The "Wonderful" World Of Sexual Sin...

"Kevin, It was terrible and I just lost another girl I really cared about!" It was the voice of a young man in his late twenties whom I had counseled when he and his wife were in the process of getting a divorce. He had a terrible time with exhibitionism, otherwise known as flashing. He had approached people on a picnic in a park by dropping on the path in front of them from a tree sans his pants. The result was not what he had been led to believe it would be, and his problem finally got him arrested. He was also promiscuous and so his wife was at her wits end and had all of it she could take.

Now, a couple years after his divorce, he was calling me from way across the country with yet another sad tale to tell. He had read in a magazine that it was fun and enhancing to your relationship to "share" your mate with another man. It had backfired on him when his girlfriend told him to go away because she wanted to be with the other guy exclusively. He told me "It wasn't at all like what they described in the magazine, it was horrible!"

Another young man I had counseled first told me that he had witnessed an occultic ritual murder. He then asked if I would be willing to take the ceremonial sword used in that murder. I agreed, took possession of the sword, and immediately called a police detective friend of mine. After it was determined that the sword claim was a phony (that it had not been used in a murder) I confronted the young man. He broke down and told me that he had a problem with compulsive lying. His philosophy seemed to be "why tell the truth if a lie will do?" Upon further counseling with him he explained that he also had a real problem with reality in the reading of hard-core pornography. We prayed together and he committed his life to Christ. He then asked me to take his pornographic collection from him. I did and subsequently burned them.

The phone rang and it was a youth pastor friend. "Kevin could you counsel with a friend of mine who is separated from his wife?" I replied in the affirmative and drove over to meet with this fellow. After he explained that he and his wife had been wife swapping for a couple of years he asked if I would be willing to meet with both of them. There were two kids involved and he said he felt very comfortable talking with me so I agreed. After several more sessions with he and his wife, it became clear that what had happened to them was the confusion that occurs when sex is viewed primarily as recreational pleasure. They had hurt each other and nearly completely ruined the bonding mechanism of sexual union that God had intended for the purpose of uniting them. Their entire relationship had been severely damaged and now their ability to trust was gone.

What all three of these cases have in common is pornography. All types of pornography had been viewed and read by these people at a very young age. The excitement of sex had been seen by them without the teaching that it must be contained within a committed relationship.

Fire can be very comforting, and even fun to play with, as long as it is kept within its proper bounds. Once it leaps out, through ignorance or negligence, it can burn in a vicious manner. So it is with unmarried sex -especially in the modern world with all of its attendant diseases (over 30 STDs) and all the spiritual and emotional emptiness it creates.

The Greek word porneia means "having to do with sexual relations outside of marriage" and is the root word that the English word fornication comes from. Graph refers to drawings, etchings or life-like artistic representations. Thus porn-o-graphy is the life-like representation of sexual relations outside of marriage.

There is a "huge pleasure cult" in the modern world. People are trying to satisfy the thirst for meaning inside of them by pursuing all kinds of pleasures whenever possible. In 2 Timothy chapter three there is a list of many attributes that will characterize the last day's society. One chilling phrase says they will be "...lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God." Sound familiar?

The Cult Of Perversity...

Pornography production and sales in the United States and the western world is a multi-billion dollar a year industry. It has been said to rival McDonalds for the sheer number of outlets it has. In addition to the many magazines and books that are published, there are video tapes and movies sold and broadcast (except in certain states) via satellite and cable. There are two major triple X broadcast companies who run continuous loop advertising taking up several satellite transponder sites. Every conceivable type of perverse and non-perverse sexual behavior is covered legally with the exception of child pornography and ultra-violent sex films. If someone is 18, and willing to be sexually exploited, they can be under Federal law. All of the models/actors/sexual participants appearing in these productions are said to be over this age of consent.

Network television companies and video stores contribute to the wide scale promotion of perversion. There is an open conspiracy of shared values at work in the marketplace. If two people who are nude, not married, and are making love to each other in front of other people represents perversion, then the major movie companies, cable and broadcast networks, as well as the video outlets are all guilty of being accomplices in that perversion.

Birds of a Feather...

There are several levels to this seduction. The first has to do with breaking down the morality of those who only watch broadcast TV by showing people who live together outside of marriage in a positive or affirming light. Sit-coms employ jokes and other humor to soften the viewer to immoral concepts. Mainstream shows such as "NYPD Blue" have broken the old decency barrier by showing unmarried sex, foul language as well as nudity. In some circles this is considered "progress".

Then, as I've said, there is the major motion picture companies that make high budget premier movies. They feature major stars, who are married, in bed nude and making love with other nude stars married to still other people. Everyone holds up the fig leaf of artistic license and that their spouses "understand" 'cause they're in the business too. The message given is that marriage vows are subject to individual interpretation and that there is no negative public stigma attached to acting in an immoral or unfaithful manner. Most married people would consider it a breach of faith if their spouse was found with the neighbor's spouse nude and kissing in the living room let alone on TV in front of millions! Pity the actor's children who see their parents behave this way, and worse yet, have their friends see it!

There is yet another category called "B movies." These feature less well known actors sometimes from "softcore" magazines in more frequent and more revealing clutch fests than their higher paid major star cousins. Of course, the major stars are engaged in roughly the same thing, only with less physical exposure in terms of nude screen time and with more money coming their way. These movies can be found on all of the major cable channels as well as the "mature" or "adult" sections of most local video stores.

It is dumbfounding that these movies are considered "acceptable" by major video and cable outlets when the triple X movies aren't. They deal with the same subject matter only without close ups of engaged genitalia. It is the same difference between soft core and hard core magazines and it is a distinction that only a legalistic Pharisee could truly appreciate. The producers would no doubt argue they are merely responding to an overwhelming market demand. Perhaps they are right. Hypocrites do abound outside of church! Amazing isn't it?

The last category is hard-core (triple X) pornography. This shows all the various sexual couplings known to man in a very explicit way. It has homosexual and heterosexual sex portrayed as well as group sex. There is very little if any, plot and no truly socially redeemable qualities from a Christian perspective.

This "industry" tries to imitate mainstream entertainment and media at every juncture from satellite/cable talk shows to trade magazines to award ceremonies like the oscars and emmys. The danger is that they will eventually achieve the "respectability" or acceptance in the culture they are trying to acquire.

There is a "mainstream" R-rated movie about hard-core sex called "Boogie Nights" starring Burt Reynolds as a pornographer. They have one of the actors say words to the effect that his pornographic performances have improved the sex lives of his fans. This is the last refuge of those seeking to justify this industry. A local purveyor of triple X tapes tried to mask the embarrassing shame of renting these videos by having a sign above the "adult" video room door say "Adult Training Films." The humor, as the argument, is truly weak!

The toll taken on the participants in these movies is horrific. There have been many porn "stars" that have committed suicide. It is my understanding that most are female. I once read that the suicide rate in Sweden soared when the laws were liberalized regarding sexual practices and pornography. When sexual intercourse is reduced to the symbolic significance of a handshake, mankind has lost the means with which to communicate ultimate romantic commitment and love. The result can be deep depression and suicidal despair.

Organized crime has played an enormous role in the hard core sex world. According to the final report of The Attorney General's Commission on Pornography they say "In conclusion, organized crime involvement in pornography...is indeed significant, and there is an obvious national control directly and indirectly by organized crime figures of that industry in the United States. Few pornographers can operate in the United States independently without some involvement with organized crime." (see Page 301 pp. of The Report of The Attorney General's Commission on Pornography Rutledge Hill Press Nashville, TN)

It is common knowledge that organized crime is behind much prostitution. "Prostitution is the foundation upon which pornography is built...pornography cannot exist without prostitution...it is impossible to separate pornography from prostitution. The acts are identical except in pornography there is a permanent record of the woman's abuse" (see Page 296 pp. 6 of The Report of The Attorney General's Commission on Pornography Rutledge Hill Press Nashville, TN).

The Attorney General's report on pornography makes distinctions and subcategories about pornographic or explicit materials regarding their potential danger to society. This may be good to do from a sociological standpoint as not all forms of pornography are violent in the overt sense. However, I believe there is not an ounce of moral difference between all the aforementioned categories because they all miss the point of sexuality as God designed it to be.

Triple X pornographic movies/videos are also very unromantic and "unsexy" because the physical acts are monotonous and devoid of any true human dignity which is the basis of beauty and romance. They usually end with the degradation of a female. Unless one is devoid of compassion, you have to feel sorry for the people who "star" in these productions. In researching this, perhaps the greatest curiosity to me was how these people (some very attractive and seemingly with other alternatives open to them in society) would so degrade themselves in front of an audience of potential millions.

In these productions people are pretending to care about each other when the exact opposite is happening. Animalistic behavior is all you are left with. The marks left on the souls of these people are portrayed in the words of one "actress" when she says, "You never really forget the sex, you forget the movie. There's a lot of movies on the market that are exactly the same". (see Page 238 pp. 9 of The Report of The Attorney General's Commission on Pornography Rutledge Hill Press Nashville, TN)

Some of the so-called "amateur" productions feature married couples and so their apologists would say it does portray real love. This is not the case as someone who really loved you wouldn't want to literally expose you to the gaze of millions (including those who may seek you out to physically hurt you) but would try to protect you from harm. Jeremiah is correct when he said: " A man's heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9) This is an apt description of the heart of someone who doesn't know God and hasn't received the new heart he offers through Jesus (see Ezekiel 11:19; 36:26 and John 3:16)

Still Other Dangerous Points of Contact...

In addition to the above, a plethora of this material is also found on the Internet and in print media. The Internet presence is one of the reasons for this report being on our Website. You may have been brought here by doing a search on the word pornography or sex. There are no "coincidences" when it comes to God. He may be speaking to you right now.

Soft-core pornography, that doesn't show engaged genitalia, is also to be found in some gas stations and some convenience stores. This can allow easy access to young people if strict rules as to who may purchase them aren't rigorously enforced. These magazines are many times the precursor to young men getting involved with other types of obscenity. This came out when Dr. Dobson interviewed Ted Bundy, the serial killer, and he said pornography at an early age had corrupted him. A friend of mine found this type of printed material alongside a rode in an open structure that kids were using in which to meet. He confiscated it and burned it.

(To continue in this series see Covenantal Love)

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