The Winchelsea Star 20 Nov 2013 - Vol.36, Ed.41 | Page 13
Wednesday, 20th November, 2013
The Winchelsea Star
13
Church News
St Thomas
Church
Wednesday November 20th. Inter-church
prayer meeting 9:15 at the vicarage.
The St Thomas’ Ladies guild 10 am in the
church hall.
Twilight Fete 5pm 22 November.
Fourth Sunday Family service 9am. This
is a family and child friendly service
designed to support and equip those
parents who want to teach the Christian
faith to their children, enquiries welcome.
Monday 25th of November Mainly Music
10am at St Thomas Hall.
More Food for Thought.
It seems that somehow or other over the
years the church has developed a kill
joy reputation in some circles. This was
quite evident in a play I recently attended,
in which some sour looking characters
carried pickets that read “Fun is Sinful “
and a preacher was depicted as a drunk
and represented a rather pitiful caricature
of a religious hypocrite. Am I alone in
finding this more tragic than comic? I
always think that the God we worship, the
one who created us is the source of true
joy and real fun. He is the one who gave
us a sense of humor and the Bible affirms
that where the Spirit of God is present
there will be both joy and freedom. Yet it
seems to me that exercising our freedom
should not hurt society and that there are
some things that are just not really funny.
For example, the abuse of alcohol with
its dire consequences of family violence
and break-up doesn’t amuse me at all.
Another thing that I find tragic rather
than a subject of comedic relief is the
promotion of an individualistic consumer
based attitude to human sexuality. Such
attitudes encourage an environment of
total and unrestricted experimentation
amongst people too young to make mature
informed decisions. The fact that we are
now seeing vulnerable young people who
have been led astray by these attitudes
ruining their own futures by engaging in
“sexting” is a 21st century tragedy. So am
I just having a Queen Victoria moment?
Am I just revealing that at heart I actually
affirm the concept that “fun is sin’ when
I like that 19th century monarch find
situations in which ‘I am not amused?’
Or does our society need to have a good
hard look at itself and think about the way
we are failing to give good wise guidance
to our children and young people? The
impact of such self centered sexual
morality on our society and particularly
on the children of our society is having
devastating consequences, that aren’t at all
funny! Yet I am sure that God approves of
us having fun, he is a permission giving
God not a kill-joy, and he has also given
us both sex and alcohol along with wise
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