The other end of the spectrum...

I was doing some research for an essay/sermon the other day regarding what the Bible has to say about pornography. I googled terms like "bible pornography" and "christian pornography" as well as used http://www.blueletterbible.org/ to research the roots of some of the words in the bible like adultery and fornication. The greek word "pornea" is translated as fornication, and defined by anything sexually immoral, not just premarital sex.



In my searching, I came across some interesting websites (as you might imagine by googleing porn and christianity in the same search). There were a couple of websites that disturbed me and honestly opened my eyes to a few truths about the world in which we live and about the ugly nature of humanity.



The first website I found was about Christian Domestic Discipline. If you are thinking it sounds like a wife-spanking website, you are right. Husbands: your wives disobey, spank them like a 4 year old in K-Mart. They had scripture references to back up their point of view, which was sad for several reasons. The first, I believe they were taking the scripture to mean something completely different than what it actually meant. Secondly, they were using God's word and God's desire for the order of the family heirarchy or pecking order to give the husband the iron fist with which to rule. Biblically, children answer to mom and dad, mom answers to dad, and they all answer to God so the husband/dad better not abuse his authority and must love and resepect his wife and children as is instructed in God's word. That is very plain in the scripture. But in the Christian Domestic Discipline circles, they twist God's word to give the husband the OK to be a tyrannical brute and if his wife disobeys, she doesn't answer to God, she answers to his belt.



While the Christian Domestic Discipline was both amusing (how can people be so silly) and sad (how mislead and ignorant), the second website I came across truly disturbed me. No, there were no naked pictures of any sort. However, there was what I believe to be a false teaching there that was written in a very compelling manor and if people who read the content aren't spiritually and biblically grounded, they could easily be mislead and end up in a deep pit of shame, guilt, and pornography addiction.



The website I found was propagating Christian pornography. You can order DVDs from the company these people were supporting that showed "tasteful" videos of husbands and wives engaging in sexual activities. They used Song of Solomon as a justification, and because the actors engaging in these sexual activities on video are husband and wife couples, it's ok to watch. According to the website, Christian pornography is to educate Christians by example in how to have better sex.



The scary thing is, this article was well written and compelling. It caused me to stop, think, and question everything I've always been taught. The conclusion I reached is much, much different from the one thy were teaching from their website. I believe pornography, regardless of its form or how it is justified, is a sin. Pornography is a sin. It rips apart marriages, destroys families, and enslaves men and women (oh yeah...women look at porn too).



You may say "Alcoholism does the same thing, but moderate consumption of alcohol is not a sin. So wouldn't pornography be ok as long as it doesn't become bondage and it doesn't negatively affect a marriage?" These are two very, very different issues. I believe the moderate consumption of alcohol is a matter of personal liberty. It falls under "seek out your soul's salvation with fear and trembling." For some, alcohol is a stumblingblock because of a former lifestyle or an inability to control themselves, and should therefore be avoided. For others, alcohol is a liberty that can be enjoyed because it can be controlled and because it does not cause sin in that believers life.



As a sidenote to that, believers who feel and partake of that liberty must be careful not to be a stumblingblock to others. That is not to say we shouldn't have liberty at all because of the "perpetually offended" brothers and sisters in Christ. Rather we need to be cautious of the people we share that liberty with. For instance an immature, underaged person who by drinking may not be mature enough to control themselves and would be breaking the law of the land which is a sin against God's commandment, or an alcoholic who could stumble and fall back into sin, addiction, and bondage because of a liberty you feel in Christ.



Back to the porn (there's a sentence I never thought I'd say!), it does not fall under the "seek out your soul's salvation" category. The Bible is abundantly clear regarding sexual immorality. It is a sin. Period. Watching pornography feeds the lust of the flesh, and that lust is sin and it brings more sin with it. I think the only way God could be more plain about it is if he added a book to the Bible called "Thou Shalt Not Watch" and then named off each porn title he didn't want you to see. "Thou shalt not watch Dr. Do-me-a-little. Thou shalt not look at Busty Babes Magazine." You get my drift.



The larger truth these websites opened my eyes to is the sad fact that people will interpret scripture to mean literally almost anything. On one end of the spectrum, you have the spiritual teetotalers who while acknowledging and putting faith in the redemptive work of Christ, still hold fast to the letter of the law and use the scriptures to actually add to that law more laws that God never intended His word to mean. On the opposite end of the spectrum there are people who justify all the deeds and lusts of the flesh by twisting scripture and inserting their own interpretations. Both are wrong but I don't think both are necessarily as damaging to the body of Christ.



If you didn't know the word of God and weren't grounded spiritually, it would be very easy to read some of the things I read this week and say "Wow. That makes a lot of sense. The bible says it's ok for me to spank my wife and watch "Christian" porn." That is why it is so extremely important to not just read God's word, but to study it. http://www.blueletterbible.org/ is a tremendous resource for seeking out God's word. It has the scriptures in several different translations as well as a Greek and Hebrew word dictionary so you can read what the scripture originally said before translation and read the definitions of the words in their original language. It also has commentaries from other authors, including Matthew Henry, which helps put the correct light on God's word, allowing you to understand what the Bible means and not just go off of what the Bible says. 2 Timothy 2:15 tells us to study to show ourselves approved, workers that don't need to be ashamed, correctly and directly teaching the word of truth, God's word.