The penalty of pornography and the power of the gospel
by Casey B Hough, Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission:
In Romans 1:24-25, the apostle Paul wrote, “Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.”
For centuries, this passage has been rightly understood as a denunciation of homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle in society and before God. In no uncertain terms, Paul explicitly addresses and denounces the “shameless acts” of those who “gave up natural relations” with the opposite sex and “received in themselves the due penalty for their error.” Paul tells us that God “gave them up to dishonorable passions” because of this dark exchange. To be sure, I am in completely agreement with the ancient and orthodox Christian understanding of Romans 1 and homosexuality.
I do, however, believe that this passage issues a broader warning about sexual immorality that should be headed by all, especially considering our current existence in a pornified-world.
Hardly anyone can live unaffected by pornography in our day. From the magazines at our children’s eye level in the grocery store checkout line to the potential sewer pipe of internet connectivity that we carry in our pockets and purses, the ubiquity of pornography plagues our society. For decades, many argued that pornography was harmless. Yet, in more recent days, it has become obvious that pornography is enslaving and punishing our society. From the dehumanizing exploitation and harm of women in the porn industry to the fundamental devaluing of sexual intimacy in marriage to the porn-induced physical, emotional and psychological issues facing thousands of people, we are learning that we do not consume pornography; pornography consumes us.
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