Moral Inversions
by S. M. Hutchens
I never thought when I was younger that the great degeneration of the Last Days could happen so quickly—so much trust I unwittingly had in human institutions, including churches—or that the language the Scriptures use describing it would be so literally correct and unfigurative. Go to the major media outlets for news and entertainment, then consider this:
This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, undisciplined, disdainful, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof. Turn away from such people. (2 Tim. 3:1–5)
I have heard complaints (that I do not believe) that we “no longer” have a moral baseline to govern our thoughts and behavior. This is prima facie false, for all have a knowledge of God and what he requires, whether or not they suppress it. Confusion springs from the refusal to acknowledge this, which the love of sin engenders. In these verses, if one will have them, is a portrait of that baseline, presented here in antithesis, so that:
In days that God sustains, men are lovers of others at their own expense, generous, modest, supremely careful in their use of God’s Name, obedient to parents, thankful, pure-minded, affectionate, keepers of their word, honest, self-controlled, gentle, helpers of those who do good, loyal, disciplined, humble, seekers of God rather than stimulation, whose worship is not empty religious show, but looks toward a God who is sovereign and active, whose will shall be done in both heaven and earth, and whose judgments on the affairs of men cannot be escaped.
S. M. Hutchens is a Touchstone senior editor.
Get six issues (one year) of Touchstone PLUS full online access including pdf downloads for only $39.95. That's only $3.34 per month!
Get a one-year full-access subscription to the Touchstone online archives for only $19.95. That's only $1.66 per month!
bulk subscriptions
Order Touchstone subscriptions in bulk and save $10 per sub! Each subscription includes 6 issues of Touchstone plus full online access to touchstonemag.com—including archives, videos, and pdf downloads of recent issues for only $29.95 each! Great for churches or study groups.
Transactions will be processed on a secure server.
more from the online archives
30.6—Nov/Dec 2017
Christ, Individualism & the Meaning of Cultural Diversity by Anthony Esolen
27.4—July/August 2014
The Bible, Sacred Theology & the Mind of Christ by Patrick Henry Reardon
calling all readers
Please Donate
"There are magazines worth reading but few worth saving . . . Touchstone is just such a magazine."
—Alice von Hildebrand
"Here we do not concede one square millimeter of territory to falsehood, folly, contemporary sentimentality, or fashion. We speak the truth, and let God be our judge. . . . Touchstone is the one committedly Christian conservative journal."
—Anthony Esolen, Touchstone senior editor
