Christians and porn: a theology of pornographic lust

This is the third post in a series which aims to address the issues of pornography and our sexuality in a frank and open manner. You can see the other posts here, and here.

I cannot tell you how many times I have heard this statement.

You can look, but you can’t touch.

How many times has someone justified their lust through this kind of thinking?

How many times have I?

I work out at a gym about three times a week (it is hard to stay in shape in my line of work). I have had many women tell me that they hate to work out with men because they feel like pieces of meat. I always thought they were too sensitive, but as I have watched other men in the gym ‘noticing’ women I have to agree with the women. So many times a fit women walks past and all the guys spend the next minute watching her walk away.

A line from the movie Faceoff always runs through my head when I see another mans head swivel to watch a woman walk away.

Eve, Eve. I hate to see you go, but I love to watch you leave.

Driscoll, in chapter three of Porn-Again Christian, talks about an encounter he had with a young Christian at Christian college.

I remember having a converstaion with another young Christain who frequently viewed pornography and told me that it was okay because he had examined the Bible thoroughly and never saw the word “pornography.” But, he convieniently missed the mountain of verses that speak about lust.

For some reason we seem to be able to very easily sidestep the statement of Jesus in Matthew 5:27ff

You have heard it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

It is not as though lust is wrong, it is when lust is focussed on someone other than the spouce that God has given you is wrong. So when we look at the naked pictures of a woman or man who is not our spouce, we lust and commit adultery. If we read or listen to erotic stories which are designed to arouse us, we commit adultery.

Driscoll also reminds us that sexual sins (really all sinning) is not something outside of us, but comes from within us.

Jesus said, “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sexuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

Thus, sexual sins are not “out there” in the media, strip club, or gal with low-rise jeans and hi-rise thong. Truly, the problem is “in you.” It is from the sinfulness of your heart that lust and sin proceed like sewage from a culvert. This is the painful, unvarnished truth.

This is something that is hard for us to understand. We love to work on the outside, on the actions, on the appearance that we give to others. We work hard at building beautiful and thick masks that cover who we really are.

What we need to do is take off the mask, and allow God’s light to shine into the darkest part of our hearts.