“Relevance” and Faith

by   Mona Charen                                                                                                                                               Vol. IV, No. 5, July 1991

[Following is a portion of a column by Mona Charen, a nationally syndicated columnist. In the first portion (omitted here) Charen discusses the Presbyterian report on sexuality (recently rejected). She then concludes as below.]

But here's the real point: The churches make a fatal error when they assume that in order to staunch the hemorrhaging of members (the Presbyterian Church has lost 1 million adherents in the past 20 years), they must sex up their message.

People don't leave churches because the rules are too strict. They both need and expect those standards to remain firm. Particularly in a fast-paced, transient society, only a church that remains true to its principles can provide solace and meaning for people's lives.

The reason people are leaving the churches in droves is precisely because of reports like this one. The mainline Protestant churches, reform Judaism, and liberal Catholicism have all attempted to transcend the merely religious role of their churches to become politically "relevant." On the way, they've reinterpreted the Ten Commandments as the Ten Suggestions.

But as libertines, churchmen can never compete with the pros. Why do we need Presbyterian advice on "Human Sexuality" when we've already got the Playboy philosopher? The sad part is that if these trends continue, and the churches contort themselves beyond recognition in pursuit of elusive "relevance," there will someday be no standards left to repair to when the society at large has tired of license.