Welcome, believers!
Kiddieporn!? You have got to be kidding!
As might be expected now of me, I like to name my newsletters something to get you thinking. I find some terrible irony in the word 'Kiddieporn', and wanted to stir some thoughts/emotions in your head. You'll probably have to read through the whole thing to understand the title.I was made aware of this week (I believe) being national pornography awareness week & I have a lot of insight that may help people.
I just saw a news program the other day, where a 14-year old kid, who seemed like a perfectly normal kid, including scared of his dad, bludgeoned and than cut the throat of a 9-year old girl and stuffed her under his waterbed, where his mom found her a week later...Well, would you be surprised to find out that immediately before going out to play with the girl he killed, he was browsing xxx porn sites on the Internet; not just xxx, but rape,and torture-related.
Just like many people are aware, it's an addiction, and just like cocaine, each new 'high' takes a stronger dose. Watch the movie 8mm, and your hair will stand up on the back of your neck, as to just how bad it can be. (I don't recommend you see the movie at all if you are offended by strong words/visuals, and yes, even nudity; actually in my mind, used in a way that degrades the concept of pornography, but to some, I'm sure it was appealing).
The thing that I'd like to get the point across is that porn gives nudity a bad name, and just like I hated the term 'secondary virginity' vs. the FAR better chastity, I really am bothered by people grouping any and all nudity as porn. HOWEVER, I will ALSO stipulate that using nudity for self-gratification is not pleasing in God's eyes. There is a significant difference to the two, and if we can make this distinction, we can help more people, This I do know.
por-nog-ra-phy n.
- Pictures, writing, or other material that is sexually explicit and sometimes equates sex with power and violence.
- The presentation or production of this material.
(This is obviously a purely evil thing—it doesn't take a rocket-scientist to figure this out).
nude, adj. nud-er, nud-est.
- Being without clothing; naked.
- Law. Lacking any of various legal requisites, such as evidence.
nude n.
- An unclothed human figure, especially an artistic representation.
- The condition of being unclothed.
There is nothing wrong with this in the LEAST. GOD created the human form in HIS image. To look at a naked body is NOT a sin; to admire the absolute beauty that God designed, in with no doubt the most beautiful object He created, is not a sin. The sin comes from crossing the line into WHAT is on your heart and mind when you view such things. Even GOD said point-blank that naked was GOOD, it's in the bible! Only because of sin and embarrassment did mankind turn naked into a bad thing.
That said; probably a low percentage of people can actually look at a naked body and not have lustful thoughts, unless in the right forum; higher percentage when looking at the statue of Michael, or Venus, much much lower percentage when viewing 'tasteful' nude pictures, and pretty much zero percent when looking at something that would fall into the 'porn' category. There are extremes on each side; I'm sure that there are people who get 'turned on' by the statue of Venus, and I'm sure there are people who don't by the most vile pornography that you can't even imagine. (ala the movie 8mm—where a very sick man hires some people to make a type of porno movie, where they kill the woman at the end).
The problem is in labeling what is and isn't 'porn'; Most people on the anti-porn bandwagon will call anything that includes naked bodies, especially involved in sex, even if just in movies 'porn', and that is way too broad a scope to help; it's clubbing everybody everywhere in the face, and it's not effective to help the problem. Trying to convince people not to watch an 'R' rated movie because there is a sex scene is a pointless, vain effort. EDUCATING people to know the difference between tasteful nudity and distasteful nudity will make strong people who will close there eyes automatically when subjected to a scene in a movie that will pull them from God, rather than judge all the people who don't. You won't make a big enough stand boycotting movies you find distasteful, but if we teach our children what is 'going too far', we can make corrective action, because guess who is going to be the NEXT producers and directors of movies, and guess who will be the NEXT generation who will be the MASSES watching those movies, and moving the market.
I have found through personal experience, that when you get connected close enough to God, you will be able to grasp the beauty that he designed, and just like the concept of a shocked old-lady covering her eyes in modesty, you will have the same feeling in your heart about what is and isn't 'right'. It just doesn't work to say "do this, because I said"; think about this: if it didn't work because and when GOD said/says it, do you really think YOU are going to have much impact? So where does that leave us? We learn by example if we truly love God; we read His letter to us, and we follow His lead. God sent His Son as our example, because we 'didn't get it'. THAT is OUR example; 1) we need to be an example; a model citizen, and 2) we need to SHOW, not TELL our children, etc. what is right, how to live, in EVERY regard, including nudity.
Have you ever stopped to think about the fact that a baby absolutely doesn't CARE that he's naked? He has to be TAUGHT that it's bad, evil, etc. I believe this alone is part of the problem. We are taught to be shameful of our bodies. Now I know no that this will not change; why else did God tell us how Adam and Eve became shameful of their nakedness? I do know that we can learn from them, and what God said; God never said it was shameful, He just told us that his creation came to that conclusion.
Back to naked on-screen=bad: well, that in the simplest form just isn't true. In the right context, I will say that sex on-screen can be OK; mind-you I'm not saying everybody can appreciate that statement, and if that is across your line in the sand, than it is a SIN for YOU to see it—Jesus I believe taught more than anything else that what is truly important is the 'gist' and the scope of truth, and very specifically NOT the technical details. None of us could possibly hope to get to heaven if that were the case.
God designed our bodies, God designed sex, both are absolutely beautiful things, that YES, and absolutely are designed for the confines of marriage ONLY. (Note that fornication is one if the few abominable sins listed at the very end of the bible, along with idolatry and murder). I will grant that the vast majority of sex-scenes in movies can not and will not qualify as necessary to the plot, or even decent in God's eyes, but some are, because they represent exactly how and when sex is OK, more than OK, awesome, because it pleases God! If movies showed sex in a Godly context, and some actually DO, I have not a problem in the world with that; they can be a GREAT example of what is right. If you made the bible into a movie, showing everything in it, as described, but visually, it could NOT get an 'R' rating; it would be at least an X. Please, people, think.
I am reminded of a rather racy TV ad, that shows a couple 'going at it', a very very passionate scene, that has all the flavor of the most wild love affair you can imagine; of course it was on TV, so they were partly clothed, but many would be very offended by what they showed, and would have missed the point of the ad; at the end of the ad, the make it ABSOLUTELY CLEAR that this is a husband and wife; the moral of the story: Yes, passion can exist, and it can STAY inside your marriage; and even WAIT for marriage. Interestingly enough the concept of sex and marriage are often interchanged in the bible; especially from one translation to another; often the words representing sex are called 'known', or 'touch', and than in a different translation, the exact same verse has the concept 'marry'. Another example is Jesus with the Samaritan woman at the well; He did NOT say to her; 'you have had 5 boyfriends' (or lovers), He said 'you had five HUSBANDS'. I think it is very clear from the verses that there weren't official marriages and divorces in this case; He is talking about what is purely typical behavior in this world today.
Distinguishing between the two concepts, and than showing that even, pure, clean, nudity, can easily be misused, will bring attention to a whole other issue that is kind of the stepping off point. It's like the concept of smoking pot; in itself, it's actually not anywhere near as bad as the fierce opponents* will have you believe, but it has a VERY serious consequence that is impossible to judge, and absolutely exists; that it is a 'gateway' drug to hard-core drugs that ARE terrible. If we present the idea that Yes, God did create the human form, and it's the most beautiful thing ever made, and in the right context, it's absolute beauty, but in the wrong context, it's pure evil, rather than to be very vague about 'pornography'. This to me is just legalism, and promotes what we see today; people 'rationalizing' that it's OK to view 'this kind' of nudity, but not 'that kind', or the ridiculous concept of judging people, and saying that 'any nudity is evil'.
*I want to make a small point here: I'm not saying I'm NOT an opponent. I have seen the direct-effects of smoking pot with my acquaintances, and there isn't a 'good agenda' in the promotion of the drug. I was taught it was wrong, I was taught in a way that never made me desire to rebel against my elders, because I was treated with the respect I deserved. I for one am glad it is not legal, because I'm sure that at some point, it was the little 'lock' that kept this honest man honest. The bible does tell us to obey our laws, afte-all, and in that regard alone, it simply is a sin to smoke pot, believe it or not.
When I read a typical newsletter on pornography awareness, I do not have a PRECISE IDEA what they are talking about. Are they trying to say, XXX Movies, NC-17 Movies, R-rated movies with sex scenes, documentaries on classic artists? Just what? This is what my point is...Show there is a difference, so that the people who are using non-porn AS porn will not be rationalizing that 'it's not pornÑit's just the human form the way God designed it'. (Anybody who's seen the movie about Larry Flynt (publisher of Hustler Magazine) will know what I'm sayingÑhe actually tried to become Christian during his career, and rationalized that even the most graphic details of a woman's body are God's great creation, so there was nothing wrong with what he was doing! (and through Satan's word, exactly as in the garden of Eden, he was very logical, and very convincing!).
Also there are people who are pure of heart and mind are being told THEY are evil if they see a naked body. I know it's not the 'easy route', but I honestly believe not only is it the right route, it will be more effective. (To teach the whole story, not just say 'wrong, right'. We need to be more active in raising our communities; it's not just the parents, it's not just the teachers, it's not just the pastors. Let's start witnessing; share your thoughts with people who can benefit from them; don't make every body figure it all out on their own. I learned a GREAT deal on my own in my 31 years, and some of it just a month or two ago, that had somebody simply TOLD ME, I could have avoided a lot of sin that was completely unnecessary.
This is the route I will be taking to try to help people avoid misusing natural, beautiful, nudity *as* pornography, because I think it will reach a different group; the ones who have rationalized away that there might be anything wrong with what they are doing, because they aren't hurting anybody, etc. etc. I'm asking you to join me; take a fresh perspective, and maybe we can guide more hearts onto the narrow path of righteousness.
Here are some thoughts:
- If you are married, than looking on another woman's (man's) body and finding interest in her is disrespectful to your wife (husband), VERY disrespectful, but with human nature the way it is, we oft' can't help our initial emotional reactions, so I call it disrespectful, more than a blatant sin.
- If you 'get turned on' by this other woman, even if it's just a picture, than you ARE committing adultery (MT 5:28) (a picture is just a representation of the woman; just as the bread an wine are representations of Jesus). It is exactly this kind of rationalization that keeps us sinning! Please do NOT try to find loopholes in the bible! I WANT to see you in heaven. There is no such thing as an appeal in the final judgement, and Jesus said Himself, that there will be MANY
- If you are single, just as having sex before marriage is fornication and an abomination in God's eyes, if you are having sex in your heart, even with photos, I believe you are still going against MT 5:28.
explanation:
Adultery is defined as "Voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and a partner other than the lawful spouse", in which case, Clinton never committed adultery (yeah, RIGHT), however, I was given insight a while back about just WHY premarital sex was so bad; you are committing what I call premarital adultery; for all practical purposes, you are having a premarital affair on your spouse (even if you are to remain single alwaysÑthan your 'spouse' is Jesus; not cool to cheat on Jesus).
If you can have a 'virtual' affair (MT 5:28) while you are married, than the concept of adultery and fornication, along with the concept of MT 5:28 means that sexual gratification, even with 'clean' nude photos is clearly against God's will, which means of course it is SIN, and removes us from God.
I have been trying to piece together thoughts on this to make a clear point. I really want to spread the word on this 'take' on non-porn that is used as porn, without even necessarily using the word porn; why? because it will scare away people who are convinced they have nothing to do with porn, but in their hearts, they are committing the exact same sin of adultery. I am afraid that like many times in the past, a counter effect can happen; where people make a stand, and they actually cause the opposite to happen; some people will without a doubt, BECAUSE of good people's actions on account of 'pornography awareness', become interested IN and start USING pornography (another meaning of awareness), of this there can be NO DOUBT. Many many people will jump on the opposite side, siting the 1st amendment and sep of church and state, and 'what I do has nothing to do with you, or anybody else' . Read Romans 1:32 to see what GOD thinks of saying 'it's ok what others do'!
At the same time it is critical NOT to group nudity as 'bad', it is just as wrong as saying sex is bad; it will drive people to do it; how effective is it for parents to tell children not to have sex because it's wrong? almost zero percent (those that think it's higher are fooling themselves; the children are learning from your actions, or by hearing GOD, not from a parent saying 'no'; almost nothing is more tempting than doing whatever a parent says is wrong.
It is correct to teach them that it is a beautiful thing that God designed for married couples ONLY; (the bible makes no distinction between married and sex; the terms are used interchangeably throughout the bible (sorry, some things are worth repeating); some translations use married, where another will use the meaning sex. In the same vein, we ought to teach people that a naked body is the most beautiful thing God ever created, but that because of our weakness to immoral temptation, we need to be VERY careful about where/how/when/why they might be used. People, especially children are a lot smarter than they are given credit. It is more work to spill out the whole story, but it is FAR MORE EFFECTIVE teaching!
Oh, if you haven't figured out the title; there are more than one meaning to the phrase 'kiddieporn'; it can mean pornography depicting children, or it more often means 'innocent' pornography, like 'going on the kiddie-roller-coaster' (talk about an oxymoron—so-called 'clean' nudity; used as pornography; the kind I want us to stop calling pornography so that we can help put an end to it. (often the phrase 'soft-core' is used; can't be 'bad' if it's not hard-core, now can it? This is SATAN himself talking if you ever hear these words.
God Bless you, and please take whatever you can learn from me and help anybody you can.