Is there an 'ethical' pornography
The Question
On Saturday 24 June 2023 the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) posted an article entitled “New research outlines six rules for ethical, safe pornography as more parents seeking information on 'healthy' porn”[1]. The author cites from work of Daniel Miles and associates of the Sydney University who accepts that some pornography can be healthy. This raises two questions:
- What does the Bible, or God, say about pornography?
- Can pornography ever be ethical or healthy?
Of course, if the answer to the first question is negative, the second question is probably moot.
The argument for ethical pornography arises from the current statistics where sex education in the country and probably most western countries is being fulfilled mostly by children watching pornography, which raises the question, not answered here, whether there is a place for ‘sex education’, and the more importantly the question of whether such ‘fulfilment’ using pornography in educating young people about sex is doing more harm than good.
Note the answer to this question is to believers in Jesus Christ - Christians; for the un-believer the answer will make no sense; such a person is driven by his or her own animal instincts which knows no limits to immorality (2 Peter 2:12).
The Short Answer
For a Christian, pornography has no place; either in the private lives of a believer, or as a tool to teach ‘sex-education’ because God has set out much better an fulfilling experience for human sexually. Furthermore, those taking part in creating pornography are committing fornication and adultery if married to someone else. Notwithstanding your beliefs, there is well established science that shows pornography causes harm to relationships, sexual fulfilment, and the brains of people who use it (mainly men), and more concerning, the brains of young people, who learn a perverted and usually selfish and violet form of sex.
What the Bible tells us
What is pornography
To the Jewish writers of the Old Testament, porn or pornography had the basic element of the substitution of a lawful relation with one that was unlawful, thus they included both sexual immorality or fornication and worship of idols into defining pornography. Indeed its the language of the Old Testament for the Jews when they abandoned God for idols. For instance, and fully expressed by the deeds of Hosea and his writings, who, directed by God, role-played the state of Israel in their state of adultery with idols. In its most basic form, pornography is experiencing sex through your senses – mostly visual and auditory, with someone not your spouse. The word pornography comes from a Greek word porneia, which is translated ‘sexual immorality’ in literature, including the Bible. We tend to separate pornography from adultery and fornication (often translated prostitution or sexual immorality in the Bible) – where one has physical sex with someone not your spouse; but these are all related to the meaning of the word and is sexual immorality.
What the Bible says – a few examples
There are 40 New Testament verses that speak of sexual immorality as being contrary to God’s commands, and many more about fornication and adultery. All imply sexual relations outside of that prescribed in Genesis and Leviticus are immoral, impure and contrary to the precepts of God, the creator of all things, including humans
'The man who commits adultery with another man's wife, he who commits adultery with his neighbour’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress, shall surely be put to death. Leviticus 20:10
Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Colossians 3:5
Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness Galatians 5:19
But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints Ephesians 5:3
For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality 1 Thessalonians 4:3
"Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food"—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 1 Corinthians 6:13
Watching pornography is wrong in the sight of God; it is a sin
Lust drives the desire to watch
Watching pornography causes a flood of dopamine to be released in our brain, giving us immense pleasure. It is this aspect that suggests to many researchers the reason why pornography is addictive or has an addictive ability, or at least leads to the difficulty in avoiding it, once habituated. This means a person develops an emotional dependence on pornography that interferes with daily life, relationships, and the ability to function, often becoming dissatisfied with their own sex life or they move to risky sexual behaviours.
The point of pornographic materials is to illicit sexual arousal in our body (drive by the dopamine release in the brain), which is lust. Lust is any arousal of our body, which occurs in an immoral manner. Lust is driven by watching videos of people engaged in sexual acts, which can rapidly lead the pornographer to seek more distorted, unnatural, often violent, sexual acts; all of which entices the lust to continue.
Lust is a sin; and Jesus equates lust to that of adultery; saying that a watcher of pornography is equivalent to actually have sex with multiple people who are not your lawful spouse.
But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Matthew 5:28
But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. James 1:14
Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. James 1:15
Sexual immorality,
The sexual acts on display in pornographic material are acts of fornication, which means they are sexually immoral, being a sin because it is sex outside marriage. And this this is the bases of all defining sexual immorality; God created sex for partners in a marriage and nowhere else, and if elsewhere is considered a sin by God. This has been the case from the time of Adam and Eve until now, codified in the Mosaic Law and reiterated by the Jesus and then the New Testament writers.
Furthermore, when we take part in watching or looking at pornographic pictures we are condoning and promoting sexual immorality and furthermore, promoting (by purchasing or watching) the sin of licentiousness or ‘giving license to sin’.
I fear that when I come again my God may humble me before you, and I may have to mourn over many of those who sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual immorality, and sensuality that they have practiced. 2 Corinthians 12:21
For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. 1 Peter 4:3
Sensuality
Taking pleasure in watching strangers in a state of nakedness, undertaking sexual acts, is the sin of sensuality or lewdness according to Scripture. Thus watching pornography is the sin of sensuality, because involves taking pleasure in observing acts that are forbidden by God. The harm is against the body, it prevents communion with God – as the Apostle Paul writes.
Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. 1 Corinthians 6:18
Outside of marriage, taking pleasure in another's nakedness is depicted as shameful and due condemnation because it dishonours what God has created. Thus glorying in another person's nakedness is sinful behaviour, and God views such conduct as reprehensible. The following is God’s condemnation of Israel when they engaged in lewd and immoral conduct:
"Woe to him who makes his neighbours drink— you pour out your wrath and make them drunk, in order to gaze at their nakedness! You will have your fill of shame instead of glory. Drink, yourself, and show your circumcision! The cup in the LORD's right hand will come around to you, and utter shame will come upon your glory! Habakkuk 2:15-16
Conclusion
In summary, the act of watching pornography is immoral and sinful; it is contrary to God’s fundamental law that sexual relations belong between and man and his wife, no one else. Pornography is wrong because it condones sexual immorality (fornication) and is licentiousness (gives licence to sexual immorality). It is intended to induce lust in the heart, and it exposes us to the nakedness of a person who is not our spouse (strangers) which is a sin.
There is no such thing as ethical pornography, because for a believer in Jesus Christ, pornography is a sin in and of itself.
Let marriage be held in honour among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. Hebrews 13:4
We have not spoken of the exploitative nature of pornography and other such facets as to its corruptive and perverse impact on those who participate in making pornography especially the female actors. Nor have we have spoken of the incredible harm pornography is doing to our children; where the Australian government reports that “nearly half of children between the ages of 9-16 experience regular exposure to sexual images.”[2]
