In my Christian experience, I’ve heard much about the danger of the mind. Books have been written (think Joyce Meyer’s Battlefield of the Mind), sermons have been preached and it wouldn’t surprise me if demons of “book larnin’” have been cast out. The mind, it is taught, is the barrier to understanding God, accepting Him, worshiping Him.

The problem is, that even a quick perusal of scripture would indicate that the mind is not the problem—in fact, the mind is often what we are encouraged to engage in our contemplation of God, our study of His Word and remembrance of His laws. The problem is not the mind, it is the heart—specifically the unregenerate heart.

Simply put, my mind is a slave to my heart. Where my heart goes, my mind will follow.

I ignore evidence of the Creator—even as it is clear in the fingerprints of science, mathematics and astronomy—not because my mind isn’t functioning, but because my heart is darkened, and this depravity of heart causes my mind to ignore the obvious. “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God’” (Psalm 14:1).

Inversely, when my heart is transformed, my mind sees God everywhere. It becomes a tool in the hands of God for helping me to understand His Word, defend His truth, explore His world. My mind is renewed, not apart from, but because of the new heart God gives me.

“Everyone in a relationship wrestles at some point with an eternal question: can one person really satisfy every need?” So says Newsweek‘s Jessica Bennett in a recent article on polyamory.

I have to agree, and with the proponents of polyamory interviewed in the article, I concur that the practice is natural. It is as natural as sailors stranded on a lifeboat for weeks plunging their faces over the side to drink their fill of saltwater. Anyone seeking satisfaction in human relationships is seeking a truly noble thing. The logic is seemingly solid: If I can find pleasure in the companionship of one person, that pleasure would be multiplied by multiplying the number of people with whom I’m enjoying that pleasure. It’s a no-brainer.

The problem is that these seekers will always come up empty. They are carnivores at a salad bar. We were not created for each other. We were created for God, and we will only find satisfaction in the One for whom we were made.

“Thou hast made us for Thyself O God, and the heart of man is restless until it finds its rest in Thee.” – Augustine

I’d love to hear some of the Christian culture warriors respond to the trend of polyamory with this angle. I think it would throw the media a curveball.

Explaining why Moses permitted divorce, Jesus said it was “because of the hardness of your hearts” (Mark 10:5). Some scholars argue that Moses allowed divorce to protect women (Deuteronomy 24). In other words, if a man kicked his wife out without divorcing her, she would not be able to remarry—leaving her destitute. Simply put, although divorce is condemned as sin in scripture, the Mosaic law provides specific instructions as to how it should be carried out.

I have mixed feelings about abortion reduction strategies—in the same way I would have had mixed feelings about slavery reduction legislation in the 1860s, partial women’s suffrage in the 1910s, lynching reduction plans in the 1940s. It feels like halfhearted justice to me.

In spite of the author’s obvious bias, this Slate article on a new abortion reduction bill is informative. However, there is a stumbling block in this bill that has tripped up many conservatives: contraception. The bill explicitly requires grantees to “encourage teens to delay sexual activity.” But because it also requires grantees to provide “information about the risks and benefits of all contraceptives”, it is anathema to conservatives. I think the concern is that teens will have more sex if they have access to contraceptives, and distributing contraceptives is an implied approval of premarital sex.

My question is this: If Moses were alive today in our postmodern secular culture …

• … would he approve of the distribution of contraceptives if it were proven that it resulted in fewer abortions …
• … would he support laws that limit access to abortion without outlawing it altogether …
• … would he approve of some type of non-marital legal status for homosexual couples …
• … would he approve of laws to govern the distribution of substances that may be abused and destroy lives and families …

… because of the hardness of our hearts?

I don’t know where I stand on these questions, and there is not much of a parallel between the theocracy of ancient Israel and the democracy of modern America. But it’s worth considering how the law of God is intended to address the inevitability of human sin.