The next nine blogs are taken from a talk given by John F. Kippley (Dec. 4, 2010) at a Men’s Retreat sponsored by Presentation Ministries founded by Fr. Al Lauer.
Scripture: Preach the word, be urgent in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, and exhort, be unfailing in patience and in teaching. –2 Timothy 4:2
In that passage, St. Paul is urging Timothy to exercise his prophetic ministry. The passage continues: “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teacher to suit their own likings, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander into myths.”
The question is this: Are we living in that time predicted by St. Paul? I am not suggesting that our time is the only such time between the first century and the present, but it certainly seems that we are living in such a time. We live at a time when certain myths regarding marriage and sexuality have crowded out the truth. For Christianity as a whole, the reign of the false prophets started 80 years ago when the Church of England first accepted marital contraception. The majority of the Anglican bishops bought into the myth that unlimited sex and very small families would produce marital happiness and stability. It sounds practical, but it hasn’t worked out that way. The divorce rate in the United States has risen 500% since Margaret Sanger began her public advocacy of contraception just before World War I.
For the Catholic world, the reign of the false prophets began with the rejection of Humanae Vitae in 1968, some 42 years ago.
John F. Kippley
Sex and the Marriage Covenant