CHRISTIA

N
ETHIC
S
CONTEMPORARY ISSUES & OPTI
ONS

NORMAN L.
 Part
2

E T H I C A LI S S U E
S
 APPENDIX 3
PORNOGRAPH
Y
 APPENDIX 3
Pornography is a major problem both in society in general and among many Christians in particular.
Today TV, DVDs, and the Internet have made it readily available to all who want it. But viewing
pornographic material precipitates marriage breakups and can produce cocaine-like addictions. It has
contributed to both common and violent crimes, including rape and murder. Like a rash, once it is
scratched, it grows worse. In 1972, Playboy magazine reached 25 percent of all college men.' Ninety
percent of children 8-16 years of age have been exposed to pornography. By 2004, there were 23-60
million visitors to some type of pornography Web site every day. In fact, one Internet search engine
for KaZaA has reported that 72 percent of its Internet searches are for pornography, and that 24
percent of those are for child pornography. In 1998 there were 14 million Internet Web sites on
pornography. By July of 2004 there were 420 million pornographic Web sites.' As one writer has put
it, "America does not know the difference between money and sex. It treats sex like money because it
treats sex as a medium of exchange, and it treats money like sex because it expects its money to get
pregnant and reproduce."'
Just what is pornography? Webster defines it as '`obscene literature or art." The legal understanding
includes three aspects as defined by the Supreme Court in

1. John Coleman, 'Porn in the USA: Examining Our National Addiction, Salvo
1973: (1) When taken as a whole within community
standards, it is something that the average person believes
does appeal to prurient (sensual) interests. (2) It is material
that depicts or describes sexual conduct in a patently
offensive way as specifically defined by applicable law. (3)
Taken in its totality, the work lacks serious literary, political,
or scientific value.
Our purposes here are less technical and legal than this
definition. Hence, we view pornography as any writings or
images that appeal to one's sexual desires outside of one's
marital partner. In brief, it is something that stimulates
extramarital lust or sensual desires.
The Social Case against Pornography
The are numerous arguments against pornography, both
social and scriptural. Pornography is not merely a lustful
pastime. It is actually a sensual activity that has
devastating effects upon the individual, the family, and
society at large. A leading expert on this issue, Dr. Judith
Reisman, "has devoted her life to demonstrating—through
irrefutable scientific evidence—that pornographic images
actually alter the chemical structures of the human brain,
and not in a good way. Moreover, she has proved beyond
question (and to anyone who cares in the least) that
pornography can be as addictive as crack cocaine and is a
key contributor to rape, incest, pedophilia, and other forms
of sexual assault."'
 Pornography Causes Aggression among Individuals
Pornography causes aggression because it destroys the
natural relationships found between individuals. A proper
sexual relation provides a proper context for sexual
relations. But when a person views pornography, it can lead
to aggression because it destroys the normal spatial
relationships between individuals. It starts to build an
aggression in the individual, which over long periods of
time can foster a state of aggression known to eventually
act out in the public arena.'
 Pornography Creates a Type of Animal Behavior in Human
Beings
Pornography produces a type of estrus (heat, sexual excitability)
that provokes men to sexual lust. Reisman shows that in many
cases this leads to sexual frus- tration in men because it builds all
the chemical and emotional conditions for sexual intercourse, but
they are not able to express those emotions.61his habitual
emotional frustration eventual leads to long-term states of
emotional frustration, aggression, and sometimes even violence
in other areas of life.
4. Bobby Maddex, 'The Naked Truth: An Interview with Dr. Judith
Reisman; Salvo 2 (Spring 2007): 28;
http://wvnv.salvomag.cominew/articies/salvo2/2maddex.php. S. Ibid., 30.