THOUGHTS ON THE IMMORALITY OF PORNOGRAPHY AND SEXUAL SIN

Many of my closest friends know of my struggle with pornography. Sexual sin has been my biggest struggle in my life. Some struggle with alcohol; some struggle with other drugs; some struggle with gossip; still others struggle with sexual sin. Pornography is included in sexual sin, and speaking from experience, a struggle with pornography, if not cut, can lead to bigger sexual issues. In fact, some are so opposed to pornography in any form that they support the illegalization of it. Should pornography be illegal? In my opinion, as with many other things, which are illegal, no. Should it be seen as morally wrong though? Yes. Pornography does many things to someone and causes problems in many respects. Besides the immorality of it, here are some reasons not to have anything to do with pornography.

1.       Pornography presents an unreal picture of sex. Most of the actors and actresses seen in pornography videos and models seen in photos are digitally enhanced in some way, or they have something surgically enhanced. This created an unrealistic view of sex.

2.       Pornography removes the intimacy from sex. It becomes so routine and common when addicted that sex begins to mean less and less to us. That is not how it is designed to be.

3.       Pornography wastes time and money. When I consider the amount of time and money I have spent in sexual sin, it amazes me what I could have accomplished if I was focused on my work and not on something immoral.

4.       Pornography disrespects yourself and your sexual partner. It causes people to become objects, especially your sexual partner, your spouse.

These are merely a few of the reasons pornography is wrong. While it should not be illegal, it should be seen by moral people as immoral. Many struggle with it, and it is by helping each other and holding each other accountable that we can make it.

WOULD AN APOCALYPSE BE A GOOD THING?

With all of the political rhetoric hitting the stage in recent days, I now wonder if there is anyone left in leadership who is decent. I like the Romney/Ryan ticket, but I even wonder if those two are corrupt as are many leaders in our country. The fact of the matter is that we live in a corrupt society. A new series is coming on NBC this fall called Revolution. It looks very good. The idea behind the show is a world after the power supply has gone out. It has made me wish that would happen in real life. The female star of the show said in the previews, “When the world’s power went out, I found mine.” I wonder how many people would fine their power and be better off if something apocalyptic happened. I certainly would. Could it be that what we need is a cleaning house? We live in such a corrupt society and country now that something like that might very well be beneficial to us. Until then, however, we must live as people trying to make the world a better place in hopes that one day it genuinely will be.

CHICK-FIL-A SITUATION

With the Chick-Fil-A controversy (that should not be a controversy might I add), I am yet again reminded of the fact that tolerance cannot simply be one-sided. Dan Cathy obviously has every right to say what he wants and publicly state his opinions on what he believes. He may not one day with the direction our country is going, but for now, he does. The protestors of Chick-Fil-A also have every right to act however or say whatever they want in response to his statement. What is distorted here is that Cathy, in no way, said anything against homosexuals. In fact, Chick-Fil-A often employs homosexuals. His statement was simply that he and Chick-Fil-A support heterosexual marriage because they believe that is biblical. This was not hateful or bigoted in any way. The problem here lies in that people want tolerance unless they have to be tolerant. To me, it seems as though the tolerant person here is Dan Cathy, not the protestors. People are allowed to have varying views. I personally, however, believe it to be wrong for someone to have a double-standard.

Another issues with Chick-Fil-A right now is the fact that three mayors (San Francisco, Boston, and Chicago) have all said that Chick-Fil-A is not welcome in their city. First of all, this is unconstitutional. One cannot stop commerce. This is where, just like the federal government, any government involvement in personal life, business, or education at all is bad.

I, for one, have beliefs and views that are vastly different from what a typical Christian believes. That is because I do not, at all, believe in creating laws based on morality. What you get is a theocracy if that happens. There are things that are illegal that I believe should be legal. However, simply because I support something legally (such as gay marriage) does not mean I believe it is morally ok. In the same way, those who are protesting Chick-Fil-A because of a moral stance on an issue should reexamine their own lives to see who the tolerant one in the situation is because it is definitely not them.

NEW LYRICS: THE QUEST

I wrote some lyrics today that could be the beginnings of a song. My lyrics have become deeper and more personally meaningful. However, to anyone else, they’re usually an enigma. Here are the new lyrics:

The battle’s finally settled and the black has turned to grey
Everyone has seen the captured tears and turned away
Do I In murky waters lurks below the one who traps the mind
And all the thoughts now passing through are running out of time Am I
The quest is all I see
No compromise in free
You cannot lie
Can I
You cannot die
Will I
The hands are turning over on a body made of sand
And all rights have been neglected and been taken from the land
Have mine
The sacred has forsaken us with a broken alibi
And all that was once standing has now fallen from the sky
Have I

PENN STATE PUNISHMENT

As I awoke this morning, I heard on the radio that Penn State has been handed down punishments for the child abuse scandal that shocked the nation last year. The punishments included 4 years of bowl game ineligibility, a $60,000,000 fine, and reversing wins coached under Joe Paterno after 1998 to losses, which now means that he is no longer the winningest college football coach. I strongly disagree with this decision for multiple reasons.

1.       This punishment should come against the school and its officials, not the students, and clearly this decision goes against the students. What the hell did they do to deserve this? Nothing!

2.       Joe Paterno followed university protocol when this incident took place. Again if the NCAA decides to punish the university, then do so, but it is solely the fault of the university for having questionable protocol.

3.       Penn State won those games whether the NCAA takes the wins away or not. I always question decisions to take wins away. It would be as if a third party decided to take the win away from Texas, revoked their independence, and made Mexico the ruler again. Penn State won.

If the NCAA wants to punish people in a fair way, it is the individuals involved that should be punished. This needs to take place on an individual level, not at an entire institution level. I believe this was an attempt to “look” tough on child abuse and to come out looking like a hero. Shame, NCAA! Shame!

APPROPRIATE REACTION TO THE COLORADO SHOOTINGS

With the Colorado shootings in recent days, one might wonder what the correct response is. What do we say? What is appropriate, and what is not? These are relevant and indeed frustrating questions. In the overabundance of news media on the issue, I have come to realize that many people have verbally offered up prayers for the victims and their families. This is definitely appropriate. However, I have two issues with this. First of all, I wonder how many people who verbally say they will be praying for the victims and their families actually do what they said. I would imagine that the number is very few. Secondly, as much as people may hate to admit it, the shooter, while troubled as he may be, certainly needs prayer as well. I would even argue that perhaps he needs more prayer than the victims and their families. Compassion and mercy tend to flow from my life so while justice must be accomplished in this situation, we must remind ourselves that the shooter is also someone’s friend, someone’s son, someone’s students, and indeed someone who has been loved by others at some point. Let us obviously remember the victims and their families during this difficult time, but let us not forget the one who was so troubled, so hurt, so confused, and so depressed even that he made the choice to kill people. Let us also remember this man in our prayers.

CONSTITUTIONAL OR MORAL?

I read an article today that angered me. Michael Salman, a pastor and Bible study leader in Phoenix, AZ was arrested a couple of years ago for holding a Bible study in his house. The city says that it was because his house was not zoned as a church so what he did was illegal. I was astonished at how they did it too. It took over a dozen police officers and city officials to bust in his house and arrest him. The story goes on though. He just begun serving a 60 day jail sentence for the “crime;” he will serve 3 years on probation afterwards; and he was given a fine over $12,000. Let’s face it though; this is religious persecution, which will merely increase in the good ‘ol US of A in the future. We all know it whether we admit it or not. We no longer live in the freest country in the world. Not only is what they did unconstitutional (as are so many things that happen in our country…even things that we take for granted every day), but it is also morally wrong. I am typically good about separating morals from the Constitution. I don’t believe you can look at them as one and the same. When you do, you begin to create laws based on religious morality, which soon becomes a theocracy. That is wrong, in and of itself, because Christianity is proposed, not imposed. Jesus set this example. This is why we see no example of him protesting things that were legal despite the fact that they were immoral. As Christians, we should stand for what is right, but we should never impose our morals on anyone else. This is why I have no problem with saying that something that is sin should not necessarily be illegal. I am a constitutionalist, and when we create laws based on religious convictions rather than the Constitution, we become a theocracy faster than we might think. Our country has become unrecognizable in many ways. We don’t know what we are anymore. Stick to the Constitution, and we won’t have that problem. Our freedoms are vanishing little by little, but one day, if we are not careful, they will all be gone; and it will be no one’s fault but our own.