Pornland

Porn is a place where you treat people like curency
A land of exotic dreams, and fantastical dreameries
In place of knowledge and industrial factories
Where no one says “no” and perhaps means “yes please”
Porn is a place where there’s a price tag on everything
Trees and flowers and women are simply commodities
Assault is vandalism and murder is theivery
Where sex is a billboard and Masturbation is publicity
Yes porn is a place where fetish is reality
where acting classes teach no personality
and thoughts and feelings are only a fallacy
where no love exists and there’s no intamacy
Porn is a place where sex has no mystery
Where relationships are devoid of any kind of history
Where courtship is merely a bad form of bribery
Porn is a void where torism is florishing

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Does anyone else feel like the quality of life in the U.S. raises the bar so high that it seems as if the qualities that make up a “life” are merely accessories/luxuries? It seems as if the impoverished in the states are living luxuriously when seen from a global perspective. Or, am I mistaken about global perspectives, and completely wrong? Also, I understand that low social economic status also means provision from the government, which could explain how the impoverished live in “perspective luxury”. However, if the role of capitalism, and the ‘American Dream’ did not force everyone to cities, and leave the uneducated, less intelligent, and less privileged to the lowest paying, and physically most difficult jobs, then perhaps they could learn life-sustaining skills, like farming! or basic engineering , carpentry… etc.
It’s my theory that the cultural ideals of capitalism, that dream of being well endowed with stuff, has left a population of people with no real life sustaining skills, and the sad reality is that the bottom of the barrel can’t pay for others to provide those services for them. This leads to the government paying for the livelihood of the impoverished (that’s the opposite of capitalism). Perhaps capitalistic systems aren’t to blame so much as the greed of humanity, or perhaps the fact that there is an inevitable divide of wealth between the upper and lower classes in every civilization I know of ever should be taken to account. Maybe that means it’s merely the way of people. Or maybe it’s sheer laziness, speaking in generalities of course, at the opportunity to live a life style undeserved.
Basically I want to know what your thoughts are. Can we live on less, but more important things? What is the cause of the economic divide? Is that a problem (There should be an answer for both the divide and the cause). And is anyone else like me, who is too lazy to go farm and learn to build my own house. I’d rather go into debt going to school and spend the rest of my life paying it off and leaving my children with a house half paid for. Peace!

Because I Love Women…

Let me preface this by saying I don’t want to be aggressive or attacking any individual, yet I am waging war no less. This topic is deeply personal on a lot of various levels. I use strong language because it’s necessary to communicate my passion. I have to say in all honesty that it’s my love for women that excites my hatred, and not the other way around. Rather, it’s my love for people. My buddy Chris is to blame for putting together this list and wording it aptly to communicate accurately. Last I must say, this list is made to encourage conversation. These ideas are meant to be chewed and digested slowly in our minds and hearts, and pulled apart, mulled over, and hopefully instigate a change in perception. Please talk them out a coffee shop or online with me or your friends or whatever. Please don’t read and disregard after your first impression, keep this talk going.

I hate porn because…

It is violent and inhumane
It normalizes rape
It is racist
It is addictive
It is misogynistic
It is an exploitative multibillion dollar industry
It nurtures sex trafficking and child abuse
It limits sexual imagination
and because I LOVE WOMEN

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Jesus is Unclean

I’ve heard a lot of discussion about Mark 1:40-45. That’s the one where Jesus heals a leper by touching him. Remember the whole “If you are willing…” “I am willing”… talk. After Jesus heals the leper he says not to tell anyone, but go and do what the law says (Which is pretty absurd if you read the law). So this is what I’ve heard about that scripture, why Jesus told him not to tell anyone, a new idea, and what the implications are.

I’ve been told that Jesus wants everyone to come to their own faith, and thusly told the leper not to tell people so they would be able to believe Jesus was God based on their own experiences and not the testimony of others. I don’t like that idea, because the ministry of Jesus and his disciples is deeply rooted in testimony. I mean, the samaritan woman at the well told and entire town about Jesus and he was pretty happy with that. Moreover he sent out the seventy-two, and he gave the “Great commission” to go tell everyone about who he is.

I’ve also been told it was so he could enter the towns and minister personally, almost like a ninja, moving unnoticed rather than being surrounded by crowds like Miley Cyrus in a middle school. That’s an alright idea, I can dig it.

But! What I’ve learned recently is from Leviticus 5:2 that says “If they touch anything that is ceremonially unclean… they will be unclean and guilty”. If you know your Leviticus 13 and 14 then you know that a person with a skin disease like leprosy cannot touch anyone, can’t go into a town, and it’s even their legal obligation to keep people away from them. Jesus went up to the leper in Mark and touched him. By the law he was ceremonially unclean. Mark 1 in the NetBible, and translations without interpretation are similar, says “But as the man went out he began to announce it publicly and spread the story widely, so that Jesus was no longer able to enter any town openly but stayed outside in remote places”. Perhaps Jesus being now unclean was not able to enter towns, by law. I like that understanding much better.

But what does this imply? Well, obviously Jesus wasn’t inflicted with leprosy. He in fact made the unclean clean. This is an allegory for Jesus relationship to both sin and to the law. Where the law impresses uncleanliness, Jesus impresses cleanliness. Where the law condemns Jesus reconciles. In the law we are convicted, in Jesus we are pardoned. With a place or person inflicted with sin, nearness to it is to be near to sin. For Jesus to be near sinful people and places, they are made righteous. His light goes with him into otherwise dark places. The implications are immense. Through Jesus’ relationship to sin and the law he abolished the law, and pardoned sin, even to those unworthy (everyone; Romans 5:8).

So what does this mean for the believer, and for the nonbeliever? For the believer, it means we do not have to avoid dark places. It means we don’t have to shun evil places, but we can go to them and bring the light of Jesus to those dark places. To unclean places and people, if we take Christ with us, He can make them clean. But, if we don’t take Christ there, they will remain dark and unclean. Each person must decide for his/herself where they are going to go, or where they can go without being suffocated in darkness-be wise. For the nonbeliever, I think it’s hope. I mean, if Jesus died for the unworthy, and healed those who didn’t deserve to be healed, when applied to eternal consequences, who says the cut off time for salvation is death/rapture? I hear all the time the question of: “If I die before I repent do I go to hell?” I don’t know. But I do like to believe in grace, and know I am no better than the most sinful of men in respect to deserving grace. Perhaps Jesus makes clean the souls of men who don’t want it, and don’t repent. Or perhaps one must first admit need, and confess Jesus is able, then find out He’s willing. I really don’t know. But there is some hope there.
In conclusion: the bible is really cool. Read it sometime. And go to dark places: bring God’s Kingdom to places given to darkness.

The Economy of People Revisited

Lately I’ve been fixated on anti-pornography. Last night I was sharing a presentation I’m putting together on the topic with a great group, Rahab’s Resistance in Denton, TX. We shared ideas for a few hours, and some thoughts have sparked my interest. I’d like to share them, if you’re interested.

The first idea is that Pornography cannot be consensual sex. Think about it, if one or all people involved in the filming of pornography is being paid then they are not consenting to have sex with one another, they are consenting to get paid at the price of their body. At best it’s bribery at worst it’s exploitation, coercion, and prostitution. Consent is an interesting topic, I think, since each individual makes the decision for themselves to be involved in pornography. When studying I came across an article I find particularly interesting about the making of pornography, with some stories told from the on-lookers of a porn shoot. This quote expresses the plight porn actresses find themselves in: “If she doesn’t do what Jim is asking her to do, she may or may not get paid. If she doesn’t do this, it’s entirely possible no one else will hire her after today. So, she concedes.”

Feminism was brought up often during our discussion. The idea is that with the rise of women’s rights was the rise of pornography. Porn is sexually empowering women to be sexually expressive. I fundamentally disagree with this viewpoint. Porn generally has the opposite effect. It degrades women to a submissive object whose sole objective is to gratify a man, bending to his every notion. Often time the idea of ‘man’ is absent from porn, and only a penis is present, which the women in porn are made to fawn over. Pornographic material also redefines what the “perfect” women is supposed to be. Reading an article I came across the quote “For the first time in history, the images’ power and allure have supplanted that of real naked women. Today, real naked women are just bad porn”. I’m learning more and more how this is true. Maxim’s Hot 100, a list of the hottest women ever, is now featuring a fictional character, Aki Ross. That’s a CGI character making the cover a jack-off magazine. It’s hard enough for women to have to compete with knock out models, now they have to compete with Computers? While researching this I found that H&M is also using computer generated models. I also found another quote in a NY Times article about a CGI model, Webbie Tookay: “‘Webbie can eat nothing and keep her curves,’ boasted Mr. Casablancas, who left Elite and founded Illusion 2K, an agency dedicated to representing virtual models. ”She can be on time, or in two places at one time, and you know she will never get a pimple or ask for a raise. Sometimes I wish all models were virtual.” This is the same sexually empowering road that women have taken that are now replacing them for objects. Women are being replaced by an imitation of an imitation of a real woman.

So, how does this all relate back to economy? Porn is a multibillion dollar enterprise. According to the Internet Filter Review, worldwide porn sales totaled at $97 billion in 2006. The US contributed 13.33 billion. Individuals are profiting at the exploitation of young women, and men. They strip them of the ability to say “no” while filming for fear of financial trouble, and bribe them to do sexually terrifying things. To the women who do feel sexually empowered by filming porn we must ask “at what cost to all other women?” The illusion of empowerment to one leads to the suppression of all others. A Shelly Luben talked with Christ Hedges, and is quoted in his book Empire of Illusion saying, “You have to do what they want on the sets,” she says. There’s too much competition. They can always find other girls.” My buddy Christ commented on the coercion of pornography, something to the effect of, “Most girls aren’t looking at a variety of meaningful alternatives and saying, ‘I choose porn’.” And it’s not really a choice. If I wash dishes for a living, I am making that choice over working in retail or going to school to get an education to do whatever I want. I have that option. Can we really say the same for the emotionally abused girl who stumbled into porn? Possibly at the beginning of her career, but what about 5 years into it? 10 years? There’s a price tag we’re putting on human begins. As consumers, instigators, and innocent bystanders. Porn is plastic, sure, but let’s also remember that pornography coats the industry over in plastic as well. They’re not just selling women, they’re also selling the ideology that it’s okay. Don’t buy it.

Porn’s effect on Families

This is a quote from a comment left on an article 7 Surprising and Negative Effects of Porn. I thought Miss RiverSongAngie shared some good points and her perspective is a strong testimony on the effects of pornography to a family.

This is such a heart breaking issue….nobody wins. My marriage came to an end as result of the effects of Porn and Sex addiction. When I first met my husband, he confessed to me that he had experimented with pornography -but it was in the past. He didn’t not tell me the depth of it and I loved him and thought….as long as the past was the past..no problems, right? I was so ignorant about the subject. I actually thought I was going to be his dream girl and the one he turned to for his satisfaction. I soon learned, this was not the case and my codependent illusions came crashing down. Pornography was his escape from stresses of life, it was the way he dealt with life. Like others turn to alcohol or drugs or food- pornography was his medicine. I began to learn more about this subject than I ever wanted. Pornography and sex addiction are more than drugs…They are mind traps which release physical responses and endorphins and open spiritual doors to demonic attack. There are programs…some very good…Still more focus needs to be placed on the cause and not just the symptom returning to the issue of our spiritual Identity in Christ. I also believe a spiritual rewiring needs to take place through one on one counseling dealing with deliverance and inner healing. I walked through the fires with this man….prayer, fasting, counseling, loving him, begging him. He wasn’t able to lay it down… and I wasn’t able to love him through it when he became violent toward me. By the end of us, the wound was deep and bleeding into all areas. Pornography had created an atmosphere of deceit. Trust became non existent. Hurt on my side…Resentment on his side for questioning him and then anger toward everyone for confronting him…Respect began to diminish… Deceit turned to more shame…more shame lead to more pornography…more covering up… You see the picture….it’s not pretty. Through my own counseling and inner healing, I realized his addiction wasn’t about me…it wasn’t about how pretty I was or how much he loved me. It was about a prison he was living and dying in… I still pray for him. My prayer is that he will someday intimately know the fullness that comes from knowing Jesus.

Porn is Plastic

I’ve been researching a lot about porn and have a lot of very specific ideas in mind. As I’ve researched I’ve noticed two attitudes that I disagree with. One I think is flat out wrong, and the other I think needs to be flipped on it’s head to be realistic about pornography.

The first though is that porn is normal.  This quote is from a comment on a blog post entitled “Internet Pornography Stats: Parents Should be Concerned”.
“Sex and pornography are the most normal things in the world. An interest in sex for a 15 year old boy is completely healthy, you should be worried if he WASN’T interested in porn.”

This attitude needs to change for very specific reasons. First off, Porn is not sex. From “7 Surprising and Negative Effects of Porn”: “3. Porn Turns Sex Into Masturbation./ Sex becomes self-serving. It becomes about your pleasure and not the self-giving, mutually reciprocating intimacy that it was designed for.”  If you’ve ever watched porn, as I have, looking back you can see how it’s not at all like real sex. Women don’t become slaves to men. Men are not just erect objects to the woman-turned-object on screen. Real life is not a “do whatever pleases me” situation. Porn is a plastic version of bad sex. Secondly, pornography isn’t healthy. I would agree that an interest in sex is healthy, that doesn’t mean delve into it, but be interested for sure. Pornography is not healthy. It is fake and dressed up for a reason. It is designed to be addictive. It’s a marketing scheme, and it’s effective. Unfortunately the cost is not only monetary. Porn addictions destroy relationships within families and friendships and make coping with life long relationships nearly impossible. Porn rewires your brain, in the pavlovian sense, to be turned on in specific situations that don’t occur within most sexual relationships or any long-term relationships.

After all, pornography works in the most basic of ways on the brain: It is Pavlovian. An orgasm is one of the biggest reinforcers imaginable. If you associate orgasm with your wife, a kiss, a scent, a body, that is what, over time, will turn you on; if you open your focus to an endless stream of ever-more-transgressive images of cybersex slaves, that is what it will take to turn you on. The ubiquity of sexual images does not free eros but dilutes it.  -Naomi Wolf, “The Porn Myth”

Source Here.

The idea I would like to flip on it’s head is best said by Sean McDowell in an article: “Pornography is tearing apart the fabric of our society.” He’s not the only one who has said something like this, and he acknowledges the dramatization within his article. I would rather say that our torn society is producing pornography. Porn is a product of an over sexualized society. We thrive on sexy. It’s a life force beating all around controlling our advertisements, and our media. It’s hard to find a video game these days that don’t hint at sexuality in a casual (and gross) kind of way, as if it’s no big deal to have free sex with whomever sparks one’s interest. And I’m sure that a lot of you reading this are thinking, “that’s true, it is no big deal.” Point proven. Our social ideals and pornography are growing more and more perverse in correlation with each other. Porn will only be as gross as the consumers allow it to be. Apparently we don’t have limits.

I’d like to end with the same words Namoi Wolf does in her article, and talk a little about what I want in a marriage. Among other things I want sex. I want fun uninhibited sex with one woman from the moment we say our vows till the moment we die. I want to cherish her as if she’s the only woman in the world. I want to glorify her in her sexual beauty. I want to be surprised on my wedding day at the fulfillment of sex, at the pleasure, and the intimacy. I want to be surprised on my wedding day at the I don’t know what, it’s surprise. But I’m afraid that with pornography I will want something other than sex, that I will be inhibited and unfaithful, not just in my mind and heart but in actions. I’m afraid I will see other women as sexual creatures, and I will lust after more beautiful women. I’m afraid sex on our wedding night will be a mundane practice, just a repeated action: muscle memory. I’m afraid that “Sex has no mystery”.