"Starve, Run, Amputate"

[Marian the Librarian]

The latest offering from Scott Brown via ncficdotorg:

"In this day of internet access and public immodesty, the Christian man has a ceaseless war with his eyes. But this Sunday, there will be help from heaven for Hope Baptist and Sovereign Redeemer. We are both preaching from Matthew 5 where Jesus addresses the issue of adultery of the heart. Jason Dohm writes this about this important issue on his blog. In various ways, we will both be encouraging our congregations to starve, run and amputate whatever causes adultery of the heart."

Their ability to put the "fun" in fundie never ceases to amaze!

[antifundie]

Wow, where do I sign up? I mean, geez, sounds...riveting.

(Disclaimer: If people want to look at porn, if you're over 18, I don't care)

That said, is it REALLY that hard to avoid porn on the internet? I mean I use the internet ALL. THE. TIME., and never see porn. I have regular internet through the cable company, and as far as I know it's not particularly filtered (unless I need to get work done!) but honestly, if a guy doesn't want to look, he doesn't have too, I don't think.

Quite frankly, I don't really even know where I go looking for that kind of thing, unless I googled it. But that takes intent, and I think men are capable of making a decision to either look or not. It doesn't just flash up on your computer. And even if it did, (I think, maybe 10 years or so ago this was more of a problem?) it's not hard-core stuff. 10ish years ago when I was in college, I feel like some ads on some websites were questionable, but I don't see that now.

Of course, "public immodesty" is an entirely different matter. Maybe it's a part of where I live, but other than at school when the sun actually shows up, I just don't see it in my daily life. I swear, people around here spend 80% of the year in long pants and a jacket. Of course, I also don't see because I expect runners to be wearing tight clothing, and I don't even notice jeans, etc.

[fundiefan]

Thanks for the warning. Not that I'm anywhere near them, but at least I have a very specific reason to remain miles and miles from those churches.

This comes from the man who's own blog is about Reforming the Vatican...with a picture of him and the dude in the wheelchair and that bag they all thought was epic or whatever while in Rome.

Stupid is as stupid does.

[treemom]

Wow, where do I sign up? I mean, geez, sounds...riveting.

(Disclaimer: If people want to look at porn, if you're over 18, I don't care)

That said, is it REALLY that hard to avoid porn on the internet? I mean I use the internet ALL. THE. TIME., and never see porn. I have regular internet through the cable company, and as far as I know it's not particularly filtered (unless I need to get work done!) but honestly, if a guy doesn't want to look, he doesn't have too, I don't think.

I have to go out of my way to look at it usually. Sometimes it is a mistyped url...like the NSFW whitehouse.com instead of whitehouse.gov but usually I have to be looking at it.

[kb2]

Using the term "amputate" is just wrong. It makes it sound like they're going to suggest castration.

[fundiefan]

Using the term "amputate" is just wrong. It makes it sound like they're going to suggest castration.

Well, it is Doug and he does have a reputation around here. Castration isn't too far off. He'd rather castrate than admit.

I just don't get where or how there is sex/porn everywhere in life. It is readily available and easily accessible if you want it, but generally, you have to go it, it does not come to you.

If you aren't looking for sex and porn every waking moment, you aren't likely to encounter it without effort.

[doggie]

the whole adultery of the mind is so much bull. when even your thoughts condemn you is there ever a way not to sin?

every sexual feeling is lust and it has to be avoided. How much does that make life really suck?

[thetabmeister]

I suppose these so-called Christians have never read or understood the Bible's teaching that unto the pure all things are pure.

If a man is obsessed with sex and porn, it says a lot more about his thought life than it does about our society. I don't see our society pushing these things on people; however, it can certainly be sought out by those who crave it.

[hoipolloi]

It isn't that hard to avoid porn on teh intertubes. It also isn't that to find it, if you want to do so.

FWIW, I have a relative who's been in hotel management for 25+ years. Relative says that every time the hotel hosts a conservative Christian conference or something where people stay over, the in-room rentals of porn via the TV go up. True fact.

[Edited for grammar. Again]

[darkplumaged]

I think these people get off in some weird way on talking about porn and immodesty all. the. time.

I think porn in general is dehumanizing and not sexy (I'm sure there's better porn out there--I just haven't seen it!), but if others enjoy it, they should enjoy away (so long as the people featured are consenting adults). Laying this trip on it--ADULTERY OF THE MIND!!111!!!--probably just makes it that much more alluring to extremists who have never been allowed normal channels to explore and express their sexuality.

I had a sexy dream this morning--usually my sex dreams are about my headship, but this one wasn't--and I enjoyed every minute of it. If I were a fundie, I'd probably have to spend a few hours in the prayer closet. But since I'm not, I'll just go on with my life. Imagine that.

[SeventhChild]

Using the term "amputate" is just wrong. It makes it sound like they're going to suggest castration.

He is probably refering to the passage in the Bible that says "if thy eye offend thee, pluck it out" and then it goes on to say something to the effect of it's better to go into Heaven blind than to not make it at all.

So, if he takes it literally he probably is suggesting castration if you can't handle the urges (or at least blinding yourself). ;)

[higgledypiggledy]

I'm amazed anti fundie hasn't had a flash o' the porn. I was researching the evolution of Mexican yarn paintings from earlier art forms and clicked on link last night. Onto my screen flashed some of the fakest boobs I've ever seen, along with a masturbating woman. I mean, I hadn't googled really porn-ish words more like Huichol art, religious belief, great deer. That said I just hit the back button and it was no big deal. Less then half a second really and I'm not sexually scarred. I wonder what I would have to amputate. Do these people mean to take literally if your right hand offends cut it off. Should we really be gouging out our eyes.

[antifundie]

Oh, I've seen the odd nipple or even full on fake boobs here and there. But yeah, you can close it or hit the back button. In those cases, I think of it like walking into somebody in the bathroom--you didn't want to see it, but you did, and you go on about your day. But that isn't worth a sermon, KWIM?

[deelaem]

"In various ways, we will both be encouraging our congregations to starve, run and amputate whatever causes adultery of the heart."

Ragging on sentence structure here. If you were to remove the words "starve"and "amputate", it sounds like he wants them to run whatever causes adultery of the heart. Isn't that the job of pornographers?

[antifundie]

Ok, it just occurred to men that I saw a guy on the bus one time that I would call immodest. Or maybe just unprofessional/oddly dressed for the middle of the day.

Anyways, he was wearing SUPER tight, thin orange pants, which clearly showed the outline of his wang. I mean, nothing, NOTHING was left to the imagination.

I thought it was hilarious/embarrassing to me (because yes, I was staring), but hey, I don't think it was wrong. I mean, I was like "woah, Penis! on the bus!"

[MamaJunebug]

With NO empirical evidence I'll still offer my hypotheses on the origin of this phenom, to wit:

A). More than one "great leader" finds himself overwhelmed by porn. In classic projection, he accuses men everywhere of suffering from a debilitating obsession with the stuff and creates a mini-marketing opportunity for talks, books, DVDs, etc.

B). This has the added benefit - benefitting the great leader, I mean - of yet another "urgent" problem in the minds of followers. Let's consider a hypothetical member of Hope Baptist or Bourne Christian Assembly who looks at porn about like my The Spousal Unit does: enjoying the view and then sighing and getting back to the business of real life.

However! When that Everyday Joe goes to church & hears elder !

Brown or Phillips ranting, well, suddenly Joe starts wondering/worrying that HE'S an addict, even though his porn enjoyment is about equal to his wife's mooning over George Clooney.

It doesn't matter - suddenly Joe is even more under the judgment & the sway of the great leader.

Revenues and feelings of obligation go up faster than...well, you know.

Like any savvy marketer, Doug and Scott and many others know how to create a need that can be met admirably and to good profits by what it is they're selling.

[duplessis3]

When a woman's knees are defrauding, who knows what they think porn is? Shoot - Carol and Mike Brady were shown in bed together!!!!!And you know what that means!

[mirele]

It isn't that hard to avoid porn on teh intertubes. It also isn't that to find it, if you want to do so.

FWIW, I have a relative who's been in hotel management for 25+ years. Relative says that every time the hotel hosts a conservative Christian conference or something where people stay over, the in-room rentals of porn via the TV go up. True fact.

[Edited for grammar. Again]

There was a case ("Movie Buffs") back in the 90s, where a guy in Utah County (where Provo, UT is) was renting what were called "hard-R" movies from the back of his otherwise mainstream video shops. This was soft porn, basically. Larry Peterman was arrested and his video shops went out of business. He was tried twice. The first trial resulted in a hung jury, with one guy refusing to convict because he did not think he could determine what the community standard should be for pornography. The second case, Peterman was out of money so he had to rely on a devout Mormon court-appointed attorney, who went above and beyond the call of duty. During pretrial proceedings, the attorney called the manager of the Provo Marriott hotel, which is just off the campus of BYU. The manager took the 5th over and over again in regards to what movies were being shown on the hotel's pay-per-view, because they were THE SAME KIND OF PORN that Peterman was on trial for. Ultimately, because Peterman's attorney was able to show that at the time of the raid, hotels in the same county were renting the same stuff that Peterman was renting, the jury acquitted Peterman of all charges of distributing pornography.

There was another case where the police raided a guy's house in a small town near Ogden and proceeded to rent and watch pay-per-view soft porn on his TV after the guy was hauled off to jail. It came out after the guy got out of jail and got his cable bill the next month. He raised holy hell and it was amusing.

tl;dr--even in devout Utah, porn is prevalent.

[watchdog]

It isn't that hard to avoid porn on teh intertubes. It also isn't that to find it, if you want to do so.

FWIW, I have a relative who's been in hotel management for 25+ years. Relative says that every time the hotel hosts a conservative Christian conference or something where people stay over, the in-room rentals of porn via the TV go up. True fact.

I've read that before, and it's not surprising.

http://www.examiner.com/christianity-in ... x-industry

http://gospeldrivenchurch.blogspot.com/ ... gives.html

And I agree you generally have to go looking for it. My internet is unfiltered and I can count on one hand the number of times anything like that has popped up. Get a filter and stop looking at it if it's a problem. How difficult is that?

[InkyGirl]

Ok, it just occurred to men that I saw a guy on the bus one time that I would call immodest. Or maybe just unprofessional/oddly dressed for the middle of the day.

Anyways, he was wearing SUPER tight, thin orange pants, which clearly showed the outline of his wang. I mean, nothing, NOTHING was left to the imagination.

I thought it was hilarious/embarrassing to me (because yes, I was staring), but hey, I don't think it was wrong. I mean, I was like "woah, Penis! on the bus!"

HAHA! Something similar happened to me on a subway in Japan. Except is was a sumo wrestler in a rob and no underpants. :o I was with 2 younger girls and they were pretty much horrified, I was just trying not to laugh.

[Goyangi]

I'll add to the chorus...

Internet Porn: Easy to Avoid. Easy to Find.

How much guilt does the average fundie live with every day? Personally, I've a pretty liberal attitude towards porn but I can understand why many people have issues with it. Fair enough. But to not even be able to enjoy the view of an attractive member of the human species who doesn't happen to be your spouse is a recipe for a guilt-ridden sexually repressed or dysfunctional individual. I'm continually amazed that anyone thinks that you can completely switch off your sexuality until your wedding night and then, after switching it on, jealously monitor it against these "outside attacks." And since you don't even need soft-core porn or a bare shoulder to get turned on anyway, I can't imagine the daily mental acrobatics the average fundie must endure. I can almost feel sorry for them. When you try to completely control your thoughts, you are fighting a losing battle.