At the Crossroads: April 2007

I know I had promised earlier that I would chip in my two cents in the whole sex and nudity in movies discussion. The following is a tardy and somewhat unorganized list of some points I believe ought to be considered in this issue. My thoughts are primarily directed to Christian men and are focused upon the impropriety of their watching sexually explicit scenes in movies.

1. Consider, first and foremost, the Lord and Master who has purchased you with his own blood. We are not our own, our eyes are not our own. We and they belong fully to Christ, and we have no right to use them in any way which displeases him.

2. Consider what it is you are actually doing. Sometimes, simply describing an activity helps us understand its true nature. What are you really doing when you watch such a scene? Simply stated, you are paying money to watch a real man and a real woman take off their clothes and pretend to engage in sexual activity for a movie camera. The technical term for this is voyeurism.

3. Consider your own purity. I know that most men who justify watching this kind of material say that seeing unclothed women pretend to have sex doesn’t bother them. By this I imagine they mean that it doesn’t tempt them to lust. If you’re saying this…you’re lying, at least to yourself. If you’re saying this and you’re not lying, you probably need some sort of medical attention. If you are saying this, and you’re not lying, and you do not need medical attention, then you need to find some better way to use your eunuch status for the kingdom.

Usually discussion of this issue only gets as far as the previous point, as if the possible negative effects upon the male voyeur are the only or the most important consideration. However, there is much more to be considered.

4. Consider the rights of your wife. Your wife or future wife has the right to your exclusive sexual attention. Furthermore, she has the right not to be continually compared to your mental collection of images of the mostly plastic bodies of all the women you’ve been watching on the big screen. When you put yourself in a position to see such things, you are sinning against her (Eunuchs, see the end of point 3).

5. Consider the dignity of the woman you are watching. Scripture is clear that, outside of marriage, looking upon a woman’s nakedness is a shame and dishonor to her. Again, the film medium does not change the fact that this is a real woman, whose real nakedness is being exposed to anyone who is willing to pay the $9.50. The fact that she does so willingly to get your money does not give you the right contribute to that dishonor.

6. Consider the woman’s husband or father. Remember the golden rule? Few of us, if we really thought about it, would want millions of men paying to see our wives or daughters take off their clothes and pretend to have sex with another actor. Yet many are willing to pay to borrow other men’s wives and daughters for the purpose. Again, I’m sure some actresses have husbands and fathers desensitized enough not to let such a thing bother them. That does not mean that you are wronging them any less.

7. Consider your own daughters. Be prepared for the difficulty of explaining to your young girls why they shouldn’t do for other men what you’ve been paying other girls to do for you.