Immorality Normalized

The normalization of sexual immorality has completely taken hold in American pop culture. I was watching a TV show recently, and in the show two of the unmarried characters were living together. Not only did their work colleagues think absolutely nothing of it, the man’s mother welcomed the woman as practically already her daughter-in-law. It was portrayed as perfectly normal. This scene from one show is far from an aberration. In fact, that kind of portrayal on TV is actually the norm today. Of course, that was a TV show and the relationship was written into the script to be acted out by people who don’t really have that kind of relationship with one another. But the truth is, that portrayal reflects the norm in much of society.

For example, there is a reality TV show called the “Real Housewives of Orange County.” In this show, cameramen follow real people around to show what is going on in their lives. Of course, there is a lot of acting that goes on with those kinds of shows, but one of the stars, a mother of seven kids, recently revealed a birthday tradition that she and her husband have been observing for, seemingly, over twenty years. On the husband’s birthday, they invite another woman into their bedroom and have a threesome. Somehow they consider this perfectly normal behavior. In fact, it is so acceptable, that she felt no shame or hesitation to share this information with the world in an interview for the TV show.

What this demonstrates is that the worldview that dominates the major institutions of American society is no longer Christian Theism. That distinction now belongs to Naturalism – the belief that the natural universe is all that exists. With that as a starting point, human beings are considered nothing more than animal creatures with a highly evolved brain, and morality has no objective or absolute foundation. Thus, human animals can, without any moral objection, act like any other animal would act sexually.

And, indeed, if human beings are nothing more than material animal creatures, then these Naturalists would be right. But that premise is simply not true – and there is no empirical evidence to show that it is true (which is necessary if Naturalism actually does represent reality). The truth is, human beings are persons created in the image of God for the purpose of interacting with him in a personal relationship. There truly are spiritual elements of our personhood that cannot be explained by empirical science. We are spiritual beings housed in a physical body, that interact on both a physical and spiritual level.

It is fairly easy to understand the physical part of life and live as if that represents our whole person. And for people who do that, the immoral behavior mentioned above can easily become the norm. But that does not represent reality. We humans do have a sense of morality (even those who discount it), and that sense derives from the fact that objectively real morality actually does exist. God exists and has revealed himself and his ways to mankind, and has given us knowledge of it in his revelation – along with the power to follow it by his Spirit who indwells those who believe.

The normalization of immorality is common, but does not correspond with the way reality is actually structured. In the end, living life in a way that goes against the reality that God created will destroy individuals and society – both physically and spiritually.

Freddy Davis is the president of MarketFaith Ministries. He is the author of numerous books and has a background as an international missionary, pastor, radio host, worldview trainer, and entrepreneur. Freddy is a graduate of Florida State University with a BS in Communication, and holds MDiv and DMin degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is a popular speaker, particularly on the topic of worldview and its practical implications for the Christian life. He lives in Tallahassee, FL, with his wife Deborah. 

You may also contact Freddy at Leadership Speakers Bureau to schedule him for speaking or leadership engagements.

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