THE PORN PROBLEM

(It’s Not What You Think!)

Defining the Problem

The word pornography comes from the Greek word “porneo,” usually translated as sexual immorality. It refers to all sexual sins. A more specified approach can be found in Leviticus 19 where the Law prohibits everything from homosexual sex to incest and other perversions of the sexual impulse. Adultery entered as a particularly egregious form of sexual immorality in the Ten Commandments (#7), furthermore, sex outside of marriage has always been part of the biblical idea of sexual immorality. However, our language has co-opted “porneo” by using it to mean only written and visual material explicitly showing sex acts.

The connection between the biblical definition of sexual immorality and modern pornography masks a deep and important difference. The Bible’s idea of sexual immorality reaches beyond modern definitions of pornography. As mentioned above, God defines sexual immorality more strictly than most of us do. The Porn Problem isn’t just pornography as we know it. Pornography is the natural outcome of unrestrained sexual immorality, but we should not deceive ourselves into thinking that because we avoid pornography, we have avoided sexual immorality.

Lists of sins populate several books in the New Testament. Sexual immorality occurs high on those lists (Mark 7:21; Colossians 3:5; Ephesians 5:3). Furthermore, in the first century when a controversy arose over what to expect of the Gentiles who converted from paganism to Christianity, among the things the early council of Christian leaders emphasized was that they should abstain from sexuality immorality (Acts 15:20, 29).

The Callous and the Slave

Two unseen things happen to someone who continually gives in to sexual temptations. First, his heart becomes callous and hardened to it. The result is that people give “themselves over to promiscuity for the practice of every kind of impurity with a desire for more and more.” (Ephesians 4:19) We don’t even need the Bible’s description to see this in practice. People involved in it never have enough, and they have a hard time seeing, much less avoiding, the problem.

Second, what feels like freedom is actually slavery. The impulse of such a strong desire is one some people keep giving in to. Unless and until they see the destruction it causes in their lives and the lives of others, some of whom are their victims, they will continue to pursue it. Passions have a way of enslaving people: anyone who has sought to release the grip of modern pornography won’t argue with this.

The Offence of Purity

Sexual self-control goes against the mores of today’s culture. I expect the upcoming Grammy awards will be a three-ring circus of sexually suggestive movement and revealing costumes. Rather than submit to a purity ethic and despite the damage done to the victims of those who give free reign to their impulses, society generally follows the path of least resistance. Too many people refuse to see the dark side of promiscuity.

The early church endured the slander of those who mocked Christian purity standards. Peter recognized this when he saw Christians being mocked for not joining their neighbors in orgies and carousing (1 Peter 4:3). Purity was an offense because it defied the customs of a debauched society. It still gives offense, and the slander today still takes the form of mockery.

Sexual purity has always been an object of scorn. The Porn Problem runs deep in our sinful impulses. God created the sex act, but human sin has left it tainted, abused, and misunderstood. It is to our benefit as individuals and as a society to understand the seriousness of the Porn Problem but also to see our rightly-ordered sexual desires as a sacred gift designed by God. We must find a way to enjoy the gift without abusing it. God doesn’t take kindly to abusing His gifts.