Mutuality | Blog + Magazine | Spring 2009
The print + digital magazine of CBE International
Mutuality offers articles from diverse writers who share egalitarian theology and explore its intersection with everyday life.
Blog + Magazine ArticlesThe opinions expressed in these articles are those of the authors. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of CBE International or its members.
Spring 2009
Volume: 16 | Number: 1
Pornography and the Church
This issue of Mutuality discuss the problem of pornography among Christians, with a focus on how troubling theological beliefs about the nature of men and women are reflected in pornography.
Contents
In a startling study, researcher Ryan Burns found a direct correlation between men’s porn use and their beliefs in traditional roles for women.
The bottom line is God did not create any woman to be a prostitute, a stripper, a porn star, or to feel like she must pursue an endless quest for physical perfection.
Myths about sexuality are not just confined to our broader culture. They exist in our churches as well.
A pastor and counselor responds to pornography
Ultimately, the norms of male domination — expressed through pornography — are the opposite of authentic masculinity. Pornography imprisons women in the grasp of insecure and dominant men.
Sara and I wanted to write a letter to you about something we don’t often talk about: pornography. If you are anything like me, you were introduced to pornography at a fairly young age.
I had been taught that women had supportive roles in family life. I had been taught the church family was no different. Equal in Christ, with different appointments, all important; there was no favoritism with my Creator.
Though often indulged in secret, the impact is widely felt and impossible to escape as it shapes a devaluation of women. Yet in loving one another as Christ did, we recognize that what injures one member in Christ’s body hurts all.
Drawing from his own experience of pornography addiction, Reynolds calls men, in his book A New Man, to reject any conception of masculinity that sees porn use as a natural—or, even worse, an essential—part of being a man.
