A MAD Porn Thread

[_harmony]

If porn is "the scourge" what does that make the Marriott? And if it's "the scourge" behind all other scourges, the core issue, why not bankroll campaigns against porn and start cleaning house with the GA's and bishops who no doubt sneak it in rather than worrying about gay marriage? Obviously, if you put a stop to porn, people won't be gay anymore.

Oh! Good point! (wish I'd thought of it, but you're sharper than I am at this sort of thing).

Also, wasn't it Old Man Oaks or someone who said a few years back that AIDS was "the scourge"?

Oh! Another good point!

[_mentalgymnast]

The boiling frog story states that a frog can be boiled alive if the water is heated slowly enough — it is said that if a frog is placed in boiling water, it will jump out, but if it is placed in cold water that is slowly heated, it will never jump out.

Actually, this story has been debunked. Someone will be able to supply a link, I'm sure.

In those experiments, the temperature was increased at a rate of 2°F. per minute (or 0.019°C. per second), which is almost 10 times faster than the rate of temperature increase in the 1882 experiments.

Regards,
MG

[_mentalgymnast]

The point was made that porn is a scourge, or the scourge of modern day life. I say it's not. It's not healthy, and it's not good, but it's also not a scourge.

To each his/her own. I think you're wrong, and I think you would be hard pressed to prove to me that I am mistaken in my judgment .

But so be it.

Regards,
MG

[_harmony]

The point was made that porn is a scourge, or the scourge of modern day life. I say it's not. It's not healthy, and it's not good, but it's also not a scourge.

To each his/her own. I think you're wrong, and I think you would be hard pressed to prove to me that I am mistaken in my judgment .

But so be it.

Regards,
MG

My gut's as good as your gut. Or something.

[_mentalgymnast]

If porn is "the scourge" what does that make the Marriott?

Complicit.

Regards,
MG

[_mentalgymnast]

If porn is "the scourge" what does that make the Marriott? And if it's "the scourge" behind all other scourges, the core issue, why not bankroll campaigns against porn and start cleaning house with the GA's and bishops who no doubt sneak it in rather than worrying about gay marriage? Obviously, if you put a stop to porn, people won't be gay anymore.

Also, wasn't it Old Man Oaks or someone who said a few years back that AIDS was "the scourge"?

Maybe. He also said this:

The abundant information and images accessible on the Internet call for sharp focus and control to avoid accessing the pornography that is an increasing scourge in our society. As the Deseret News noted in a recent editorial, “Images that used to be hidden in out-of-the-way store counters now are as close as a mouse click” (“Staying ahead of Pornography,” 21–22 Feb. 2001, A12). The Internet has made pornography accessible almost without effort and often without leaving the privacy of one’s home or room. The Internet has also facilitated the predatory activities of adults who use its anonymity and accessibility to stalk children for evil purposes. Parents and youth, beware!

Three years later he said:

Biblical and modern prophecies give many signs of the Second Coming. These include:

1. The fulness of the gospel restored and preached in all the world for a witness to all nations.

2. False Christs and false prophets, deceiving many.

3. Wars and rumors of wars, with nation rising against nation.

4. Earthquakes in divers places.

5. Famine and pestilence.

6. An overflowing scourge, a desolating sickness covering the land.

7. Iniquity abounding.

8. The whole earth in commotion.

9. Men’s hearts failing them.

Related? Don't know. Could be I suppose.

More recently (2008) in the church's newsroom we find this:

Our modern era has seen traditional marriage and family – defined as a husband and wife with children in an intact marriage – come increasingly under assault. Sexual morality has declined and infidelity has increased. Since 1960, the proportion of children born out of wedlock has soared from 5.3 percent to 38.5 percent (2006). [10] Divorce has become much more common and accepted, with the United States having one of the highest divorce rates in the world. Since 1973, abortion has taken the lives of over 45 million innocents. [11] At the same time, entertainment standards continue to plummet, and pornography has become a scourge afflicting and addicting many victims. Gender differences increasingly are dismissed as trivial, irrelevant, or transient, thus undermining God’s purpose in creating both men and women.

http://newsroom.LDS.org/ldsnewsroom/eng ... f-marriage

Related? Don't know for sure. Strong possibility I suppose.

I find it VERY interesting that there are so many supporters of porn use in this forum. Or at least many who are apparently OK with passing it off as nothing of real consequence. Is there a correlation with this type of thinking/outlook and general apostasy from the church?

Related? Don't know for sure. Possibility I suppose.

Wouldn't surprise me.

Regards,
MG

[_Sethbag]

I find it VERY interesting that there are so many supporters of porn use in this forum. Or at least many who are apparently OK with passing it off as nothing of real consequence. Is there a correlation with this type of thinking/outlook and general apostasy from the church?

Probably, but the causality you probably have in mind probably isn't the real one. It's more than likely because when a person realizes that Sky Daddy doesn't really exist, and that no cosmic, omniscient Being is up there wagging his finger every time a person thinks a sexual thought, sees a naked person they aren't married to, or touches their own body, the whole religious importance factor of sex falls from "second only to murder", to something far, far less.

I think there are some good reasons to avoid porn, such as that it exploits women, and because married people will be tempted to stray from their partner by participating in it. But not because Sky Daddy will be angry with them, or that they will have "stained their garments with blood", or committed a heinous act second in seriousness only to cold-blooded murder. That's just ridiculous.

I don't look at porn, but since my apostasy I certainly don't look down on people who do in nearly the self-righteous and judgmental way that I might once have.

And I do believe that the consequences of looking at porn are probably far greater for those racked with guilt based on their religious beliefs against it, or for people who are sexually uptight or repressed due to religious beliefs about sex.

That is, a guy with isn't racked with guilt over pre-marital sex, or masturbation, probably isn't going to go over the deep end after looking at porn, to nearly the same degree that a devout Mormon will be, who is perhaps in a marriage with a woman who has sexual hangups, who is racked with guilt over his porn use but still can't stop himself, etc. The Mormon guy may well get into a state where he is consumed by it, focused on it, and who despairs and thinks he's already off the deep end, and has nothing to lose. The "normal" guy probably doesn't think it's a big deal, and is free to focus on other things in his life.

Anyhow, this is my hypothesis. I don't have evidence to back it up.

But back to MentalGymnast's observation, yeah, there probably is a reduction in revulsion against pornography by people who have realized that the people who are telling them just how evil it is in the eyes of Elohim the Sky Daddy, are actually just passing on mythology, fiction, and a made-up deity.

[_The Dude]

I'm still not sure if porn is as great a scourge as you think, MG. I've known people who don't think it's such a big deal, couples who sometimes view it together as entertainment, and then I know at least one person who barely has his marriage intact and goes to a 12 step program for sex addiction. At the same time, I know people who gamble at casinos in Vegas once in a while, and I also know one guy who has desperately wrecked his credit, his 401K, his marriage, and his family's financial life twice!

[_harmony]

I find it VERY interesting that there are so many supporters of porn use in this forum. Or at least many who are apparently OK with passing it off as nothing of real consequence. Is there a correlation with this type of thinking/outlook and general apostasy from the church?

Unfair characterization. Just because I don't think porn is the scourge of the modern world doesn't mean I pass it off as nothing of real consequence.

There are more than 2 ends to the spectrum, MG. There's a whole host of increments in between the ends. I think porn falls somewhere on the increments, rather than on either end.

[_mentalgymnast]

I find it VERY interesting that there are so many supporters of porn use in this forum. Or at least many who are apparently OK with passing it off as nothing of real consequence. Is there a correlation with this type of thinking/outlook and general apostasy from the church?

Probably, but the causality you probably have in mind probably isn't the real one. It's more than likely because when a person realizes that Sky Daddy doesn't really exist, and that no cosmic, omniscient Being is up there wagging his finger every time a person thinks a sexual thought, sees a naked person they aren't married to, or touches their own body, the whole religious importance factor of sex falls from "second only to murder", to something far, far less.

I think there are some good reasons to avoid porn, such as that it exploits women, and because married people will be tempted to stray from their partner by participating in it. But not because Sky Daddy will be angry with them, or that they will have "stained their garments with blood", or committed a heinous act second in seriousness only to cold-blooded murder. That's just ridiculous.

I don't look at porn, but since my apostasy I certainly don't look down on people who do in nearly the self-righteous and judgmental way that I might once have.

And I do believe that the consequences of looking at porn are probably far greater for those racked with guilt based on their religious beliefs against it, or for people who are sexually uptight or repressed due to religious beliefs about sex.

That is, a guy with isn't racked with guilt over pre-marital sex, or masturbation, probably isn't going to go over the deep end after looking at porn, to nearly the same degree that a devout Mormon will be, who is perhaps in a marriage with a woman who has sexual hangups, who is racked with guilt over his porn use but still can't stop himself, etc. The Mormon guy may well get into a state where he is consumed by it, focused on it, and who despairs and thinks he's already off the deep end, and has nothing to lose. The "normal" guy probably doesn't think it's a big deal, and is free to focus on other things in his life.

Anyhow, this is my hypothesis. I don't have evidence to back it up.

But back to MentalGymnast's observation, yeah, there probably is a reduction in revulsion against pornography by people who have realized that the people who are telling them just how evil it is in the eyes of Elohim the Sky Daddy, are actually just passing on mythology, fiction, and a made-up deity.

I suppose it does all come down to whether or not there is a higher law/lower law thing going on. If there is no God, then yep...it's all relative...you can make what you want out of it. And do what you want.

No guilt. No shame. No hurt.

What about growing towards a greater good?

I suppose that's debatable. But yeah, it does depend on whether there is a Sky Daddy who loves us and wants us to become like him.

You got that right.

Regards,
MG