I’ve been a bit dry lately in terms of my blogging. I got a lot of other projects going on, which is actually great (I’m not complaining), but it’s hard to muster up my brainpower to write something interesting.

However, I do have a subject in hand today, and it’s…pr0n. What precipitated this train of thought was the Ron Jeremy/Monique Alexander vs. Craig Gross/Donny Pauling debate at Yale that was sponsored by Nightline on ABC News. You can watch the whole thing online here.

First, a few comments on the debate. The “anti-porn Christian” position was clearly the minority position in this particular arena. I don’t know if that was just how the audience demographics turned out or if its emblematic of Yale in general. I suspect the latter (and thus transfer my suspicions to the other prominent/Ivy League universities in this country). I definitely felt for Craig and Donny as it was obvious they were not coming in with the wind at their backs. A pastor telling people not to watch porn? Lame.

Objectively speaking, I think all sides did an admirable job presenting their case. Ron Jeremy and Monique Alexander came prepared, witty, and quite intriguing as multifaceted representatives of the porn industry. Craig Gross and Donny Pauling know what they’re about and how best to go about it, which is to say they were careful not to condone any censorship of the porn industry (citing the importance of freedom of speech) and instead took the tack of education and self-responsibility as the best weapons against porn. In other words, you can smoke, but smoking isn’t good for you, so you should probably stop doing it — and porn is arguably a worse sin.

On to my reaction. I could have intellectually predicted that Craig and Donny would not receive a warm welcome, but frankly I was shocked and deeply disturbed by the whole presiding. The extent to which porn has become mainstream and even influential in pop culture is very substantial, and I fear the only thing that will convince many people that it’s something to abhor is for them to discover that their lives have been wrecked by it. XXXChurch deals with ruined marriages, sexual offenders behind bars, and former porn stars every day. They are intimately aware of the dark underbelly of the sex trade. It’s too bad their message is falling on deaf ears.

Pornography, like prostitution, disturbs me because it is the ultimate example of dehumanization, short of slavery. Humans are spiritual beings, albeit living in animal-like bodies. We are more than walking meatbags, we are soul and spirit. We think, we express, we understand, we perceive, we create. Sexual intimacy is a physical outworking of the spiritual intimacy a man and a woman share in holy matrimony. Even sex outside of marriage, or fornication, between two people in love seems more palatable to me than porn, because the former is a shadow of true marriage, whereas the latter is a lie, a deviant fantasy designed, produced, and packaged for a deceived public to consume in ever greater numbers.

In the debate, Ron commented on how women getting into the porn industry are still frowned upon by some because, while dads tell their sons to “go get ‘em, boys” and show off their manly prowess, women aren’t allowed such freedom. In other words, it’s empowering and a stand for sexual equality for women to stoop to the level of sexual predator just like men. All I can say to that is: Ron, not all fathers teach their sons to hop into bed with every vixen that crosses their path. Whatever happened to the lost art of chivalry? There used to be a cultural strain that encouraged men to cherish, honor, and protect the “weaker sex” and prove their manliness by pledging to uphold the purity of femininity. Love was forged out of mutual admiration of virtue and respect for the Imagio Deo within the object of affection. Sexuality and sensuality were framed within the context of the grace of God to give men and women feelings of passion and enjoyment of His creation.

The hippies of the 60’s brought the idea of free love into the mainstream, but it was still a somewhat recognizable shadow of true Biblical love. Fast forward only a few decades, and the 60’s seem blissful in comparison. Porn has so degraded love and perverted sex that now the only recognizable thing left is animalistic lust. Whatever bizarre deviancy one can conjure up in the foul recesses of the imagination can now be bought for a few greenbacks. Sex is now mass entertainment, pure and simple. Wanna have some fun and relaxation after a hard day’s work? Watch porn.

I’ll close with this statement: what saddens me most about porn is that the awesome beauty of God-given sexuality is obscured by a disgusting counterfeit. When a man and a women get married today, are they going to gaze into each other’s eyes and see a gift from the Almighty, or are they going to see a video fantasy looming horrifically before them? Ron Jeremy says it’s OK to fantasize about other women when you’re with your lover. I say that is sin. Sin may not be a popular word anymore, but sin has lasted throughout every age and 2008 is certainly no exception.