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PORNOGRAPHY—THAT CORRUPTING SPIRIT

     In continuing with my series concerning some of the spiritual warfare which men—and women—are facing in these last days before the return of Jesus Christ, an examination of the dangers of pornography is in order.  To sum up this column, let me just say this: pornography corrupts everything it touches, from the inside out.

     I’m not writing a scholarly paper on this subject.  Nor am I writing a paper to expose a lot of the ‘dirty’ things about pornography.  There are far more knowledgeable writers on those topics.  I am putting forth some candid observations on the matter in our current, high-tech and AI era as how destructive pornography continues to become.

     It is STILL dangerous and those who want to be free of the corruption of this spirit will have to turn to the Lord Jesus Christ…the great savior and liberator from sin for those who turn to Him.

WHILE PUTTING THIS COLUMN TOGETHER…

     I came across this published report in a major newspaper to further illustrate the corrupting influence of pornography.  As the story goes, some tech ‘wizards of smart’ are bringing the Internet to the far-flung reaches of the bush country in portions of South America.  One tribe that used to be happy doing their own thing got ‘civilized’. 

     The Internet came to their village.  Their entire village was soon corrupted.

     As one of the women villagers explained it, the young people used to keep themselves occupied by learning tribal traditions from the older men and women.  No longer.  This woman stated for the reporter that the young people were getting ‘lazy’…they spent much of their time surfing their hand-held phones mainly for porn—and they got hooked on it, and social media that they ‘discovered’ on the www.  Almost in the same breath, after speaking out against the harm that the web was doing to the young people in her village, she begged the reporter: “Please, don’t take our Internet away.”

     Rest assured that other villages in the remote areas will also be getting this ‘gift’.

     There is a lesson in this story.  The ‘civilized’ world is bringing its electronic poison to those who are least able to defend themselves against it.  Further, these villagers must be ‘taught’ how to use the electronic devices (Iphones) to scroll and locate the ‘great’ items of the outside world.  They have to be ‘taught’ how to search out porn and social media—and later get addicted to it—to the point that they no longer want to be involved in working at traditions their elders have handed down, from generation to generation.

     The power of porn is not to be underestimated.  If those who have never seen porn—upon exposure to it—get corrupted—what chances do we ‘civilized’ folk have against this plague of the eye and mind?

DON’T BE FOOLED—PORNOGRAPHY HAS CHANGED IN SOME WAYS:

     The distribution of pornography has changed, thanks in part to the rapid advances of technology in the marketplace.  Gone are the days of having to set up studios and development equipment for the recording and duplicating of ‘dirty pictures.’  Now, even an amateur with an Iphone and some time on their hands can turn out high-quality stuff ready to be distributed on the web.  Or, with a little imagination, couples can film their own pornographic ‘thrillers’ guerilla style, in a variety of venues which eclipse the creativity of the porno mags of yesteryear.

     Porn has made its way into ‘normal’ places as well.  The on-line newspaper of today often features photo content that used to be more applicable in a plain, brown wrapper.  News stories and entertainment websites show more skin—all of it available for download by teens (and pre-teens) through either their multiple school computer accounts, their personal phones, laptops, and/or PCs at home.

     Those who are involved in the pornography industry used to blush about their involvement.  Those days are looooong gone.  Now you have women from all walks of life, bragging about the ‘freedom’ they have in appearing nearly nude—or totally nude—on a variety of electronic ‘pleasure’ platforms.  What’s worse: some of these women are involved in respectable ‘regular’ jobs like teaching, nursing, or media—and they can’t seem to understand why folks ‘get upset’ with their ‘hobby’ of doing porn on the side.  The excuse? One common one: “Well, I need to do porn because I have to feed my family; I need the money.”  Of course, this is the same logic that criminals use when they break into houses and/or rob people in the street—but I digress.  Other women involved in porn—either as purchasers or providers or participants are bold in their ‘skin sins’ and get downright indignant when caught—or questioned.

JUST A FEW UPDATED DEFINITIONS:

     Since pornography has changed, so have some of the key definitions associated with it.  These are a few definitions which I have updated and expanded based upon my observation, as the lines have been ‘blurred’ thanks to the rise in technology—including AI.

     *SOFT CORE PORN: In our modern era, these are pictures or videos of men and women, boys and girls in suggestive environments and clothing designed to ‘arouse’ the attention of the viewer, either accidentally or on purpose.  More and more, these pictures appear as part of entertainment, gaming, sports or even news or business publications—and you could consider advertising as a part of this group.

     *HARD CORE PORN:  In our modern era, these are pictures or videos of men and women, boys and girls, in suggestive environments, often without clothing, designed to ‘arouse’ the passions of the viewer, usually on purpose.  More and more, these pictures appear as part of publications and venues which cater to a definite sex or demographic.  They may be done by amateurs or professionals for profit.

     Since more and more women are either generating or are involved in porn under a profit motive, and some of these ventures are finding their way into the ‘mainstream mess’ (mainstream press) and are being reported on as ‘legitimate’ news items, such news reports further ‘blur’ what is—or is not—pornographic in nature.

     Even the lines between ‘traditional’ soft core and hard-core porn continue to be blurred.

    Suffice it to say, you’ll know porn when you see it—which is the standard of what courts ‘used’ to stand on to determine whether something is pornographic.

THE EYE GATE—A PATHWAY TO THE MIND:

     The dual aims of pornography are to, a) get into the mind through the eyes, and b) break down or corrupt God’s standard for the sexual drive of an individual—corrupt it to the point that it will turn the holy into the unholy.  Remember the following:  ONE LOOK at an unclothed Bathsheba was all it took for David to embark upon a voyage of lust, murder, and deception.  In short, looking where he should NOT have looked corrupted David—the King of Israel—for a season.

     What appears before one’s eyes is critical.  Remember, it was ONE LOOK by Eve—as encouraged by the serpent in the garden to get Adam and Eve kicked out of paradise.  THIS is why Job noted: “I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid? (Job 31:1 KJV).”  In this statement, one may easily see the connection between what one sees—and how it acts upon the mind, or the ‘thought life’ of an individual.  Further, the eyes are not the only one of the senses that can be open to corruption.  Check out Ephesians 4:29: “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.”  The ear gate and the mouth gate—what one hears and what one says—may also be corrupted by those unholy items that are input into the mind and make their way to corrupt one’s heart.

     Satan is a crafty one.  While he has no new tricks, he does not cease to replay his old ones.  There is a satanic spirit behind each pornographic picture, book, DVD, video, and computer software download.  Pornography cannot be ‘fended off’ by the Christian without the power and protection of Jesus Christ.  HE causes us to walk in the paths up righteousness, no matter what the devil and his brood may throw our way—either seen or unseen.  Also, it is the blood of Christ that protects the believer.  “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind (II Timothy 1:7 KJV).”

     One who does NOT have Christ in their lives cannot defeat pornographic influences by themselves.  They are wide open to the corruption that comes from willingly ingesting more and more pornographic material.  The ONLY way that such a stronghold can be broken in a sinner or unsaved person is by them repenting, turning their lives over to Jesus Christ; accepting the gift of salvation, and forsaking and renouncing the sins associated with porn—including the destruction of any and all pornographic material in their possession.

     The Christian who may be sucked into the porn vortex either accidentally or on purpose MUST repent of their sin (I John 1:8-10), forsake their sin, tell God how sorry they are for sinning against Him in the first place, and seek his leadership—through Christ and the Holy Spirit—to clean up their lives and STAY clean and delivered from pornography.

SATAN DOES NOT PLAY FAIR—THAT IS HIS JOB:

     Pornography is just another venue by which Satan does not play fair against mankind.  He uses it to corrupt as many as possible, because he knows his time is short, and that Jesus Christ will return soon. 

     Earlier, I mentioned that one may get sucked into the porn vortex either accidentally or on purpose.  Here are a few examples:

     *ITEM:  A female elementary school teacher buys some video equipment.  She ‘tests’ the equipment on herself through making a few DIY porn events for her own amusement.  Later, she uses the equipment to duplicate a nature video for her students, unaware that she included her own DIY production into the DVD.  Of course, when her third graders received the discs and played them in their homes, they—and their parents—got more than they bargained for.

     *ITEM:  This comes out in the press and online yearly, as we see college and university students head for the beach in various stages of dress—and undress.  The flowing of alcohol and drugs reduces inhibitions.  There are news media photographers—and private Iphone ‘snappers’ a’plenty.  The results often last for years and inflame and corrupt a host of passions.

    *ITEM:  An online version of a newspaper shows photos of a pair of Hollywood stars.  The female is barely clad and is seen in full public view with her husband.

     *ITEM:  In another newspaper story, a wife—who is a schoolteacher—and her husband use her classroom and other portions of the school building as scenes and locations for their ‘do it yourself’ porno production.  Of course, the teacher is fired.  Her justification?  “There was a need for us to do this production, as we had bills to pay…”.

     Sadly, these news items are repeated on a regular basis, and others have been added to the mix by people who justify their sin and involvement in pornography—either soft core or hard core.  What makes it truly tragic are the stories we don’t hear about—but will soon see the light of day as there is nothing hidden from God.  Further, we will also hear of the impact of those young men and young women who consume pornographic products and ‘bust loose’ their lust and rage on an unsuspecting public.  They have been corrupted by porn and have had their thoughts and minds pushed into the danger zone of ‘acting out’ their fantasies.

AS MORE WOMEN GET INTO THE PORN GAME:

     A generation ago, the pornography industry was solely headed by men.  This is rapidly going by the wayside.  More and more ‘liberated’ women are entering this ‘business.’  Porn is just one of the ‘suburbs’ of crime city.  It doesn’t take a rocket wizard to know the names of some of the current online porno sites—and the women who are not only acting ON them but are intently recruiting others to join them in their productions and ventures.  Many of the productions are being done by educated women from a variety of professions and well aware of how much money can be made from this part-time profession, displaying their bodies in a wide array of lust-fueled videos.

     Sadly, some of the women involved in the making of these videos are mothers of teenaged boys AND girls.  One such mother—upon learning that her son and his friends ‘found’ some of her porn productions online—claimed to have been ‘flattered’ to have been thought of so highly by her son and his friends.  Another mother involved in porn has brought her daughter into her productions and enjoys the two of them being thought of as a ‘team’ by willing, online customers who have lots of money to spend on their ‘productions’.

     See where the corruption comes in?  The ‘money motive’ of porn corrupts the family dynamic AND family relationships.

JUST A FEW MORE DEFINITIONS—APPLYING TO WOMEN:

     Here are a few more definitions to fit the unrestrained women of today: 

     First, there is the word ‘feminist’.  My definition is: “A woman who wants to exercise all of her rights, without paying attention to the responsibilities that come with them.”  ‘Feminism’ is: “That mindset which starts out seeking empowerment but ending up with frustration and disappointment.”  Then there is the word ‘feminized’: “A home, institution or country where the women think themselves in charge and men are quite willing to abdicate their leadership roles in order to make women happy—but not necessarily fulfilled.”  One last definition: ‘feminist mentality’.  My definition is: “The mindset and/or beliefs of feminism distilled into a destructive form.”

     At the bottom line, in our modern era, the women who are involved in staring in, producing, and profiting from pornography have been corrupted.  The men, who watch the porn that these women produce are being corrupted.  The teens—both male and female—who watch the porn ‘on the sly’ that these women produce are being corrupted.

     Let me break down corruption for better consumption.  First, rebellion is a part of corruption: “I’m gonna do, what I wanna do, and who are YOU to tell me what is right and wrong.”  Second, witchcraft is a part of corruption—a satanic snare has been ‘cast’ into the mind of both the participant (maker of porn) and recipient (viewer of porn).  Lastly, idolatry is a part of corruption: the participant is making themselves into an idol by lenses, makeup and clothing, while the recipient holds up the pornographic image as the ‘perfection’ of their imagination; meaning that the ‘normal’ view of a woman (or man) has been ‘shoved’ off to the side via the idolatry of the participant and recipient.

     This, in a nutshell, is why porn is so dangerous.  Further, the more one participates in the making of it, or is involved in the consumption of it, the more corrupt they become.  If they are single, dating relationships will never meet the level of the ‘idol’ that they have in their hands or on their electronic screen(s).  If they are married, their spouse will never meet the level of the ‘idol’ that the other spouse has built up in their minds—no matter how much the spouse may try to please their husband or wife who are ‘hooked’ on porn.

THE WRAP UP AND THE WAY OUT:

     Strange as it may seem, there are men and women who don’t want out of the corruption which porn brings.  As one sage preacher said years ago: “Some folk must hit bottom before they will seek Jesus for help and deliverance.  For some, the bottom is a loooooooong way down!”  Put another way, there are some who refuse to be made whole and would rather stay in their sins.

     The way out is simple: Go to Jesus and ask Him to make you whole (John 5:6-15 KJV).  This means that the individual needs to repent (change their direction in life); hear and obey the Word of God concerning salvation, be willing to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Master, and forsake the sins associated with pornography—and destroy whatever porno literature one may have.  Jesus also told the man in our John 5 illustration that he needed to stay out of those sinful activities which brought him low in the first place: “…lets a worse thing come unto thee.”

     For those coming out of porn—as any other sin—there will be up days and down days where you don’t ‘feel’ like you are making progress.  Years ago, Pastor E. V. Hill tackled The Lord’s Prayer and reminded his hearers that sometimes, the Lord will deliver a person instantaneously.  But sometimes, the Lord will let someone wrestle with being free of a particular sin for a ‘long night’ in order that the Lord will get ‘the full glory’.  “Weeping may endure for a night,” Hill shouted with praise, “…but JOY cometh in the morning!”

     No one has to be taught how to sin.  The victory comes in realizing that one is IN sin and needs to stop what they are doing and get free of it.  Sin is the ‘blast’ that will put you ‘last’ and right into the devil’s lap.  Don’t let the devil ride!  Tell Jesus of your sin.  He’ll be more than happy to lead you out of it.  Then, once accomplished, tell others of how He delivered you from a deep, dark night of despair by His mighty power (Rev. 12:11 KJV)!

     In the words of John Owens: “Be killing sin, or it will be killing you!”

     Let me end with this uplifting note: Jesus wants to be counted on as being your friend (John 15:12-21).  He’s the friend who sticks closer than a brother.  However, He does demand change and will help you through each day of it!

    Mike Ramey is a Retired Minister, KJV Bible Teacher and Syndicated Columnist who lives in Indianapolis, Indiana.  “The Ramey Commentaries” is one of a variety of columns that Ramey has in cyberspace.  To drop him a line…or a whine…the address is still the same:  manhoodline@yahoo.com.  © 2024 Barnstorm Communications International.