Are pornography and Christianity mutually exclusive?

Answer 1

Like all philosophical questions, the answer depends on your definitions. If a Christian is simply someone who believes that Jesus was the son of God and has faith that his death on the cross opens a path to spiritual salvation, then there is no necessary conflict with pornography. This sort of belief in Jesus, however, is typically accompanied by an additional belief in the Bible as being the Word of God. But notice that this is a distinct belief. It is perfectly possible (and possibly even rational), to believe in Jesus as one’s spiritual savior, but not believe in the Bible as the infallible or literal word of God. If I were to call myself a Christian, this is the sort of Christian I would have to be.

Most people look to the Bible as their basis for opposing porn because according to the writers of the Bible, Jesus said that lust is a sin. I’m not convinced that this issue is as simple as most Christians assume it is. Most spiritual leaders claim that a strong desire to possess worldly wealth, power, and pleasure hinders one’s search for spiritual meaning. Along these lines, a reckless desire to possess a person or use her body for your own pleasure without any regard for her well-being is a distraction from your spiritual path, and I suspect that as a spiritual guide, Jesus would have to agree with this. But finding joy and arousal in the erotic power of the human body, even in the form of hard core porn, is not necessarily the same as greedy possessiveness.

The root problem with greed and possessiveness is that we become so focused on – or addicted to – the objects of our desire that we loose sight of the mystery and wonder of life; we lose our ability to live our lives in a full and multidimensional way. We lose our capacity for spiritual growth and self-knowledge. To the extent that pornography affects you in this way, then any good spiritual guide would have to say that porn is bad for you. But do sexually explicit forms of entertainment necessarily have to incite such greedy, obsessive reactions? No. In fact a great many people live happy, healthy, well-rounded lives, while still enjoying porn. The key is to understand that erotic desire is not contrary to spiritual life, but is instead a valuable component of it. If you can appreciate the joy of erotic desire without becoming so obsessed that you lose sight of the mystery and wonder of life, then porn can be a form of innocent entertainment, and for truly holistic souls it can actually become an important part one’s spiritual path.

Erotic desire is NOT some evil trick perpetuated by the devil in an attempt to lead your soul away from God. On the contrary, erotic desire is as powerful as it is precisely because it is a form of emotion that stems from very close to the divine, creative source of all Being. Contrary to most mundane forms of Christian belief, erotic desire is a key piece in the puzzle that leads us to live as fully and as meaningfully as we can. Like any power close to the source of Being, erotic desire can be misunderstood by weak and confused souls, causing them to lose sight of their true selves, but with just a bit of thoughtfulness and a willingness to live beyond the shallow surface of life, erotic desire – and yes, even porn – can become a part of one’s path to enlightenment and divine grace.

This way of thinking is NOT anti-Christian, although a great many people stuck in the ruts of tradition will automatically assume that it is. Christianity is not a dogmatic adherence to an ancient book, but a living spiritual quest following the example of Jesus. And what example did Jesus provide? He thought for himself. He preached from the Old Testament, but did not confine himself to it. He transformed the traditions of his day in accordance with the inner light of his own being. True Christians today would be wise to take note of his example. Don’t mindlessly follow Christ, or anyone else, but rather, grapple with the mysteries and meanings of your life. Neither pain nor pleasure is inherently bad; they are each, in their own way, beacons pointing to a richer and more meaningful existence.

Porn is an expression of erotic life. Some porn is the result of exploitation, but most is produced by people who just like to have some fun and make a bit of money while they are at it. This sort of entertainment is not necessarily anti-Christian, or anti-spiritual. Each person has to find their own path, and determine for themselves whether erotic entertainment nurtures or poisons their soul, just like everyone has to decide for themselves what sort of music they like, what sort of food is good or bad for them, and so on. What clearly is poisonous to the human spirit is an oppressive society that takes upon itself a holier-than-thou attitude and tries to force all of its members onto a single path. I suspect that Jesus understood this, which is why he consistently focused on divine law, rather than human law, human tradition, etc. The point is not that human traditions are bad, but rather, that they are of transient and limited value in the big picture. Divine law does not come in the form of commandments on a tablet or scrabbling on ancient papyrus. Divine law is the movement of the spirit within each individual – calling each individual to consciously and fully confront the joys, sorrows, pleasures, pains, wonders, and mysteries of sentient existence. This sort of law can never be codified or dictated, but can only be experienced in the living moments of an impassioned, bodily existence. Porn is mostly just silly, shallow, frivolous entertainment, but its ultimate effects depend on its role in an individual person’s life. It is not society’s place to judge or legislate these effects, and I strongly suspect that Jesus himself, if he were here today, would agree. He was never a very big fan of the religious dogmatists and legal nit-pickers of his day, and I suspect he would have similar attitudes today.

Answer 2

Personally I like pictures of nuns with nothing but the habit headdress on and pretty much naked everywhere else. I could do without the altar boys though.

Answer 3

The Greek word for "fornication" is "porneia", (from which we get our word pornography) which means harlotry (including adultery and incest); figuratively, idolatry: The NKJ renders "fornication" as "sexual immorality". The NIV renders it as "marital unfaithfulness/infidelity."

Answer 4

Yes. We are not to lust after those other than our spouse. One is not following Christ while continuing in sin.

Answer 5

Yes!

Answer 6

Nope. I'm sure that somewhere, someone is making Christian porn right now.

Answer 7

Yes, Christianity opposes pornography.

Pornography is dirty & disgusting & degrading!!!!!

Answer 8

Porn with nuns is the best kind.

Answer 9

Yep!

Answer 10

Certainly. Porn is not only impure but addictive.

Answer 11

Only if it's Christian porn.