We believe God calls all people to the joy of living a chaste life, by celibacy in singleness and faithfulness in marriage, and that His commands are given for the common good.

We believe sexual activities outside these bounds are sins which grieve God’s heart, injure others, and enslave people to idolatry.

We believe our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, that Christ calls and empowers us to repent from all sin, including sexual sin, that His mercy abounds to forgive and restore, and that by living with sexual integrity we glorify God and humbly embrace His wise and loving plan for human life.

Amen.

This creed is wholly in line with biblical values and re-focuses today’s Christians on the truths of the Bible which have become obscured by the push for “sexual freedom” in the 21st century. The drafters of the creed hope it is used for a variety of applications, such as “a doctrinal affirmation for use in worship services, masses, Christian prayer and Bible study groups, weddings, and private devotions” and “an educational tool to help Christians understand the Bible’s teaching on sexual integrity.” Read more about the purpose of the creed here.

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