paradidomi (Greek) to-beyond-give (3)

Jersey has become a multi-cultural island as well as a multi-faith island. Multi-cultural? Banks in Jersey come with Abu Dhabi as well as from Israel and the USA. They bring their cultures to bear upon Jersey and its people.

Multi-faith? It may seem hard to believe but certain large Islamic Charitable Foundations operate from within Jersey. So do Christian charities which operate to provide relief for persecuted Christians in Islamic and other countries. Aren’t we tolerant?
 
Most governments in the “free” West today, when faced with stresses arising from culture, ideology and religion (including atheistic religion), find themselves with no other pathway to tread than to give way to all such by fostering multi-faith, multi-cultural tolerance.

This means in effect that Jersey positions itself by paradidomi’ing (beyond-giving, giving over) itself and its inhabitants to multi-faith multi-culturalism. In handing us over to that the message is, “Everything is valid. All Gods are equal. All views are acceptable – as are all choices.” We can all live together, in Jersey and in any major nation, without harming one another.

That sounds good. It sounds as though there’s no harm in it. But is such a decision, such a democratic, acceptable policy, one to which the words in bold above apply? Therefore God paradidomi’d them … Is it a decision where God says, “If that’s what you desire then have your own way”?

When a nation has no one “God” – when all “Gods” are to be tolerated – does that nation become “God-less”? If so Jersey will be no different from others.

Therefore God paradidomi’d them …. Therefore God beyond-gave them, gave them over to the consequences of their desires and actions. What then are the consequences of multi-faith, multi-cultural tolerance?

One may catch a glimpse of those consequences in this week’s news. No sooner has a particular culture or religion (including atheistic religion) been given “equal” status than it requests more, it demands more “freedom”.

For that reason – on the basis of tolerance – the demand

• For freedom of choice for a mother to terminate the life of her unborn child has been extended. Now the dead have no voice;
• For the age of sexual consent to be lowered has been accepted. Now- children are being adulterated earlier than ever.
• For the ability to buy, sell, make and do on seven days in every week has been agreed. Now folk do not enjoy familial and collective rest together.
• For pornography to be unregulated in newsagents and on the internet has multiplied its availability. Now even paedophilia’s boundaries are being breached.
• For two men to marry and have and bring up children on a par with  natural relations is going forward. Now (wait and see….)

All this has been accompanied by another demand – a demand of the “free” – that no-one should ever be free to write about these things, that to write about them shows an intolerance worthy of ridicule followed by exile or worse.

What is the God of Our Lord Jesus Christ doing about all these damaging, demand-led, tolerance-driven, multi-faith, multi-cultural alterations? Therefore God paradidomi’d them …. Is this the truth?

Is this what has been and is happening? Therefore God paradidomi’d them …. Why? Is it so that we can see the consequences?

The four biographies of Jesus Christ tower above all records of any man who ever lived, died and rose again – and the Son of God, Son of Man demonstrates the superior power of his defeat over against all the demands in the world.

Could it be that the intention behind giving us over to our collective decisions is simply so that we can make a vastly better decision before it’s too late?  . Perhaps having seen the consequences of our freedom we may be attracted to the Son of God, Son of Man in those biographies.