The 1960s brought new meaning to “free love” from which our culture has never recovered. We witnessed hippies, racism, drugs, and general dis-ease among our people. Instead of keeping religion and the law and dealing with the wrongs being committed, we jettisoned religion and law [at first we tried to change it, but increasingly, courts overturned laws and the Constitution], and we witnessed a new age of redefining love, freedom, and happiness. There was no longer an Absolute Truth, but only truth conceived by individuals – truth was what made me happy. (See Habits of the Heart by Robert N. Bellah et al listed in Further Reading). The Bible and prayer were removed from our schools, but we still clung to the desire to be seen as good and pure (see Madonna above) regardless of our thoughts, words, or deeds. Everyone who acknowledged a god would be welcomed into heaven.
The beginning of the 70s brought rioting in the streets, abortion on demand, increasing single parent families and decreasing commitment to marriage, rising debt, and inflation spiraling out of control. But no one seemed to notice. To do so was to bring a tirade of accusations on oneself. The person would be deemed a racist, narrow-minded, mean-spirited, a hater of the poor, a hater of minorities, and the list has grown since then. Political correctness became the law of the land governed by the media (this presents a huge can of worms that we will sort through in the days ahead). Whichever side of this issue in which you find yourself, what follows is important for you – either to help yourself or to help others. Have you ever stopped to ask yourself why the Bible had to be banned? What was so dangerous in a book that brings eternal hope and peace that our children cannot hear it read? Even a few verses at a time? Or what is so dangerous about the Lord’s Prayer that it cannot be prayed in our schools? Ostensibly the answer is that we do not want to infringe on the rights of the minority. What about the rights of the majority? What about free speech? [But I get ahead of myself.] My personal sense is that it goes deeper. The Bible addresses issues of purity that political correctness cannot tolerate.
One such passage is Psalm 15:1b-2a (NIV) asks, “Who may live on your [God’s] holy hill? He whose Walk is blameless and who does what is righteous.” Calvin reveals what is so difficult in this beautiful poetry. the only legitimate service to him is the practice of justice, purity, and holiness…[and that God] ever remains…himself, the friend of righteousness, the enemy of unrighteousness, and whatever his demands from us may be, as he can only require what is right, we are necessarily under a natural obligation to obey. Our inability to do so is our own fault [Institutes 2.8.2 and 3.6.2].” The Bible, even in its poetic moments, sets a standard by which all are expected to live. It is God’s standard that determines who can approach him. You would not want violent people to come into your home and attack your family. God has the right to decide who enters his home. This is not politically correct. It violates the image of us as our own determiners of righteousness – 
and what is right is usually what will make us happy in the moment.
We will look at two more such texts in the next post.
Question: Can you be honest with yourself? On a scale of one to ten [one=not pc; ten=totally pc] where are you? Let this psalm and Calvin be your guide.
Tell the Next Generation 