Some of you are angry, ‘Why did you bring Ravi and Robert into one video? Ravi and Robert. That sounds rhythmical. I will be honest with you. When I heard the breaking news, massacre at massage centers in Atlanta, I thought of Ravi. That happened to many of you. I made the video on Friday. Saturday morning New York Times published an article in which Robert Long and Ravi Zacharias were brought together. You are angry at me. Are you going to be angry at the New York Times? Do they care? We should have a honest discussion. That is why this video. Enjoy.
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This weekend, we found ourselves in a painful predicament. Robert Long, a 21 year-old young Christian male went and killed 8 individuals working at 3 different spas near Atlanta, Georgia. Six of his 8 victims were Asian women. Atlanta and massage centers….someone told me when I heard those words….Atlanta and massage centers…I thought of Ravi Zacharias. Another person asked me, Robert Long, Ravi Zacharias…these are professed Christians. They were active in ministry. Why were they visiting massage centers? Some psychologists said both men have ‘sexual addiction’. If for the grace of God, any of us could become like that. They needed help. They should have asked for help. I think that is not the issue here. There is a deeper problem and that is what I would like to discuss in today’s message.
Robert Long is a practising Christian, active in a good Baptist church. He told the police, ‘I killed them because I wanted to eradicate the ‘temptation’. My problem is ‘sexual addiction’. He visited those spas many times before, he used those women for his sexual gratification and he mercilessly killed them. My problem is ‘addiction’ and I blame them for it, they are responsible for feeding it and they should be punished for it. In the Bible, my problem is ‘sin’ and ‘I am responsible for it’. Now, many Christians believe my problem is ‘addiction’ and ‘others are responsible for it’.
When confronted with his sexting with Lori Anne Thompson, Ravi said, ‘this is extortion. She is coming after my money’. He never said, ‘I sinned before God. I am responsible for it.’ He said, ‘this is extortion, I am the victim’. In the same way, Lori Anne Thompson said, ‘Ravi groomed me. I am the victim here’. She did not say, ‘I sinned against God and my husband’. Sin disappeared from Christian vocabulary.
In Genesis chapter 39, we find Joseph in Egypt. He was working in Potiphar’s house as a manager. Potiphar’s wife lusts after him and tries to seduce him. Joseph rebukes her, ‘I am not doing this. This is a sin against God and your husband’. Joseph exhibited self-restraint. He did not indulge in sin. He could have rationalized if he wanted to, but he did not.
We lost the sense of sin and of accountability to God. We adopted secular terms like addiction, relapse and remission. Robert Long said, ‘I relapsed and visited the massage center again’. It goes back to the Garden of Eden. God asked Adam, ‘Did you eat any fruit from that tree in the middle of the garden?’ Adam replied, ‘It was the woman you put here with me. She gave me some of the fruit, and I ate it.’ Adam blamed the woman for his sin. He did not take responsibility. Robert Long blamed the women for his sin. He did not own it.
He is a Christian. He should know better. Why is he blaming others for his sins? Over the last 100 years or so, so much secular psychology made its way into the Christian churches and seminaries. There is a war of the worldviews. But we did not take it seriously.
Some people are blaming the women Robert Long killed. They are dehumanizing the victims and victimizing the killers. In 1925, n the famous Scopes Trial, Clarence Darrow argued with William Jennings Bryan. Clarence Darrow was a staunch Darwinian materialist. He believed that as evolved beings our behavior is determined by nature. A year before, on May 21, 1924 two teenagers, 18 year-old Richard Loeb and 19 year-old Nathan Leopold brutally murdered 14 year-old Bobby Franks. This crime happened in a rich Jewish neighborhood in Chicago. They stripped the little boy naked, poured hydrochloric acid over his face and body and burnt him alive. It became a sensational murder. Crime of the century. The two teenagers were charged with murder and went to the trial, labeled the trial of the century. The most famous attorney in America, Clarence Darrow came as the defense counsel. Both killers were admirers of German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. Sigmund Freund was called to defend the killers but his poor health prevented him.
In the trial, Clarence Darrow made a strong case that the teenagers had no free moral will. Their problem is a mental disease. Not a moral failure. Darrow looked at the judge and said, “Nature is strong and she is pitiless. She works in mysterious ways, and we are her victims. We have not much to do with it ourselves. Nature takes this job in hand, and we only play our parts”
So, nature is strong and pitiless. It works in mysterious ways, and we are her victims.
These killers have no free will. They are determined. That is the central claim of modern psychology.
Darwin, Nietzsche and Freud – they are the trinity of this secular psychology Darwin said, we are undesigned products of evolution driven by blind mutations Nietzsche said, there is no objective morality Frued said, there are no moral choices, only mental fluctuations. Even Murders and rapes are seen as mental health problems. After medical school, I did a one year internship in Psychiatry in a hospital in New York City. I worked under Dr.Brian Ladds, a prominent professor in Psychiatry. He told me that modern psychiatry is built upon Darwinism. There is no God, no angels, no Satan, no demons, no objective moral values, no soul, no free will. Sexual abuse is also a mental health problem.
Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was accused of abusing young girls. As his crimes started to surface, he went for ‘treatment’ in a mental health clinic. Kevin Spacey was accused of molesting teenage boys. As his crimes started to surface, he went for ‘treatment’ in a mental health clinic. Our culture seeped in the view that sexual sins like serial cheating, pornography as psychological problem, mental problems, not moral problems. We dance to our DNA and harp on our hormones.
We brought this secular psychology into Christian churches and seminaries. Robert Long told the police that he killed the Korean women because of ‘sexual addiction’. Note that term – sexual addiction. It is interesting to note
The concept of sexual addiction is neither biblical nor secular. In the Bible there is no such thing as sexual addiction. There are sexual sins. There are no sexual addictions. In the secular world, there is nothing called ‘sexual addiction’. That is why the New York Times mocking Christians. There is nothing addictive about satisfying your sexual desires if you find willing partners. If you find 100 willing partners over next 100 days, go for it. There is nothing addictive about it. That is how the secular world things. Pornography is moral term. It came from the Greek word ‘pornea’ which means ‘fornication’. So, they changed the vocabulary. Pornography became adult films. They changed ‘prostitute’ to ‘sex worker’, ‘sodomy’ to ‘gay’. There is nothing addictive about your sexuality. They don’t believe in sexual addiction. So, sexual addiction is neither biblical nor secular. It was made up by so-called ‘Christian psychologists’.
In the Bible, God exposes your sin, you take responsibility for it, you confess it, you ask God to get victory over sin, you use the Word of God, and prayer and fellowship with the Holy Spirit to conquer sin. But Christian psychologists removed the word sin and brought in the word ‘addiction’. Behaviors we called sins became addictions. Moral problems became mental health problems. God, Bible study, self-control, fasting and prayer are gone. Now, you need Christian counseling. You are a victim of external forces and you need external help.
Robert Long’s behavior. Ravi Zacharias behavior. Christian psychologists called it ‘sexual addiction’. That is not right. ‘Addiction’ implies a mental disorder. It blames external factors, it never takes personal accountability. We should bring back the word ‘Sin’ into our vocabulary.
Samson repeatedly went after women..God did not call it addiction. He called it sin.
David repeatedly went after women..God did not call it addiction. He called it sin.
Solomon repeatedly went after women..God did not call it addiction. He called it sin.
Jezebel repeatedly went after men..God did not call it addiction. He called it.
Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 7:9
if they cannot contain themselves, let them marry; for it is better to marry than to burn. God wants you to live like Joseph when you are single. If you cannot contain yourself, you should get married.. It is better to marry than to burn. Robert Long should have lived like Joseph. He did not. He should have married someone rather than visiting massage centers and abusing those women.
Apostle Paul also has a word for Ravi. Let us see verse 5.
Defraud ye not one the other, unless it be with consent for a time only, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not through your lack of self restraint. 1 Corinthians 7:5
Take a break from your spouse if needed for fasting and prayer. Satan will tempt you in your loneliness. Exercise self-restraint. If you can’t, go back to your spouse. Ravi was away from his family 200 days a year. Satan tempted him in his loneliness. He did not show self-restraint. He should have gone back to his family. He did not. Rather he checked into massage centers. He started his own massage centers. Ravi will go down in history as the only preacher who started his massage centers. When I first heard about it, I did not even believe it, and you know how it all ended.
So, both Robert Long and Ravi did not obey the Word of God written here in 1 Corinthians chapter 7. So, we should call that ‘sin’. Not addiction. Our Christian psychologists made a big mess by bringing in secular psychology into the church. They say it is not sin. It is an addiction. You have no control. You need others to help you. Come to my counseling. Buy my book. Buy my software. Buy my app.
Robert Long was taught the same falsehood. He acted on those ideas and killed innocent people. He represents one of the millions of Christians drinking the kool-aid of secular psychology masquerading as ‘Christian counseling’. That is not the right path to victory. We should spend more time studying the Word of God, fasting and praying, submitting our desires to the Holy Spirit, exercising self-restraint.
Apostle Paul wrote, But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection (1 Corinthians 9:27). Paul tells us that we are responsible to keep our bodies under subjection, our desires under subjection. We cannot blame others.
Thank you. That is for today. Please visit us www.doctorpaul.org. Leave us your comments. Don’t forget to like our videos and subscribe to our channel. May God richly bless you.