A comparison of contrasting world views - pornography versus righteousness
By J Rushdooney and an anonymous author
We have taken summary quotes from Politics and Pornography by R Rushdooney. These are contrasted with righteousness to help the reader have hope and a practical way to begin to change his or her sinful heart motivations. The sober reality is the disciple of pornography lives by sight not by faith. He worships the creature he sees rather than the God he cannot see. He constantly by his unrighteousness suppresses the truth. ( Rom 1:18). His is a world of sight – For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. (1 John 2:16) –this feeds the insatiable lusts of his evil heart. The righteous man by contrast has a new heart which desires to worship God in right living. He constantly by the Spirit is putting to death the deeds of the body, so he will live. (Rom 8:13). He constantly puts off his old self, which belongs to his former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires. Instead he seeks to be constantly renewed in the spirit of his mind. ( Eph 4:22-23) The harsh reality is indulging in pornography instantly destroys his abilility to live righteously. Instead he constantly with the Spirits enabling puts on the Lord Jesus Christ, and makes no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. (Rom 8:13,13:14).
Greek scholar Thayer defines filthiness; (Gal 5:19) as making dirty or foul, to defile or dishonour. He defines righteousness; from the Greek word dikaiosunē as integrity, virtue, purity of life, rightness, correctness of thinking feeling, and acting.
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Pornography is more exploitive, but it has nonetheless an implicit or explicit revolutionary purpose. It is hostile to morality and law, and it encourages and favours rebellion against morality.
The first thing about pornography is its obvious hatred of morality and its marked distaste for biblical faith and morals.
Moral restraint is seen as a bondage for man, a slavery which must be destroyed. As a result, pornography indulges endlessly in long, tasteless, and highly emotional attacks on morality, on the sanctity of marriage, on monogamy, and on every kind of moral inhibition. It seeks to fan the flames of moral rebellion, to see morality as dull and restrictive, and immorality and perversion as exciting and liberating. Although people will attempt to prove almost anything these days, it would be an impossibility to prove that pornography is not hostile to biblical faith and morality, because it so obviously reeks with hatred and hostility.
By contrast righteousness has an obvious love of morality, it’s marked by a hunger for biblical faith and morals.
A second observation is equally obvious: pornography sees a tremendous appeal in moral evil.
Truly to live means for him evil, a commitment to and an involvement in moral evil. Man is not really alive, we are told, if he lives morally; life means evil; it means what is called sin
and perversion. Only the person who sins is truly alive, it is held. Evil, for these people, is life.
By contrast righteousness has an obvious appeal for moral purity.
Thirdly, for the pornographer morality is death.
To confine men and women to the prison house of morality, marriage, law, and order is seen as equivalent to a sentence of death. Since evil is life, morality is logically death, and this is the religious faith of pornography. The gospel for man is thus evil; sin is the way of salvation, the way to life and liberty. This is in essence the position of pornography - it offers sin and evil, and it declares it to be true life precisely because it is sin and evil.
By contrast for the righteous man morality is life.
Fourth, pornography manifests a hostility to the very idea of law and morality.
Law means for it something inhibiting and stultifying, a deadening restraint upon man. Morality is held to be the dead hand of the past, the fearful and death-oriented will of men bound to superstition and fear. The destiny of man is to be free from law, according to these men, and the way to be free is to begin by breaking the law, by violating morality. Man's freedom is to be free from law, free to do as one pleases, and the mark of this freedom is the deliberate violation of all law and order.
By contrast righteousness is the very idea of law and morality.
Fifth; Pornography breeds moral anarchism which is the tool and instrument of totalitarianism, socialism and dictatorship.
Dissolve man's self-government, and you make a totalitarian authority over him a social necessity. It becomes apparent, therefore, that the link between pornography and revolutionary totalitarianism is a necessary one. The rise of totalitarianism has always been preceded by moral anarchism, and those seeking tyrannical powers over man have always worked to reduce man to a dependent position by undercutting his moral self-government and responsibility. The rise and triumph of pornography is a prelude to totalitarianism. Moral anarchy is the seed-bed of tyranny.
By contrast righteousness is the tool and instrument of godliness, of kingdom living and true gospel freedom.
Our sixth point is thus an obvious conclusion: the politics of pornography is a moral anarchism whose purpose is revolution, a revolution against Christian civilisation.
The dean of modem pornographers and a great revolutionist was the Marquis de Sade. The Marquis called for total freedom for every kind of sexual perversion. For Sade, "true wisdom" meant "not .... repressing.... our vices . . . . since these vices. Constitute almost the only happiness in our lives.... to repress them would be to become our executioners."
By contrast an obvious conclusion for righteousness is;
Its purpose is to be counter revolutionary (John Stott) expressed redeemed communities (of Christ body – the Church) being sanctified by Word and Spirit. Only here do its members experience the transforming power and forgiveness of the gospel of Christ. This presents to the world in hearts and lives being liberated from sexual addictions. It models a new humanity and also anticipates a new heaven and new earth where righteousness dwells, free finally from the curse of pornography but instead saturated by continual worship of the lamb around the throne of God above. (Revelation 22).
Summary of pornography as a world view
Hates morality
Appeal of moral evil
Morality is death
Hostile to law
Leads to anarchism, totalitarianism and socialism
Its purpose is revolution
Summary of righteousness as a world view
Loves morality – God is morally pure
Appeal of God's righteous character in Christ
Morality is life
Loves God's law
Leads to the kingdom of God on earth
Its purpose is a revolution – a Christian society
Pornography versus the gospel
Pornography hates morality
– The gospel hates morality as a means to righteousness, but loves it as evidence of grace and regeneration in the heart of Bible Christian.
Pornography appeals to moral evil
– The gospel declares all people are born evil and love evil continually. They therefore need a righteousness from outside of themselves. This is imputed by Christ. In Christ the Christian is both righteous and to be righteous.
Pornography declares morality is death.
-The gospel declares Christ active obedience is life giving through the Spirit...
Pornography hates law.
-The gospel says we are law breakers but Christ both keeps the law for us and died to satisfy God's demand for justice. It offers forgiveness for a broken law and cleansing from the filth of evil. The Christian loves God law and desires to obey it daily because it pleases God.
Pornography leads to anarchism, totalitarianism and socialism.
-The gospel leads to discipline, peace, service, sacrifice and freedom.
Pornography's purpose is revolution.
-The gospel purpose is a moral revolution of the heart displayed in the revolution of the kingdom of God seen in the Church, the family and the world.
A must read: Release from addiction to pornography - a personal story