Laws Publishing

PORNOGRAPHY AND ITS AFFIRMATIVE

ARGUMENTS EXPOSED

JIM LAWS

The term "pornography" has become a household word in our modern culture. Originally the term came to us from two Greek terms both of which are found in the Greek New Testament. The first half of "pornography" is from porneia and refers to those guilty of illicit sexual behavior (see 1 Cor. 5:9, 10; Eph. 5:5; Rev. 21:8). The second half of "pornography" is from graphein, which means "to write." Pornography, therefore, has come to mean the depiction of erotic behavior in words or pictures in such a way as to cause sexual excitement or encourage sexual immorality. This brief research will use this as a working definition of the term. Such materials today, however, are not limited to written form, but have been expanded to encourage indecent, lewd behavior in a variety of ways. Pornographic material may be either in written form such as magazines, books, or tabloid type materials, and they are visually presented by means of television, movies, or heard audibly. Consequently, any type of material that is sexually explicit and fosters desires, which can not lawfully be fulfilled, is to be considered pornographic. It is virtually impossible for anyone living in this modern day and time to escape both the appearance of such sinful materials, as well as, their influence. It is obvious that such constitutes a challenge to the Christian who desires to live the life set forth by Christ, the inspired apostles, and the other writers of the New Testament. What is the Christian response to be in light of the present flood of pornographic material all around us?

First, the research will present the biblical view pertaining to such material. Second, it will give and briefly expose the popular arguments being offered in behalf of such material. Third, in light of the findings of the research, it will suggest what the faithful Christian’s response should be. Obviously, with the limited nature of the size of this assignment, only a brief analysis of these matters can be given.

There are a number of important Bible principles that need to be set forth and understood, when discussing such a topic as this one. First, since it is the case that God created man free to make moral and ethical decisions, it, also, follows that God holds man morally and ethically responsible for the decisions that he makes. Second, God holds man morally responsible not only for what he does but for what he thinks. God has always been concerned about the heart of man. This is true both for the individual living under the Old Testament law (Ps. 9:1; 19:14; 24:4; 36:10), as well as, the individual living under the New Testament law. For instance, man is to "trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding" (Prov. 3:5). "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life" (Prov. 4:23). On the other hand God condemns the one who fails to keep his heart pure. One of the very things God hates is a heart that deviseth wicked imaginations (Prov. 6:18). So crucial is the matter of having and maintaining a pure heart and mind that God explains that the heart of man, the seat of his emotions, is what he is spiritually, "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he" (Prov. 23:7). The New Testament is also equally clear in this matter of having and maintaining a pure heart before God. Phillipians 4:8 states, "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."

Consider 1 Timothy 6:11, "But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Titus 2:12 states, "Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world." God truly knows our hearts (Luke 16:15; Acts 1:24). In addition to this, the importance of keeping one’s heart pure is seen from the fact that the Bible explicitly condemns sins relating to the heart. For instance, the sin of lust is an unlawful desire for anything, but particularly unlawful sexual desire. Jesus said, "Whoever looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart" (Matt. 5:28). The wise man, Solomon, instructed his son not to lust after the beauty of an evil woman in his heart" (Prov. 6:25). Third, one must always remember that the Bible teaches the principle of sowing and reaping, that is, one will reap what he sows (Gal. 6:7-8). If one lives a life of sin, which would include thinking that which is impure and unbecoming to a Christian, he naturally will reap such a harvest due to his sin. "Can a man take fire to his bosom and his clothes not be burned? Can one walk on coals and his feet not be seared?" (Prov. 6:27-28). One cannot be guilty of the sin of lust, i.e., failing to control his heart and his mind without suffering both in this life, as well as, in the life to come. To view that which is sexually explicit, that is, pornographic material, is to be guilty of the sin of lust, which the child of God is expressly forbidden to do: "make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts" (Rom. 13:14).

However, even though this may be the biblical view toward such material and the personal viewing of it, there are arguments offered by its advocates in the defense of pornography. One of the arguments used in the defense of pornographic materials, either by the printed page, or the television or movie screen, is the argument which says, "If you have an objection at looking or watching such, then just don’t watch it." Sometimes the argument goes this way: "If it offends you, don’t buy it." However, this "just turn the knob" argument fails in that it does not take into account the fact, even though I turn the knob off or refuse to buy pornographic material, that does not mean my neighbor refused to do so. It does not mean many others in the community refused to do so, either. Whether you buy it or not, you will be greatly affected by those who do. The advocates of pornographic material fail to take into consideration the fact that those who do buy such materials contribute to the degradation of the moral environment in which you and your family live. Everyone understands that, even if I decide not to run a smelter, I am still affected, if someone else decides to run one nearby. When the Christian complains about the violence and pornography that is to be found in our culture today, he hears the response, "Just hit the remote control and change channels on your TV set." However, my family and I are affected by those who do not "change the channel." What they are saying is, "If you don’t like the popular culture then turn it off," but that is like saying, "if you don’t like the smog, then just stop breathing the air." The pornography around us effects our environment whether we like it or not. Our kids know who and what Madonna is, and there is nothing we can do to stop that. Yes, we must teach our children God’s Word and prepare them to make the right decisions in life, but that is another issue. The point at the present is the effect that sin has on our nation. Can there be any doubt that, as the culture continues to ingest a steady diet of pornographic material coming from a variety of sources, it will only naturally affect attitudes about marriage, fidelity, divorce, obligations to children, the use of force, and permissible public behavior and language? Naturally, these elements will change. With the changes in attitude there will come changes in behavior, both public and private. We have seen these changes already in our culture, and changes will continue. Sin is a moral sickness to any nation; it has its degenerative effect on the land. Indeed, sin is a reproach to any people (Prov. 14:34).

A second argument, which is used to promote pornographic materials, is the appeal to personal rights. Modern liberals employ great articulation regarding "rights" endlessly. The effect of this is twofold. First, it further reduces any restraints upon the individual to clamor about "rights" being violated, and second, it generally brings to an end any further discussion to the subject of what the moral and ethical behavior of the community ought to be, as individual "rights" have somehow taken on a degree of sacredness. This means that the community has grown to hold individual rights to such a high degree that they are not to be violated no matter what. Therefore, they reason that it is the individuals right to view whatever he wants, say whatever he wants, and just about do whatever he wants. Modernism argues that one should be able to see whatever one wants to see, but by that same logic could we not say that one should be able to do whatever one sees? That is not far from what is happening in our culture today. No one is suggesting that everyone who views or hears pornography is going to act out his fantasies, but it is being blind to say that no one will. One rape, one child molestation, one child kidnapping, is one too many and is not worth the thousands of such scenes being watched on the screen. This sin of pornography is a sickness to the land, that is to say, it pollutes and degrades the moral climate in which we must live.

The truth of the matter is no one has the right to do what is wrong. The rights of the individual are not absolute, if we are to have anything that resembles an orderly and meaningful community in which to live. To fail to recognize this necessarily leads one down the path to hedonism, where there is no control whatsoever. The lowest ebb in Israel’s history was during the days of the Judges when each man did what was right in his own eyes (Judges 27:6). Human nature being as it is (free to choose between good and evil), man will always seek a path that leads downward morally. He must be guided by an objective standard of authority. The only true objective standard for man to follow is the Word of God, the Bible. For our society to fail to follow God’s Word will inevitably lead to a disorderly, hedonistic, and dangerous society. When man legislates and protects the individual to do wickedly, society as a whole will suffer.

The faithful Christian response to pornography is plainly set forth in the scripture. Paul instructed the Romans to "make no provision for the flesh to fulfill it lusts" (Rom. 13:14). He told Timothy to "flee youthful lusts" (2 Tim. 2:22), and he told Titus that God’s grace teaches us to deny "ungodliness and worldly lusts which war against the soul" (1 Peter 2:11). Therefore, the proper Christian response to pornography is to "abstain from," "flee," "deny," and "make no provision to fulfill" lust. What this means is that God expects His people to refuse to view movies, whether they be in the theater or on the television screen, which are pornographic in nature. This would include refusing to watch the VCR tape that is unfit to watch. We will censor the material our children watch, listen to, and read. However, in addition to monitoring what we view and read, we will actively stand up for what is morally good and refuse to be silent. We can not afford to remain silent about such moral and ethical issues just such as this is. We must continue to press and challenge the liberal worldly mind set, which wants to deify human rights at the expense of human souls. May our voices be heard in the pulpits, over such mediums as radio and television, as well as, the printed page that God does exist, that he has communicated his divine will to man, and that will is the Bible. May we continue to challenge the worldly mind set that there is an objective standard of right and wrong and that any view which would fail to recognize such is but pure subjectivism; a false philosophical view. We have the truth, let us not be afraid to use it in refuting every false way of man.

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