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New Discussion Group On Pornograhy
This web site believes that the Bible does allow married couples to use erotic materials, including erotic videos and pictures, as an aphrodisiac to help the couple get sexually aroused for each other, so that the couple may enjoy a better sex life, resulting in stronger marriage bonds, resulting in the couple being better equipped to serve God, resulting in the couple being better servants for Christ and others.
This new discussion group, which was requested by one of our subscribers, is setup to allow subscribers a place to discuss why pornography (pictures of humans without clothes on) is considered sinful in our Christian culture? And is there any kind of pornography that is not sinful? And is there any use of pornography that is honoring to God?
Since there is no dress code in the Bible the primary passages we have in the Bible, that could be used to condemn nudity, are Matthew 5:28 and Ephesians 5:3.
Matthew 5:28 is where Jesus said it is sin for a man to look at another man's wife and lust or covet or wish he could sex with her. I say “another man's wife”, because the Greek word used for woman in Matthew 5:28 is the word "gune" which can also be translated as "wife." It has been translated as "wife" or "wives" in ninety-two other passages in the Bible.
A simple way, I believe, you can tell whether someone is lusting is the “would if you could” idea. In other words; “you would have sex with another man's wife if she would allow it and you were sure you would not be caught or found out.” That, I believe, is the - “lust after her” that Jesus said is the same as physical adultery in Matthew 5:28.
Our other text which could be used to call pornography sin is Ephesians 5 verse 3 where in the NIV Paul says, "But among you there must not be even a hint of “sexual immorality”, or of “any kind of impurity”, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people."
To help us better understand this verse, as any verse, please, let's go back and study the Greek version of this verse to see if the English translation has retained the original meaning of the Greek words.
Always a good start, is to read Young's Literal Translation (YLT) where Ephesians 5 verse 3, it reads, "and whoredom, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as becometh saints;"
And so the Greek transliterated word “porneia” is translated as “whoredom“ in the YLT and "sexual immorality" in the NIV. The New Testament Greek Lexicon defines “porneia” as “adultery, fornication, homosexuality, lesbianism, intercourse with animals etc.” In other words since sexual immorality is not defined in the New Testament, it appears the scholars have gone back to the Old Testament to define what Paul meant when he said we should abstain from “sexual immorality”.
The actual Greek word that is translated as "any kind of impurity" in the NIV meant "uncleanness" in the ancient Greek language. The Greek word akatharsia for "uncleanness" normally refers to being ceremonially unclean as defined in the Old Testament law. It does not appear Paul was using the word “uncleanness” to condemn any sexual behavior.
The lines between the Old Testament law and Paul's New Testament teachings are sometimes blurred as we see in Acts 21:19-24 where Paul goes and makes sacrifices in the Temple. Paul appears to have gone to the Temple to make sacrifices to appease the Jews. Possibly here, Paul has listed being ceremonially unclean (uncleanness) as a sin, possibly also to appease the Jews.
Paul seems to have been referring to three types of sins, one being sexual immorality, the second being ceremonially unclean and the third being covetousness.
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