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Pornography and the internet

Messianic Israelite

Active Member
Why are you using a shared computer?
If you were getting adverts for Russian Girls from Google, then it was something that you did that caused those ads to show up. Google looks at what you do and then tries to give you more of the same.



If you found porn on youtube, you really had to have been looking very hard for it. I use youtube a lot and have yet to see a nipple.
Hi ecco. Good morning.
I was using a different computer over 2 weeks ago in a public place and the adverts I got were from dating sites. I haven’t used a dating site in years so it hadn’t anything to do with my searches.

In terms of YouTube, I guess the problem is the suggested videos that come up. I have heard people complaining about the dark side of YouTube. Thankfully, although pornography from porn sites is taken down relatively quickly, they are a number of videos that expose the female anatomy or are intended to have people lust after them.
 

Messianic Israelite

Active Member
First, being 'scantily clad' is not the same as pornography.

Second, I see this as a *benefit* of modern technology. I can view pornographic images without having to go buy a magazine, which is what I did before the internet.

Third, not everyone sees nudity as a bad thing. Even depictions of sexuality are not inherently bad, in my mind. In particular, you come from *one* particular religious background. Others do not share that background and many do not share your views of sexuality.

So, while you can seek to avoid things that you disagree with, that places no requirement on others to do the same.

No, I don't think the government should ban this. In fact, I think it has no business here at all (unless people are being abused or forced to do things without consent).
Hi Polymath. Good afternoon.
You don’t see anything wrong with pornography? I assume you aren’t religious then. Especially if you adhere to one of the Abrahamic faiths even looking at a woman and lusting after her is evil with the only exception being your spouse.

The Greek term ‘porneia’ is used in the New Testament to describe sexual immorality and as you might be able to tell this word is very close to the word ‘porn’.

I agree, not everyone sees a problem with nudity but the Bible has, since the original sin, been opposed to it. Nakedness is in fact mentioned in the curse for violating the Law in Deuteronomy 28:48. I know some people don’t have a problem exposing themselves, that’s what pornography is all about, but the Bible teaches modesty (1 Timothy 2:9).

I can’t hope to expect pornography to be banned. It won’t exist in the Kingdom of Yahweh on this earth (Recelation 5:10) though. But it would be nice to see the Government taking a stance against pornography the same as it does with (say) smoking. Obviously it would be difficult for the Government to ban smoking so they’ve set up smoke free zones and have programs to help people quit smoking. It would be nice to see something like this as many people are spiritually weak.
 

Messianic Israelite

Active Member
That only leaves you with the bible. A book filled with graphic stories of murder, incest, rape, slavery, and genocide.
Hi Ecco. Good afternoon.
The Bible is filled with acts of love, joy, peace, goodness, meekness, loving kindness, faithfulness and self control (Galatians 5:22).
 

Messianic Israelite

Active Member
It has become such a large part of life, that would be difficult. In the first couple of years after I went into business, there was no internet. Now, I would have a hard time doing business without it. The pros? It's very fast. The cons? It's very impersonal.
Hi David. Good afternoon.
Yes, I’m sorry I should’ve explained that I also use the internet at work. I work for a company that offers counselling and we have to use the internet system to check mail and process clients. I should’ve mentioned that. I also should’ve said that I listen to the radio as that is typically a clean instrument that can be used devoid of sexualised content with the exception of some songs that sing about this. I listen to BBC Radio 4 and Classic FM only.

I agree that if I were to ban the internet completely out my life it would be difficult to find a job in the field I enjoy.
 

Darkstorn

This shows how unique i am.
Hi Ecco. Good afternoon.
The Bible is filled with acts of love, joy, peace, goodness, meekness, loving kindness, faithfulness and self control (Galatians 5:22).

But it would be nice to see the Government taking a stance against pornography the same as it does with (say) smoking. Obviously it would be difficult for the Government to ban smoking so they’ve set up smoke free zones and have programs to help people quit smoking. It would be nice to see something like this as many people are spiritually weak.

When you say self control, why do you actually mean "controlling others?"

A serious question.

You got one thing right, there are spiritually weak people, probably. I think you're one of them.
 

Polymath257

Think & Care
Staff member
Premium Member
Hi Polymath. Good afternoon.
You don’t see anything wrong with pornography? I assume you aren’t religious then. Especially if you adhere to one of the Abrahamic faiths even looking at a woman and lusting after her is evil with the only exception being your spouse.

You are correct. I do not adhere to any belief in a supernatural. In particular, I don't believe in any of the Abrahamic deities.

The Greek term ‘porneia’ is used in the New Testament to describe sexual immorality and as you might be able to tell this word is very close to the word ‘porn’.

And yet, the original meaning only dealt with fornication and not other types of what you would call 'sexual immoralities'.

I agree, not everyone sees a problem with nudity but the Bible has, since the original sin, been opposed to it. Nakedness is in fact mentioned in the curse for violating the Law in Deuteronomy 28:48. I know some people don’t have a problem exposing themselves, that’s what pornography is all about, but the Bible teaches modesty (1 Timothy 2:9).

OK, so the Bible teaches that. Go adhere to that teaching as best you can while allowing others to go their own way. You (or the Bible) do not get to choose the principles that other people live by.

I can’t hope to expect pornography to be banned. It won’t exist in the Kingdom of Yahweh on this earth (Recelation 5:10) though. But it would be nice to see the Government taking a stance against pornography the same as it does with (say) smoking. Obviously it would be difficult for the Government to ban smoking so they’ve set up smoke free zones and have programs to help people quit smoking. It would be nice to see something like this as many people are spiritually weak.


Why should the government get involved at all? One of our basic principles is that government doesn't get involved in religious affairs (so to speak). It is a *secular* government and not a religious one.

We can debate whether governments should be involved in banning smoking (and other drugs), but the argument for involvement in such is not based in religion, but in public health. If anything, pornography increases public health.

I've noticed that you like to talk about people who are 'spiritually weak'. The fact that someone disagrees with you and your religion does not make them weak. In many cases, it makes them stronger.

For myself, when I stopped trying to find a deity and realized I have to take responsibility for myself, I was liberated. It is a hard role, because we all make mistakes. But discovering that morality doesn't have to be dictated, but can be based on rationality was a revelation. Trying to obey an inscrutable deity is far, far more oppressive than just stopping and thinking about actions before I do them.
 

9-10ths_Penguin

1/10 Subway Stalinist
Premium Member
For those not old enough to remember, the Internet was originally a way for University nerds to experiment with sending messages back and forth.
And it grew out of a DoD project to create a computer network that could stand up to nuclear attack, since it didn't rely on a central server that could be taken out with one missile strike.
 

BilliardsBall

Veteran Member
Technological advances in our modern times has allowed us to reach great feats. This 'computer age' as some have called it, has given us an unprecedented amount of convenience: computer and mechanical systems are able to do things for us in the fraction of the time it would otherwise take us to do. However, one of the main disadvantages of technology, specifically the internet, is the prevalence of pornography. All of us have been exposed to various elements of 'pornea'. Whether that's in advertisements such as what I can see on the religiousforums adverts, advertising dating sites with scantily clad women, at least when I'm using a shared computer. In Google Chrome I got messages saying things like 'Russian girls want to date in your area' with depictions of again, very immodestly 'dressed' women. Even on Youtube - a supposedly family friendly video upload site - contains gravure and sometimes pornography appears on that site. Youtube, as do many other sites like Tumblr, Twitter and Instagram have dark sides to them.

Thankfully, as a religious person I've been able to excise myself from the internet and television with Yahshua's help. I no longer have a tv or a broadband connection and this, though quite extreme, has helped me to focus on spirituality and observe what Yahshua said in the Beatitudes, to cut off whatever is a source of stumbling (Matthew 5:29-30). I still download Netflix shows at the library and then watch them when I get home so I do have some form of entertainment.

I'm writing this thread because I don't know what's going on in your private homes, but Yahweh is an El who sees in secret (Matthew 6:4, 2 Kings 17:9), therefore it's the secret sins that are often the worst rightly so because part of the conscience is telling the perpetrator that they are indeed shameful hence 'secret'. I'm curious to know how other people avoid the constant bombardment of sex and sexualised footage and images on the internet. I feel for those who are spiritually weak and don't have Yahshua to call upon. Acts 4:12 tells us that this name is the only name in which there is salvation because Yahshua means Yahweh is salvation. That was the Messiah's hebrew name. I suspect that those who are spiritually weak are going to have a big problem using the internet as they are opportunities to sin in so many avenues and with the simple click of a button.

Pornography is sexual immorality which is spoken against in many passages of scriptures such as 1 Thessalonians 4:3 and Matthew 5:28. What are your thoughts on pornography? Do you think the government should ban it, help people to overcome it or just leave things how they are?

I'm unsure why America's government is yet to allow freedom of speech while putting all porn on .xxx domains, thus making it EASY to keep it from CHILDREN.

I AM sure why religious skeptics love porn and deny it hurts participants and actors alike.
 

dfnj

Well-Known Member
Pornography is sexual immorality which is spoken against in many passages of scriptures such as 1 Thessalonians 4:3 and Matthew 5:28. What are your thoughts on pornography? Do you think the government should ban it, help people to overcome it or just leave things how they are?

The Bible was wrong about the morality of slavery. Maybe it is wrong about the morality of consensual sex.

No. 1:St Paul’s advice about whether women are allowed to teach men in church:

“I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent.” (1 Timothy 2:12)

No. 2: In this verse, Samuel, one of the early leaders of Israel, orders genocide against a neighbouring people:

“This is what the Lord Almighty says... ‘Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’” (1 Samuel 15:3)

No. 3: A command of Moses:

“Do not allow a sorceress to live.” (Exodus 22:18)

No. 4: The ending of Psalm 137, a psalm which was made into a disco calypso hit by Boney M, is often omitted from readings in church:

“Happy is he who repays you for what you have done to us – he who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.” (Psalm 137:9)

No. 5: Another blood-curdling tale from the Book of Judges, where an Israelite man is trapped in a house by a hostile crowd, and sends out his concubine to placate them:

“So the man took his concubine and sent her outside to them, and they raped her and abused her throughout the night, and at dawn they let her go. At daybreak the woman went back to the house where her master was staying, fell down at the door and lay there until daylight. When her master got up in the morning and opened the door of the house and stepped out to continue on his way, there lay his concubine, fallen in the doorway of the house, with her hands on the threshold. He said to her, ‘Get up; let’s go.’ But there was no answer. Then the man put her on his donkey and set out for home.” (Judges 19:25-28)

No. 6: St Paul condemns homosexuality in the opening chapter of the Book of Romans:

“In the same way also the men, giving up natural intercourse with women, were consumed with passion for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in their own persons the due penalty for their error.” (Romans 1:27)

No. 7: In this story from the Book of Judges, an Israelite leader, Jephthah, makes a rash vow to God, which has to be carried out:

“And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord, and said, ‘If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, then whoever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return victorious from the Ammonites, shall be the Lord’s, to be offered up by me as a burnt-offering.’ Then Jephthah came to his home at Mizpah; and there was his daughter coming out to meet him with timbrels and with dancing. She was his only child; he had no son or daughter except her. When he saw her, he tore his clothes, and said, ‘Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low; you have become the cause of great trouble to me. For I have opened my mouth to the Lord, and I cannot take back my vow.’” (Judges 11:30-1, 34-5)

No. 8: The Lord is speaking to Abraham in this story where God commands him to sacrifice his son:

‘Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt-offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you.’ (Genesis 22:2)

No. 9: “Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.” (Ephesians 5:22)

No. 10: “Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the cruel.” (1 Peter 2:18)

It seems to me the Bible was written by men and not God. And the morality expressed the Bible is based on the morality of the men living in the time the Bible was written. I'm not saying killing someone is never immoral. What I am saying is what we think is moral and immoral is changing over time.

Maybe on some level it's better for men to masturbate away sexual desire to pornography than to rape woman in real life against their will.

The other problem is you do not understand how the Internet works. You can't censor millions of websites from posting pornography. You would need 4 billion people on the planet to police the other 3 billion people. There are just way too many outlets. Years passed they talked about having xxx extension on URLs for porn sites but it never became popular with people selling or making money from porn. Everything is dot com.

The only solution to pornography and children is to have honest conversations with children about the importance of relationships and consensual sex with a long term partner. But the more you make something taboo the more people will be drawn to it. Sexual desire is a big part of being human. It needs to be handled in the most measurably effective way and not in ways based on superstitious nonsense or archaic thinking from goat herders.
 

Polymath257

Think & Care
Staff member
Premium Member
I'm unsure why America's government is yet to allow freedom of speech while putting all porn on .xxx domains, thus making it EASY to keep it from CHILDREN.

I AM sure why religious skeptics love porn and deny it hurts participants and actors alike.

I'd be perfectly happy to have porn on .xxx domains. Now, exactly how do we define 'porn'? Is a woman in a bathing suit 'porn'? The OP seems to think so (if I am wrong, I apologize). If you go to Europe, it is fairly common to see bare breasts in advertisements. is that 'porn'? Or does 'porn' require the showing of genitals?

Or is it, like a Supreme Court justice once said 'I know it when I see it'?
 

dfnj

Well-Known Member
I'm unsure why America's government is yet to allow freedom of speech while putting all porn on .xxx domains, thus making it EASY to keep it from CHILDREN.

I AM sure why religious skeptics love porn and deny it hurts participants and actors alike.

This is exactly the problem. There are just way too many people publishing porn to police it. You would need millions of police policing pornography forcing all the publishers to use .xxx domains. It's never going to happen. Nobody is going to stop spending a trillion dollars on war and dropping 30,000 bombs per year on Muslim countries in the Middle East in order to enforce porn publishers to start using .xxx domains. The lobbyists for the people where money is being spent now are just way too powerful allow their cash cow to be removed.
 

dfnj

Well-Known Member
I'd be perfectly happy to have porn on .xxx domains. Now, exactly how do we define 'porn'? Is a woman in a bathing suit 'porn'? The OP seems to think so (if I am wrong, I apologize). If you go to Europe, it is fairly common to see bare breasts in advertisements. is that 'porn'? Or does 'porn' require the showing of genitals?

Or is it, like a Supreme Court justice once said 'I know it when I see it'?

If someone is willing to pay me to do it I am willing to spend the time watching hours of videos to determine if they are sexual in nature.
 

ronki23

Well-Known Member
The dark web is where illegal stuff is and is much harder to control. Personally I don't see porn unless I'm looking for it so maybe you should stop searching for it. Google has safe search filters so maybe try using it.

Again, why is it so bad if it's kept on the dark web out of view of the general population. People watching porn on it aren't necessarily going to order drugs too.
 

ronki23

Well-Known Member
If safety were a concern in MMA they wouldn't even hold events. The human body just is not designed to take that sort of abuse, head trauma happens, brain trauma happens, early deaths happen. Movie fighting is highly choreographed and "less real" than professional wrestling. If people are hurt there it's an accident and not because they made a career of getting punched and kicked in the head.


The point is to beat the hell out of each other, often until one is knocked out. "Safety" and MMA (as well as boxing and other combat sports) are mutually exclusive. You're almost guaranteed to get brain damage sooner or later. I don't really watch it but I play UFC video games and it's extremely brutal and bloody. You break bones and beat each other until you're both covered in blood.

Anyone who thinks porn is less harmful to society than MMA is delusional.

If MMA is too brutal then so is boxing; kickboxing ; taekwondo (knockouts and concussions), amateur wrestling, ju jitsu and judo (joint dislocations and various muscle tears), and American Football and Rugby. Even Ice Hockey has brawls.

MMA… Safer than you think!
 

ronki23

Well-Known Member
So you are saying that rapists watch less porn than men that do not rape:

All men watch porn, scientists find

I guess the solution is more porn!

If you claim 100% of men watch porn and only 86% of rapists watch it, then you're ignoring 2 ( or 3) things:

1. 70 something % of people who watch rape porn go and rape others

1.5. Ron Jeremy (the most famous porn star) has been accused of raping people

2. Women also watch porn
 

ronki23

Well-Known Member
By the way, I idolise Peter Stringfellow and Hugh Hefner but I'm not into porn; I just love the female body
 

Subduction Zone

Veteran Member
If you claim 100% of men watch porn and only 86% of rapists watch it, then you're ignoring 2 ( or 3) things:

1. 70 something % of people who watch rape porn go and rape others

1.5. Ron Jeremy (the most famous porn star) has been accused of raping people

2. Women also watch porn
A bogus figure was quoted along with some very poor logic. I tried to he my this to light by pointing out that almost everyone watches porn. The figure given for assumed male rapists was less than the rate that makes watch porn at. That implied that watching more porn powers the rate of rapes. Which is amazingly enough true.
 

Goodman John

Active Member
That what does not kill you makes you stronger!

that-witch-does-not-kill-me-should-run-duffle-bag.jpg
 

Goodman John

Active Member
One of the problems is that 'pornography' is often subjective, with one person's opinion being different from another. Over the years I've noticed that there's an awful lot of films in which sex is depicted and it's utterly pornographic despite being non-explicit in what is shown. At the same time I've seen ultra-explicit 'pornography' that barely registers on the Viagra Scale. Another person could watch those exact same films and see something completely different.

The trick in pornography is getting your mind engaged- if the film or book can get you thinking sex then it's served its purpose. Take the current YouTube phenomenon of 'cleaning' or 'yoga' videos. You can do even a cursory search for each and in seeing what's uploaded it's pretty darned obvious that the shapely young lady on her knees wearing only a thin tank top and booty shorts isn't all that sincerely interested in passing on tips on cleaning food stains from a kitchen floor. Likewise, the very fit yoga girls aren't always trying to pass on helpful tips to others; they are there to demonstrate just how limber they are and how quickly they can get ankles behind their head or something equally as imagination-jolting. Can these sorts of videos be labeled as 'pornography'? Of course they can, depending on what definition you use. Personally, I see them as pornography- albeit low-level- but at the same time I don't think they're inherently bad. I confess some of them- particularly the 'cleaning' videos- are funny to watch because sometimes it's painfully- and hilariously- obvious what they're doing with their clothes and positions and all, yet trying to act like it's just another day picking up toys or mopping the floor.
 
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