Book Review - You and Me Forever

 Take a few minutes to think about the following quotes.     

            “Your relationship with God is far more critical than your marriage, and it is everlasting.”

            “Couples spend a lot of time looking at themselves and each other, but very little time staring at God.”

            “It should burden us deeply that many of our marriages paint the gospel in a bad light.”

            “Marriage is one of the most humbling, sanctifying journeys you will ever as a part of.”

            “Regardless of how satisfying your marriage is or isn’t, the real issue is how satisfied you are with God.”

Each of those statements – and many more – stopped me in my tracks when I read them and prompted me to put down my reading and think.  And that, I believe, is one of the things a good book should do – prompt someone to stop, to think and hopefully to adjust their perspective and/or actions as a result.

The above statements are from a different type of marriage book.  As I have noted in this blog previously, it is my habit to try to read a marriage book every year, not only to benefit those I counsel, but to benefit my own marriage.  (You will have to ask my wife if it has made any difference…)  The marriage book I read this year was You and Me Forever by Francis and Lisa Chan.  Francis Chan is well-known as a speaker and writer.  Lisa is also a speaker as well as mother to their 5 children.

The book has a rather unique structure.  The first half of each chapter is written by Francis Chan.  Francis faithfully and relentlessly applies Scriptural truth to the reader’s marriage to help them see that their marriage priorities may not line up with God’s priorities for their relationship.  The second half of each chapter is written by Lisa Chan.  Lisa often repeats the same themes as her husband, but with a woman’s touch and perspective.  I found the structure very refreshing.  While my male brain responded to Francis’ exhortations, Lisa’s discussion of the same themes often brought out things I have not thought about.  It is almost like the reader is getting two good books in one.

Most of the marriage books I have read over the past 20 years or so, with a few notable exceptions, have focused on the typical, external marriage problems.  Communication.  Money matters.  Sex.  Compatibility.  Gender roles.  And those are all good topics to talk about.  The Chan’s book does not directly deal with any of those things.  Rather the focus of this book is very refreshing and to the point – a good marriage starts and ends with our relationship with God.  We put so much time and energy into our marriages – do we put that much time and energy into our walk with God?  Our marriages have a greater purpose – to point people to the love of Christ and the marriage between God’s son and God’s people.  Are we obsessed with our earthly marriage, or the eternal, heavenly marriage to come?  Humility before Christ by both the husband and wife are keys to a good marriage.  After all, what matters most – winning arguments or becoming more like Christ?  Our marriages are made for something bigger than ourselves, our happiness or our comfort.  They are made for God’s mission – to make disciples, to actively seek God’s kingdom and His righteousness.  When a couple is fighting spiritual battles together for God’s kingdom, they are less likely to fight each other.  Finally, are couples raising their children to love God far more than they love them?  That is a shocking question on the surface, yet is a necessary one to ask.  As Francis Chan asks, “What will break my heart more – if my kids don’t end up loving me or if they don’t end up loving Jesus?”

           

You and Me Forever is a different type of marriage book.  If you are looking for a book with practical, step by step tips on you and your spouse can communicate better, this is not the book you are looking for.  This is better.  This book will shake your marital assumptions, make you examine your marital and parenting priorities and cause you to gaze deeply into the grace and love of Jesus Christ.  This book will encourage you to direct your vision to Jesus, because when your eyes are on Jesus, your marriage and your family will be infinitely better for it.

P.S. – Francis and Lisa Chan have made this book available for free in electronic format for those who cannot afford to buy the book.  Check out the FAQ and the many resources they have provided at http://www.youandmeforever.org.

  

Marriage Isn't That Great

This afternoon I had the chance to start reading Francis and Lisa Chan’s book, You and Me Forever:  Marriage in Light of Eternity.  I try to make it my practice to read a book on marriage each year, not only for my personal benefit, but also for tools to care for married couples in the church.  I have appreciated Francis Chan’s books in the past and am looking forward to reading this one in its entirety.

The Chans start the book in a strange place.  Many marriage books start you off with some kind of reflection or analysis of your marriage.  They asked questions like: What are your struggles?  What are your joys?  Where you are united?  Where do you tend to fight?  Rather than starting their book off by reflecting on the state of a couple’s marriage, the Chans start by calling the couple to reflect on the state of their understanding and fear of God.  And as I think about it, that is exactly where any discussion of marriage should start.

The fact is, our relationship with God is far more important than our marriage.  Our relationship with God sets the tone for our marriage.  Our relationship with God is eternal, our marriages will not be. (Matt. 22:30)  And the problems in our marriages are actually often problems in our relationship with, understanding of or fear of God.  As the Chans note, most marriage problems are really God problems.

And so, the Chans challenge couples to start staring deeply at God rather than spending a lot of time looking at each other and themselves as a couple.  Let’s face it, we are very guilty of looking at each other rather than looking at God.   I don’t mean looking at how we are aging or gaining a few pounds or sprouting some (or in my case, many) gray hairs.  I mean we get far too wrapped up in looking at our spouses in other ways.  Some look at their marriages as a competition – when one spouse gets something, the other needs something equivalent, whether they can afford it or not.  Others look at their marriages and just see the bad habits and the irritating things.  Sometimes we get very convinced of our own superiority or, dare I say it, “godliness” by dwelling on the failures of our spouses.  Still others wrap all their energy and focus into their earthly marriage relationship, becoming much too obsessed with their spouse and far too apathetic toward God.

All this goes away, the Chans suggest, when we start looking at God.  We need to stare deeply at Him.  We need to read and meditate on Him as He is described in the Scriptures.  We need to cultivate a healthy fear of Him as God Almighty, Creator, Sustainer and Lord of all.  We need to bow in awe of Him as we contemplate His salvation, His goodness and His grace poured out into our lives in Jesus Christ.  We need to find satisfaction in him.  And that means not just being satisfied with what God has done or is doing our lives or our circumstances, but being satisfied in Him.  Do we understand God as being the source of all our contentment?  Can we put aside our pursuit of personal satisfaction, even personal satisfaction in marriage, to gaze deeply at God and find real satisfaction in Him?

I have only read 1 chapter of the Chans book, but I am looking forward to the rest.  The chapter I read was entitled, “Marriage isn’t that Great.”  Doesn’t that sound like a strange chapter title for a book on marriage?  But it is true – marriage isn’t that great when we compare our earthly marriages to what our relationship with God should be like.  Our earthly marriage relationship does not ultimately hold a candle to our eternal, Godward relationship.  And the joy, the satisfaction and the contentment we find in a good marriage does not begin to compare to the joy, satisfaction and contentment we can find in God.

How do you Respond to the Sin of Others?

My eyes shed streams of tears, because people do not keep your law. (Psalm 119:136, ESV)  This verse was part of the passage I read for my devotional time yesterday.  The verse and the accompanying devotional really made me think.  How do I react when people do not have the time of day for God’s law?

It is not hard to look around and see examples of people who want nothing to do with God and the way God wants us to live.  And, I have to admit it, those examples often make me angry.  I am angered by our culture’s sexualized state and how something like pornography has reached into the families in my church and wreaked its havoc.  I am angered at people’s rejection of God’s good plan for the family, even to the point of punishing those who do not agree with their perversion.  I am angered that even though Planned Parenthood officials admit selling fetal body parts, our government is powerless to do anything about it.  I am angered that my brothers and sisters in Christ in the Middle East face arrest, rape, torture and death, and yet those events don’t seem to be news.  I could go on.

Sometimes it is okay to be angry.  If we are angry at the things God is angry about, if we can practice a righteous anger, we do not sin in that. (Eph. 4:26)  But it is hard to be righteously angry, and it is even harder to stay righteously angry.  Our sin nature is very adept at taking anger that may have started righteously and twisting it into something ugly, prideful or self-centered.

We have to ask ourselves, is anger the Christian’s only right response to sin?  According to Psalm 119:136, mourning and tears is also a response that honors God.  Does our anger keep us from mourning the fact that sin is so prevalent in our lives and in the lives of others?  The psalmist weeps streams of tears in response to sin.  I am guessing that a more accurate rendering of that verse in most of our lives would be, “My blood is boiling, because people do not keep your law.”

The devotional I read this morning asked some important questions.  “Are we angry merely because the biblically informed traditions of Western culture in which we have become accustomed seem to be dying, or are we upset because God and His glory are not being honored?  Do we mourn over the world’s failure to respect the Creator’s good law because we know that those who are breaking it inflict much pain  upon themselves in the process, or do we relish in an unrighteous manner the judgment that they are bringing upon themselves?  If we are not grieving that our Maker is not being glorified and that people made in his image are callously throwing their lives away, we must return to God’s Word and reorient our priorities.” (Tabletalk, Sept. 14, 2015)

Friends, it is easy to lash out in anger at the sin against us.  And while there is a proper place for righteous anger, it is wrong to allow our anger to prevent us from shedding tears and mourning over sin.  Anger should never prevent us from praying for repentance.  And anger should never stand in the way of sharing the gospel with sinners with compassion. 

Let us ask the Lord to cultivate within us a heart that mourns for lost people and grieves over sin, both our sin and theirs.

Trusting God for Who you Are

There are many people in our world who look in the mirror with some form of disappointment or perhaps disgust.  They see a funny looking nose, or a receding hairline.  They note that they are too tall, or perhaps too short, too thin or maybe too rotund.  Just about everyone can find something about their appearance they are discontented with.

The fact is, God made people different.  Our facial features are shaped differently, our hair looks and acts differently, we are of different heights and weights and our personalities, our likes, our dislikes, and our tendencies are different as well.  All those differences were put there by God.  As King David reminds us, God knit each of us together in our mother’s womb, and the result of that is that each of us are fearfully and wonderfully made. (Ps. 139:13-14)  And so, if we have difficulty accepting ourselves the way God made us, we find ourselves in conflict with our Creator.  The fact is that God created you just as you are, and He wanted you to be that way because He loves you and wants to glorify Himself through you.

I have been rereading Jerry Bridges’ wonderful book Trusting God with my summer intern Chris.  This week we read the chapter about trusting God for who you are.  It is a chapter that challenges the reader to trust that God knew what he was doing when he knit each of us together in our mother’s womb.  God gave us our physical characteristics out of love, for His glory.  God gave us our personality, also out of love, for His glory.  Accepting that is foundational for our spiritual, and relational health.  Bridges quotes wise words from James Hufstetler that come right to the point:  “You will never really enjoy other people, you will never have stable emotions, you will never lead a life of godly contentment, you will never conquer jealousy and love others as you should until you thank God for making you the way He did.”  Friends, that is so very true.

God made you who you are biologically.  Yes, that body you look at in the mirror and perhaps cringe at – God made you like that.  He created that nose, that hairline or those funny looking toes.  For me, God created me with bad eyesight, unruly hair and crummy digestion.  I can fight those things, which I have.  I can curse God for those things, which thankfully I have not.  Or I can be content with those things, which is what I am learning to be.  I also can open my eyes to see how God can be glorified in those things.  For example, my crummy digestion has caused me all sorts of pain (literally and figuratively) over the years.  As a pastor, there are times when I have to be present, bad stomach or not.  But I can tell you two good things my bad digestion has done in me.  First, it has made me more dependent and prayerful.  God’s grace has been sufficient for me, and there have been many times His power has been made perfect in my weakness. (2 Cor. 12:9)  Second, I have seen the faithfulness of God through it – I do not believe my digestion has ever prevented me from fulfilling any pastoral roles in 24 years of ministry.  You see, even our disabilities – great or small – can be used for God’s glory and our growth in maturity.

God also made your personality.  Are you funny?  Are you shy?  Are you a deep thinker?  God made you that way.  And although our personalities are often so very obviously corrupted by sin, the fact is God made you who you are from the inside.  And He can be glorified in that as well.  Think about those times when we are made aware of the ugliness of the sin inside of us.  Perhaps we struggle with pride, or bitterness, or anger, or impatience or jealousy, the many and varied sinful reactions to our circumstances.  But God knew we would have those reactions, and out of those reactions He can be glorified.  The sinful side of our personality should drive us to His grace and to the cross where that grace was demonstrated to us.  Our sin should prompt us to seek God in confession, to ask for His transforming power, and to renew our trust that He will complete the good work He began in us. (Phil. 1:6)  All those things are for our good, and bring God glory.

And so, whether we struggle with our outside looks or our inward make-up, we need to be assured that God created us that way.  Whether we have abilities or disabilities, we want to learn to receive them from God.  In all those things we can learn to give thanks, and we can know that God can and will use those things in our lives for our good and His glory.

Book Review: The Enemy Within: Straight Talk about the Power and Defeat of Sin

I choose books to read for a lot of different reasons.  I read history books because the topic is interesting or even at times obscure.  I read biographies because the person in question is often fascinating on some level.  I read some books because I like the author, or I need to learn more about the topic the book discusses.  But rarely do I intentionally pick up a book in order to be completely convicted of my sin.  That has happened more than once, but sadly it is not because of an intentional choice of my own.

The Enemy Within:  Straight Talk about the Power and Defeat of Sin by Kris Lundgaard is a book that falls into the last category.  It is a book recommended to me by a good friend.  It is a relatively short book, about 150 pages.  And it is a book in which the author probably says nothing I had not heard before.  But he says it is such a way, with such truth and directness, that God’s Spirit used it to speak to my heart.

The Enemy Within is a book about sin.  Depressing right?  But as Kris Lundgaard notes, this is a necessary topic.  Getting to know our sin is wisdom.  The more each of us discover about the power of indwelling sin, the less we will suffer its effects.

The apostle Paul knew the power of indwelling sin.  This is how he described it in Romans 7:21:  “So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand.” (ESV)  Sin is a law living inside of us, a law that fights us even in our best moments, a law that never rests or gives up.  It is a traitor working from the shadow of our hearts, a usurper to the throne and authority of God in our lives.  Indwelling sin, or the flesh as the Bible describes it, will fight us each and every day we live on this earth – we cannot make peace with it, we can only defeat it.

As the prophet Jeremiah clearly notes, our hearts are deceitful and wicked, beyond cure and understanding. (Jer. 17:9)  We could never design a house as complex as our hearts or gather enough monsters to fill it.  Our heart as the Bible understands it, is made up of our mind, our will, our affections and our conscience.  Each of those aspects of our heart, the Bible says, is unsearchable and deceitful above all things.  (As a side note, consider the implications of a verse like this for the case of Bruce/Caitlyn Jenner.)  Deceit is what the flesh uses to confuse our minds, entangle our affections and persuade our wills that sin is either good for us or at least, not as bad as God says it is.  The flesh works to weaken the spiritual conviction we feel when we sin, reminding us to cling to the remedy of grace - God’s forgiveness of sin - but conveniently persuading us to forget the design of grace – to make us holy.  It has the ability to use spiritual things for its purposes, as long as those spiritual things do not lead us closer to God.

All this is rather depressing.  The picture the author gives is a true one – our flesh is a powerful, ruthless, unrelenting enemy that will fight against anything that leads to true communion with God.  Thankfully, Lundgaard does much more than merely give a troubling description of the flesh.  He also offers hope.  He makes it clear that while the flesh will never be completely defeated in this life, God has given us all the tools we need to fight the flesh, to weaken its power and to live a life that glorifies Him.

God has given us His Spirit.  While it is true that our hearts are deceitful, wicked and unknowable, it is also true that God has given every believer His Spirit who lives in us.  And the Spirit, thankfully, knows our hearts even as we do not.  The way to fight the flesh is through the Spirit.  The Spirit helps us meditate on God and His gracious, good character.  The Spirit enables us to meditate on God’s Word, His truth revealed.  The Spirit empowers us to expose our sinful hearts to God’s holy character and the truths of His word, which leads to conviction, repentance and change.

God has given us minds that are being transformed and renewed, minds that can be trained to love Him.  Guarding our mind is an essential part of obedience, which weakens the grip of the flesh.  Obedience is not just doing what God says, but doing what God says in God’s way.  The work of the mind of a believer is to know God’s rule and apply it to all we do before God.  As the apostle Paul notes in Ephesians 5:15 – “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise.” (ESV)

Finally, God has given us faith.  Faith is the only thing that truly destroys the power of the flesh because salvation comes from the Lord.  By faith, we are able to fill our souls with thoughts of the purpose of Christ’s death, on the meaning and implications of his shed blood and his work on the cross.  And by faith we can anticipate help in our struggles from Jesus – he does not leave us to struggle against the flesh alone.

The flesh is an implacable enemy.  Indwelling sin never gives up and never takes a vacation.  It fights against anything and everything that leads us to real communion with God.  But ultimately, for the Christian, the flesh does not have any real authority.  We belong to God in Christ.  He is transforming our hearts, writing His law there.  While the fight never ends in this life, God has given every believer the weapons he or she needs to be increasingly victorious in this life-long battle.

Book Review: What Does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality?

One of the most polarizing issues in our society today is the whole issue of homosexuality, especially when it relates to homosexual marriage.  While very few people would insist on discriminating against someone with a homosexual orientation with regards to a job for example, there are many who struggle with the homosexual lobby’s attempts to redefine marriage away from the traditional (and biblical) definition of one man and one woman.

Into this hot button issue steps Pastor Kevin DeYoung with his new book What does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality?  With a blend of serious scholarship, clear thinking and a pastoral heart, DeYoung explains what the Bible does say about homosexuality and then counters many of the common arguments society offers against the biblical data.

DeYoung begins by saying that while the Bible says something about homosexuality, it is not a book about homosexuality.  Rather it is a book about God, His creation, sin and salvation.  It is a book about God seeking to dwell eternally with His creation, His holy people.  And so while the Bible is not a book about homosexuality, the issue of homosexuality touches on many of the important truths the Bible upholds.  The question then must be asked:  “Is homosexuality a sin that must be repented of, forsaken and forgiven, or given the right context and commitment, can we consider same-sex sexual intimacy a blessing worth celebrating and solemnizing?” (p. 15)

DeYoung begins to answer this question by first unpacking the handful of Scripture passages dealing directly with homosexuality.  He begins in Genesis 1-2, which sets out God’s clear design for marriage as a union between one man and one woman.  He argues that heterosexual relations are the only relations that fit the biblical description of a “one-flesh union.”  DeYoung moves onto to Genesis 19 and the story of Sodom and Gomorrah.  It has become fashionable to argue from Ezek. 16:49 that the sin of these cities was a lack of hospitality.  But when one views Ezek. 16:49 in context (Ezek. 16:47-50), it becomes clear that the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah is abomination, the same word used in Lev. 18 and 20 for homosexual behavior.  Moving on to the Law of Moses, DeYoung investigates Lev. 18:22 and 20:13, arguing that these verses forbid homosexual behavior because it is an affront to God’s holy order.  He then lists 6 reasons why these verses cannot be just set aside as an ancient law for another time.  In his chapter on Romans 1, the author makes a clear case that God sees homosexual practice as an example of mankind’s rebellion against God and a willing, sinful suppression of the truth of God’s good design.  Finally, DeYoung investigates 1 Cor. 6:9-10 and 1 Tim. 1:8-11, two passages based on the Leviticus law in which the apostle Paul condemns men who have sex with other men.  According to DeYoung, the argument of Scripture is clear – homosexual activity of any type is a sin against the clear creation design of God.

Having unpacked what the Bible says, DeYoung moves on to counter 7 common arguments against the clear teaching of Scripture. They are:

·  The argument that Christians are making much too big a deal about this, since the Bible hardly mentions homosexuality. 

·   The argument that the kind of homosexuality practiced today in committed relationships is not what the Bible is condemning. 

·   The argument that the church is hypocritical, failing to deal with its own sins.

·   The argument that the church should be a place for broken people, and labeling homosexuality a sin closes the door for such people. 

·   The argument that in opposing homosexual advances, Christians are on the wrong side of history.

·   The argument that labelling homosexual behavior a sin is not fair.

·   The argument that says that God is a God of love who would never condemn someone practicing homosexuality.

In countering these arguments, DeYoung communicates truth, but does it in a sensitive, pastoral way.  Not everyone will agree with his conclusions or his counter-arguments, but despite that I believe DeYoung does a good job staking a position on the truth of the Bible.

The author concludes his book with three appendices worth reading.  The first explains what is at stake in the homosexual marriage debate.  The second provides 3 building blocks in dealing with the issue of same-sex attraction.  And the third lists 10 commitments every church should make in response to the issue of homosexuality.

As I mentioned, some people will disagree and hate this book.  They may even hate my review.  But in a time when the homosexual lobby has been incredibly successful in changing public perception and opinion regarding homosexual marriage and homosexuality in general, this is a book that every serious, thinking Christian should read.  Is it the ultimate resource on the issue?  Probably not, but it is a great one, a resource that will equip you to think seriously and biblically about one of the most contentious issues of our day.

Book Review - Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town

I usually pride myself in not following the crowd, but I will admit that this week, I did just that.  I grabbed a copy of Jon Krakauer’s new book, Missoula:  Rape and the Justice System in a College Town.  It is flying off the shelves in our area, making Krakauer the most popular (or unpopular) man in the county.

Mr. Krakauer must have a thing for Montana.  He has questioned the integrity of Montana icon Greg Mortenson in his book, Three Cups of Deceit.  Now, with this new release, he uses Missoula as his tableau in his exploration of non-stranger rape, college towns and a faulty justice system.

A few years back, Missoula made the headlines for being the “Rape Capital” of America.  As Krakauer’s book notes, it is an unfair description – Missoula is merely average when it comes to incidents of sexual assault.  But since Missoula is average, it becomes a great case study for Krakauer on how such sexual assault is handled in a small city.

Missoula is also a college town and the football team rules the town.  It is Griz nation, and the community reacts violently when one of its favored sons is accused of a crime, especially rape.  And so when two high profile Griz players – quarterback Jordan Johnson and running back Beau Donaldson – were accused of rape, much of the community rose up to their defense.  Tracing the trials of Johnson and Donaldson, along with the troubles of other Griz players and U of M students, Krakauer paints a rather disturbing picture.  A word of warning – in painting this disturbing picture, Krakauer is graphic.  This book is not for the faint of heart.  The description is not at all titillating – I found it rather nauseating – but it is graphic.

As Krakauer discovers in his investigations, rape is not all that rare among the U of M crowd.  And the vast majority of the rape cases, as they are nationally, were non-stranger rapes.  These were rapes perpetrated by friends and acquaintances of the victim.  Contrary to the vision we have of rape being about a man in a mask jumping out from behind a bush, about 80 percent of rapes in America are non-stranger rapes.

The book tells the story of four victims, only one of whom received any form of justice from the legal system.  Your heart goes out to them as he tells their story.  It is meant to do that – Krakauer is clearly on the side of the victims here.  Is it a hit piece?  Some will say so.  The current county attorney is suing over allegations made in the book.  Krakauer is not neutral, but he does appear to be thorough.

                

These are stories of pain, fear, misplaced trust, betrayal and extreme disappointment.  In Krakauer’s mind, the system in Missoula failed in a variety of ways.  The University and the local police for both failed to protect victims.  But Krakauer reserves his harshest judgment for the local county attorney’s office, especially both the former and current county attorneys for failing to pursue justice for women who have been raped.

                

Four things stood out to me as a read this book.  Two of the things Krakauer discusses, the other two are not discussed at all.  First, Krakauer paints a pretty sordid picture of trial lawyers, especially in the context of rape cases.  Both the county attorneys and the private defense lawyers come off pretty badly, especially with regard to the lengths they will go, or not go, to win cases.  I recognize that they are there to win, it is the lack of ethics displayed in the attempt that disturbed me.  The second thing Krakauer brings up is the vehement reaction of Griz nation to the tarnishing of their heroes.  A football player in Missoula is always innocent, no matter what.  A woman accusing a football player in Missoula is always guilty, no matter what.  And the comments that are made, especially on the “anonymous Internet”, curdled my stomach in their hateful surety and lack of compassion.

There are two things Krakauer definitely does not discuss which seem to me to be central to the issue.  Those things are the presence of alcohol and the campus hook-up culture.  I realize he is a liberal, so he cannot go there, but I wish he would have.  The book’s dustjacket states, “College-age women are not raped because they are promiscuous, or drunk, or send mixed signals, or feel guilty about casual sex, or seek attention.”  That statement is correct – these women are raped because of the horrific actions of a predator.  They are victims deserving of compassion.  But know this: every assault portrayed in Krakauer’s book involved alcohol, often to excess, and often involving underage drinkers.  Every assault!  I wonder what removing the alcohol-fueled party scene would do to the incidents of rape in our area?  Krakauer has nothing to say on this topic.  A second topic is related – the casual sex, hook-up culture found on campus.  As a Christian, I believe the Bible lays out the only proper context of sexual activity, and that is marriage.  You can agree with me, or disagree with me, go right ahead.   But the fact is, trouble always follows when sexual activity is let out of the box that God intended it to be practiced in.  Again, what would happen to the rape culture on campus if the casual sex culture, and our wider sex-worshipping culture, was not there?  Mr. Krakauer does not deal with these topics, and I honestly don’t expect him to as they are taboo in liberal circles, but they are part of the problem.

Missoula is a good read.  It is disturbing and powerful.  And as a man with two daughters, including one in college, the topic of campus rape is one that concerns me personally.  I am glad that the Missoula police, the University of Montana, and even the Missoula Country attorney’s offices are making changes.  Let’s hope they are enough to bring justice to victims of these horrible crimes.