Musings Part I

PORN V. NUDITY IN MOVIES

Okay, so in christian communities you often hear people talk about the evils of pornography. Yes, pornography is evil! It is a terrible temptation facing men and women today, it is easily accessible and privatized in our technologically advanced society. I don't even want to bother with statistics and figures of the prevalence of pornography and the financial successes of the industry. All of that is so depressing. For now, I want to focus on the issue of pornography in movies. Generally speaking we Christians talk about struggling with watching porn, and how they want it out of their life but it is a struggle. You hear people preach about its evilness and encourage all to get it out of our lives. All good and noble things. However, the same people that speak of this struggle and commit to holding each other accountable in riding ourselves of this, the people who preach of its evil and exhort all to remove it completely from our lives, these people knowingly and completely willingly sit in front of a television in their homes, or in a theatre in front of a GIANT screen watch a movie they KNOW, that the KNOW has nudity in it! I mean these people preach about porn being bad, and then watch a movie with their friends they all know is going to show nudity, or a graphic sex scene. And these people also admit of a struggle. How ridiculous!

I mean seriously lets go through this logically.

Person A hates X
Movie K has X
Person A knows Movie K has X
Person A watched Movie K
Conclusion:Person A knowingly watched what he hates! Where is the logic?

I will put it in a more accurate way here:

Person A is tempted by X
Person A asks person B to help him avoid X, and person B asks A the same
X is in Movie K
Person A and person B know that X is in Movie K
Person A and B watch Movie K together and laugh and have a good ol time
A and B watch X together and laugh and have a good ol time.

Oh X = PORN, NUDITY, Etc.

This is completely Illogical


This doesn't make sense.
Nudity in Movies is PORN!!! Just because it is in the context of a movie doesn't make it okay! It is time for us to be BOLD and courageous in the face of this and say no to the popular movie the media tells us to like! To say NO!! to the Hangovers, and the Old-Schools, the Wedding Crashers, the Hot Tub Time Machine's, The "She's out of my League's", The Super Troopers, The Movies with constant cursing and crude sex jokes. It is time for us to take back our courage and integrity and look this is the face and say "This is not of God, and therefore I will not be of it!" Scripture tells us to be perfect as our heavenly father is perfect, and yes we will fall short, but that does not mean concede defeat. In Ephesians Paul tells us. "Immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be mentioned among you, as is fitting among holy ones, no obscenity or silly or suggestive talk, which is out of place, but instead, thanksgiving." So, therefore we should not indulge knowingly in movies that will encourage this suggestive talk, and will promote obscenity and impurity. When we go to these movies we are saying publicly "That as a christian I endorse the film, and I promote it." We are funding this porn in the movies and this trash, we are funding it and promoting it and encouraging it as well as encouraging our brothers to do that same. Watching these movies is truly detrimental. In Philippians Paul tells us, "whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." These movies are none of those things!! And they make us think about the opposite of these things!

I can't believe that our society has gotten to the point where devout christians see it to be okay to watch a movie they know has this impure content. The early church leaders stood up boldly to the point of being filleted alive, and being stoned, but we don't have the boldness to leave a room, or not buy a ticket to a movie or tell our brothers that this should not be watched! We are filling our minds with impure dishonorable, false, filth. I say that it is time for Men of God to RISE UP and say NO!

I am going reiterate my main point: Nudity in Movies is Porn, and these movies should be viewed the same as sites that we ask our brothers to block for us. Just because it is in the context of a movie and you are watching with friends does mean it isn't porn, and does not mean its okay. It is the same thing as someone searching for porn on the internet, it has the same consequences in our lives, it sparks the same thoughts and future temptations we want to fight against. If you are someone who struggles with pornography and you truly want it out of your life, then first look at the movies you let yourself watch. Are you watching movies that will spark lustful thoughts, and encourage lustful searches online later that night in the privacy of your own room?
I think it takes either a hard heart or extreme naivety to think that nudity in a movie won't have an effect on the purity of thoughts and actions. It would seem to me that someone who struggles with pornography would be more likely to look it up on his computer after seeing it in a movie with his buddies earlier that night or the night before in a movie.

I know I probably sound redundant and you may just hope I stop talking, but I think this is a very important issue and I need to be clear that watching a movie with porn is just as bad as looking stuff up on the internet. I pray that all christian men and women recognize this truth and stop supporting these movies.

The worst part of this is that the children of this age are being inundated with these movies and this crap, their minds are filled with it. I think this is a very scary reality, the number of junior highers and high schoolers who have been introduced to the filth in movies like that hang-over, and kick-ass, and all those other morally offensive movies in our theaters.


Disclaimer: Now, I am not saying that you have to watch only movies like Fireproof, and Facing the Giants, or Finding Nemo and Alvin and the Chipmunks. That is not what I am saying. However, there is a fine line between a movie being morally offensive and complete filth, and a movie that has some content suitable for adults only. USCCB.org has a section that rates movies on a scale of moral acceptability. Ranging from
A-I -- general patronage;
A-II -- adults and adolescents;
A-III -- adults;
L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. L replaces the previous classification, A-IV.
O -- morally offensive.

I want encourage anyone reading this to avoid watching movies with the Morally Offensive rating. Please guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Do not subject yourself to this, and rise above it VICTORIOUS!!! Take back the boldness that we as christians are called to possess!!! reclaim your courage and dignity!!!! BE men and women of CONVICTION!! Men and Women of Action!!!!

I will end with a quote from Pope John Paul II - "The problem with pornography is not that it shows to much, but that is shows too little."

We are more than flesh and bone, and we need to recognize that.

disclaimer 2: This is in no way intended to offend or call anyone out, it is merely something that has been a conviction in me and I wanted to bring it to attention because I think it is easy for people (me included) to take these things lightly. It is meant for encouragement (for me and anyone who wants to read it).

God Bless.