Oops

Christians in America have the ability to effectively promote sexual ethics. To maximize respect for God and each other, sexuality should be limited to the confines of a loving, committed relationship. Such an effort would target promiscuity and adultery as unacceptable behaviors. Instead, too many Christian leaders are focused on condemning same sex couples that want to be in a committed relationship while saying next to nothing about "fooling around." Last time I checked, it was adultery that made God's top ten list of sins. And the biggest threat to the stability of families comes from infidelity rather than homosexuality.

Sexual misconduct has been in the news of late. Some of the highest ranking military officers have been caught with their pants down, including the head of the Central Intelligence Agency. Investigation into the years of sexual dalliance by Gen. Petraeus also uncovered misconduct by another top general. Adultery is so commonplace at the highest levels of the military that one historian dryly noted that, "marital fidelity was not a requirement of the great commanders in World War II." The only thing that has changed is that affairs by top brass are more likely to become headlines in our media-driven culture.

Sexual promiscuity by military officers is more than just fodder for juicy gossip. It has long been a favorite target for espionage by pillow-talking confidents. This is what first raised eyebrows about the Petraeus case, when emails from his paramour revealed details of his travel plans.

Another less than savory tradition in the military has been sexual harassment and rape of female members of the service. On some bases, a culture of abuse seems to develop where sexual misconduct becomes part of some sickening hazing ritual. The latest scandal at Lackland Air Force Base provides a look at how pervasive such behavior can become.

The scandal at basic training in San Antonio has already cost two commanding officers their jobs, led to charges against 11 military training instructors that resulted in five convictions. One MTI was convicted of rape; others were convicted on charges involving inappropriate relationships with recruits. So far, 25 MTIs are, or have been, under investigation, and the number of possible victims has climbed to 49.

At least one in five female veterans reports being sexually assaulted while serving in uniform. Those numbers may grossly underestimate the problem because many women do not report the attack for fear of further reprisal. Rape, of course, was the last straw for Sodom.

As an organization, the U.S. military prohibits adultery and other forms of misconduct, yet perversely has a culture that wants to look the other way until it attracts disapproval from the larger culture. Having grown up in a military family, I doubt there is anything truly unique about sexual misconduct in the military. It mirrors attitudes found in the larger culture. Power is intoxicating and corrupts the morals of the powerful. Call it the King David Syndrome.

So why do some Christian leaders seem obsessed with homosexuality when adultery is rampant and destroying marriages? Catholic bishops have recently become particularly vocal on homosexuality while looking the other way for decades while their peers sexually abused children. There is nothing about adultery, promiscuity, or pedophilia that can be reconciled with the overarching commandment by Christ to love others as we would wish to be loved. You have to wonder if same-sex marriage is little more than a diversion from addressing sexual conduct that destroys families and degrades people.

It is hard not to question the convoluted messaging on sexual ethics when high profile Christian leaders say things like this about the Petraeus affair:

"She is an extremely good-looking woman," the 82-year-old Robertson gushed. "She is a marathon runner. She runs Iron Man triathlons. So she's out running with him and writing a biography...." 

"The man's off in a foreign land, and he's lonely," Robertson added sympathetically. "And here's a good-looking lady throwing herself at him... I mean... he's a man."

Adding insult and insanity to injury, the Christian Broadcast Network issued a statement defending Pat Robertson's "boys will be boys" nonsense. These people running a multi-million dollar broadcasting empire expect us to believe that his words were taken out of context in an attempt to discredit him. That does not pass a smell test.

And let's not forget the spate of comments by Christian political leaders about rape, claiming that women cannot get pregnant from rape unless they somehow invited or enjoyed the sexual contact. Those comments were not poorly phrased. They reflected condescending attitudes toward women. These were slips of the mind rather than the tongue. Jesus warned that what comes out of your mouth betrays what is in your heart.

As followers of Christ, we have an opportunity to promote sexual ethics based on the hermeneutics of love, discouraging casual sexual contacts and infidelity. That will not happen when the loudest voices are culture warriors who disparage homosexuals that want to be in committed relationships and treat women as the root of all sexual evil among heterosexuals. The culture warriors are part of the problem rather than the solution.