Pornography An Ancient Sin Repackaged (Part 2)
Porn and What It's Done To Women
In the first part of the this essay we walked through sex and sexuality throughout the Old Testament. We pick up now, in the New Testament.
Greco-Roman
In the New Testament we find continued discussion of sexuality and sex in explicit terms. The Apostle Paul spoke often of the dangers of unbridled sexuality. Paul’s teaching in the NT comes into focus once we locate it in the backdrop of the Greco Roman world, “where various forms of sexual license were common.” This detail is important for us because it builds a bridge to our current context. Sexual freedom, exploration, and license is as common today as it was in the Greco-Roman world. It is true that Rome was a very sophisticated city that had influence in the known world at the time. However, it was also one of the most sexually depraved. While it could have been easy for Paul to adopt the sexual ethic of Rome, he refused. Rather, Paul brought to the forefront his Jewish (OT) sexual ethics and imposed them onto the Greco-Roman culture.
Additionally, Paul’s focus throughout his writings is on the community of faith and their missional impact and witness of the Kingdom of God in the midst of the kingdom of man. Often, today we read Paul’s letters in an individualistic fashion (me, myself, and I) however Paul often uses the 2nd Person plural (ya’ll) in his teaching and doctrinal imperatives. In other words, Paul is often speaking to the gathered community of believers in the local church that are doing life together and sent out on mission as a unified front to image the goodness of God in the city of man. Within this context, Paul in 1 Corinthians 5:1-2 describes the seriousness of sexual perversion because it has an impact not only on the individual, but also on the community.
Paul’s language is instructive as it recall’s the Greco-Roman background. Paul uses the Greek word, “porneia” and it includes any kind of illegitimate (extramarital or unnatural) sexual conduct. Paul wants us to see the larger context of the dangers of a sexualized environment and how it will derail humanity from the good that God intends for them.
The response Paul gives is severe; he tells the church to “purge” the ones that are unrepentant and unwilling to bridle their desires with the power of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 5:5). Paul’s aim for the church is not necessarily to deal with the issue of sexual perversion by dealing with the culture directly. Rather, it seems Paul’s first aim is to suffucate the sexual perversion in the secular culture through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit embodied and acting in the lives of followers of Jesus who refuse to bend to the inward desires of the flesh but rather turn to Christ and ideal of God for the whole of their lives. Especially, as it relates to gender, sexuality, and sex.
Biblical Ethics and The Church
Paul, reflecting on the teachings of Jesus (Mt 5:27-30; Mk 10:1-12) set the first century church in motion to deal with the pervelant sexual perversion that was destroying individuals and communities. Jesus recalled the teachings of gender, sexuality, and humanity made in the image of God first established in the OT (see the Sermon on the Mt). Paul continued in the footsteps of Jesus leading the churches that he loved and planted into a counter cultural way of living. In 1 Thess 4:3 Paul establishes the fact that our sexuality is actually connected in an intimate way to our sanctification (process of being conformed into the image of Jesus). For Paul, porneia was an obstacle that would derail us from the Holy Spirit’s work of sanctification. Paul tells the church in Ephesus that there must not be even a hint of porneia. Why? Because if we let something like sexual indulegence run rampent we will be discipled by it and it will drive us to ruin. Rather, Paul leads us to bridle our sexual desires and disciple our bodies into holiness reflecting our love and affection for God. Today we face the same issues of porneia, and we’ve given it the appropriate label of pornography. As the church addresses pornography we must also address the root issues surrounding it, namely how human imagination has been broken.
The illigitimacy of pornography is rooted in misdirected imagination.
Ultimately, pornography is a perversion of God’s gift of imagination. God’s intent for man and women to be attracted to each other and enjoy the passion (controlled/limited) of sexual intimacy within the context of covenant marriage has been viciously attacked by internal and unbridled desires of the flesh, namely lust. Kleining defines lust as, “disordered, possessive desire, the self centered desire for personal sexual gratification at the expense of another person.” The difference between a type of passion that is good and one that is unholy and destructive is found in it’s aims. Godly passion is framed in marriage and has the ultimate well being of the spouse in mind. It constantly moves us from selfish to self-giving. Unholy lust however is framed by “whats best for me” and it has the selfish personal desires as the final aim which turns people into objects to be used like products that we use while we like them only to disregard and throw them away when they have lost appeal.
Pornography has a goal, and it presents the goal as self-fulfillment. This is true for a time. However, in the same way a person can take heroin for a time and “feel good” they are only in the long run poisoning and killing their bodies. Pornography is an act that is driven by lust that is actually de-humanizing us. If sanctification is the process of becoming like Christ which means we regain our truest and fullest humanity, pornography is stripping us of our humanity.
In 1 Cor 6:19 Paul says, ““Don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought at a price. So glorify God with your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:19–20, CSB)
It was common practice for the temples of the gods to include prostitution as a means of appeasing the gods to be favorable to humanity. This type of sexual perversion was a danger to the newly formed body of Christ. The ethics of the Kingdom of God are vastly different from the pleasures of the world. Christians no longer go to temples to experience the presence of God. Now, the very Spirit of God indwells believers, therefore our bodies are the temple of God. In Ephesians 2:18-22 Paul develops this temple theology further commenting on how the temple is continually being built and formed as the people of the world made up of the nations of the world come together to form the temple of God. For this reason there is a focus on individual sexual order because we bring that into the larger community of faith.
When the church rightly orders sexuality and places sex in its rightful place as a good God from God that comes with boundaries we serve as a witness to the world. In fact, this is one of the goals of the people of God since Adam and Eve were first created and commissioned. To be representatives of the King and embody His will and wisdom for the world. The Israelites were set apart as a holy nation not for exclusivity but to invite the nations into the household of God. Forsaking the false gods and the way of the world and embracing all the good that comes with rightly ordered worship of God.
Today, the church continues the legacy of the ancient faithful family of God. In a world that proclaims sexual freedom and license, Christ beckons us to order our sexual desires within the context of covenant marriage. The world celebrates a “me first” mentality. The Holy Spirit convicts of a “God first” posture. The damage done and that is continually being promoted by unrestricted sexual freedoms in the form of pornography and in Paul’s understanding simply a “sexualized environment” has been truly destructive to women, families, and children. Embracing porneia in any form or relegating it to a “not that bad” mindset is the deceitful hook that will lead our society into a total loss of our will and enslaved to a cruel and destructive master, Satan; who’s leading and arguably highest ranging general is porneia. The church, the family of God, individually and collectively must rise up, stand up, and speak out for our sakes and the sake of future generations of Christ followers. These future generations will inherit the soil that we have cultivated. What will that soil be filled with? The righteousness of God or the sexual seduction of porneia?
What Can We Do?
Great news, if you’ve made it to the end of this paper you’ve already done one of the most important things. You’ve at least considered that unbridled and uncontrolled sexual sin is not God’s ideal and will lead you and your loved ones into so much harm. So now, we make the distinction between simply doing what feels right and living in accordance with what is right. How do we do this? Now that we’ve recognized that Pornography (porneia) is simply an ancient sin that has been cleverly repackaged we need to move from awareness to action.
Paul’s writing context is so instructive for us. He writes to specific churches and expects the people who are in these churches to be involved in each other’s lives. There was a sense of intimacy, trust, and honestly present amongst the community of faith in these local contexts. In the same way, after we acknowledge that things need to change one of the most powerful ways of initiating that change is for it to take place in the community. This can be a small group, or just the group of girls that always find themselves regularly on facetime on a group call or at the favorite coffee shop around a latte. Accountability, honesty, and transparency in safe and trusted environments is crucial for both the person wanting to break free from the bondage of sexual sin/addiction but also for those that are suffering the impact of loved ones that are entrapped.
Friends are great, and the next step is a licensed therapist who has a Christian perspective/foundation. A therapist skilled in this area can help work through past trauma, the reality of triggers, and how to navigate the future in a space that is trusted. If you need a recommendation you can view the list of therapists from AACC.
For those reading this paper and feeling overwhelmed or even experience guilt and shame for issues related to sex/pornography I want to remind you first, shame is not used by God it is a tool of the enemy. Guilt for our sin is an invitation from God to turn to Him in repentance and know that nothing we’ve ever done or will do will prevent us from the free offer of grace and forgiveness at the feet of Jesus. God is in the business of taking all the bad in our lives and turning it into a type of good we could not have ever imagined. God can and will refine and redirect our missaimed sexual imagination. God will honor our sexual faithfulness and bring redemption to areas of sexual sin. Every instance of sexual weakness we experience on this side of eternity is an inviation to turn to Jesus and place our trust in the Holy Spirit to walk us out of the temptation and into holy obedience.
Finally, I’d leave you with a sober warning and encouragement from Peter:
“Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour. Resist him, firm in the faith, knowing that the same kind of sufferings are being experienced by your fellow believers throughout the world.” (1 Peter 5:8–9, CSB)
This fight for a God ordered gender and sexuality is not a one and done battle. It is an ongoing struggle and a war that is fought on many battle fronts.
In our homes, work, our screens, and ultimately in the heart and mind. What we need more than anything is a continual daily dependence on Jesus who empowered us with the Holy Spirit. Friend, you are not alone. The battle is not lost. The future is not empty. Will the road be hard? Yes. But walking along us every step, and carrying us when we can’t walk any longer is our faithful High Priest and King, Jesus - who happens to be our friend. He is with us, we are never alone.