A Few Brief Thoughts on Locker Room Talk

I don't want this to be a political post. The recent flap about Donald Trump is not the end goal of this post. I wasn't voting for Trump before the recent recording flap. I am not voting for Clinton after the recording flap. I just want to offer a few brief thoughts.

That men share their sexual experiences with one another might rightly be labeled "locker room talk." This should not be considered okay or acceptable among Christians. It is used solely to puff one's ego up in the room and, conversely in many cases, to lower the value of another person. This is a direct violation of the commandment to "not bear false witness." The commandment is not concerned only with lying but as Calvin wrote,

"It forbids us to think evil of our eighbors, and to indulge any propensity to defame them. And on the other hand, God commands us to be endowed with equity and humanity, that we may be studious to think well of them as far as the truth will permit; and to preserve our estimation of them entire." (Q212, Geneva Catechism)

It is entirely beyond the realm of Christian ethics to condone the verbal communication of sexual experience. What Donald Trump says goes beyond this. He described sexual "encounters" that were unwanted advances. “I moved on her like a bitch, but I couldn’t get there." "I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait.” "Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything."

These are not depictions of a consensual encounter, but of a man making advances at women at most "accommodating-ignoring" the disgusting nature of the man's advancements. For those who have experienced these encounters, they know how terrifying and gross it is to experience. For any individual to defend such talk is basically to affirm that these advances were okay. The fact of the matter is that these depictions are not even on par with the "locker room" demographic that is being treated as holy ground. They are worse. And we should not quit denouncing them as the filth that they are.

All individuals should be denouncing this behavior. But some Christians have taken it upon themselves to be critical of supposed hypocritical behavior of our culture over their response. Yes, our culture has a porn problem. Yes, we have a casual TV smut problem. Yes, there is a meme about 50 Shades of Grey. What does it prove that the world is responding to Trump this way? That many of them are confused sinners who still retain the image of God and the law written on their heart (Rom 2:15). Is it some kind of moral victory to point out that they are inadvertently — and only by the grace of God — declaring what is morally correct?

That Christian men and women have attempted to defend Trump by pointing at Bill Clinton (whose actions were deplorable) or the common filth of our culture only serves to show which idol we are bowing down to. We should be saying, "yes, you are correct. Let us show you why you believe this way." Instead, we are mocking and being critical of perhaps the last workings of common grace in our culture. This should not be so. So please shut up.