[b]The Erotic vs. the Spiritual[i]by A.W. Tozer
The period in which we now live may well go down in
history as the Erotic Age. Sex love has been elevated
into a cult. Eros has more worshipers among civilized men
today than any other god. For millions the erotic has com-
pletely displaced the spiritual.
\tHow the world got into this state is not difficult to trace.
Contributing factors are the phonograph and radio, which
can spread a love song from coast to coast within a matter
of days; the motion picture and television, which enable a
whole population to feast their eyes on sensuous women
and amorous young men locked in passionate embrace
(and this in the living rooms of “Christian” homes and be-
fore the eyes of innocent children!); shorter working hours
and a multiplicity of mechanical gadgets with the resultant
increased leisure for everyone. Add to these the scores of
shrewdly contrived advertising campaigns which make sex
the not-too-slyly concealed bait to attract buyers for almost
every imaginable product; the degraded columnists who
have consecrated their lives to the task of the publicizing of
soft, slinky nobodies with the faces of angels and the mor-
als of alley cats; conscienceless novelists who win a doubt-
ful fame and grow rich at the inglorious chore of dredging
up literary putridities from the sewers of their souls to pro-
vide entertainment for the masses. These tell us something
about how Eros has achieved his triumph over the civilized
world.
\tNow if this god would let us Christians alone, I for one
would let his cult alone. The whole spongy, fetid mess will
sink someday under its own weight and become excellent
fuel for the fires of hell, a just recompense which is meet,
and it becomes us to feel compassion for those who have
been caught in its tragic collapse. Tears and silence might
be better than words if things were slightly otherwise
than they are. But the cult of Eros is seriously affecting the
Church. The pure religion of Christ that flows like a crystal
river from the heart of God is being polluted by the unclean
waters that trickle from behind the altars of abomination
that appear on every high hill and under every green tree,
from New York to Los Angeles.
The influence of the erotic spirit is felt almost every-
where in evangelical circles. Much of the singing in certain
types of meetings has in it more of romance than it has of
the Holy Ghost. Both words and music are designed to
rouse the libidinous. Christ is courted with a familiarity that
reveals a total ignorance of who He is. It is not the reverent
intimacy of the adoring saint but the impudent familiarity
of the carnal lover.
\tReligious fiction also makes use of sex to interest the
reading public, the paper-thin excuse being that if romance
and religion are woven into a story the average person who
would not read a purely religious book will read the story
and thus be exposed to the gospel. Leaving aside the fact
that most modern religious novelists are home-talent ama-
teurs, scarcely one of whom is capable of writing a single
line of even fair literature, the whole concept behind the
religio-romantic novel is unsound. The libidinous impulses
and the sweet, deep movings of the Holy Spirit are diamet-
rically opposed to each other. The notion that Eros can be
made to serve as an assistant of the Lord of glory is outra-
geous. The “Christian” film that seeks to draw customers
by picturing amorous love scenes in its advertising is com-
pletely false to the religion of Christ. Only the spiritually
blind will be taken in by it.
\tThe current vogue of physical beauty and sparkling
personalities in religious promotion is a further manifesta-
tion of the influence of the romantic spirit in the Church.
The rhythmic sway, the synthetic smile and the too, too
cheerful voice betray the religious worldling. He has
learned his technique from the TV screen but not learned
it well enough to succeed in the professional field, so he
brings his inept production to the holy place and peddles it
to the ailing and undersized Christians who are looking for
something to amuse them while staying within the bounds
of the current religious mores.
\tIf my language should seem severe, let it be remem-
bered that it is not directed at any individual. Toward the
lost world of men I feel only a great compassion and a de-
sire that all should come to repentance. For the Christians
whose vigorous but mistaken leadership has wooed the
modern Church from the altar of Jehovah to the altars of
error, I feel genuine love and sympathy. I want to be the
last to injure them and the first to forgive them, remember-
ing my past sins and my need for mercy, as well as my own
weakness and natural bent toward sin and error. Balaam’s
ass was used of God to rebuke a prophet. It would seem
from this that God does not require perfection in the instru-
ment He uses to warn and exhort His people.
\tWhen God’s sheep are in danger, the shepherd must
not gaze at the stars and meditate on “inspirational” themes.
He is morally obliged to grab his weapon and run to their
defense. When the circumstances call for it, love can use
the sword, though by her nature she would rather bind up
the broken heart and minister to the wounded. It is time for
the prophet and the seer to make themselves heard and felt
again. For the last three decades timidity disguised as hu-
mility has crouched in her corner while the spiritual quality
of evangelical Christianity has become progressively worse
year by year. How long, 0 Lord, how long?