Should Porn be Banned ? An Ancient Christian Perspective

Homily by Saint John Chrysostom

Homily XXXVII. Matt. X. 7, 8, 9.

Heard you not what Paul said, "Rejoice in the Lord?" Philippians 4:4-8. He said not, "in the devil." When then will you be able to hear Paul? when, to gain a sense of your wrong actions? drunken as you are, ever and constantly, with pornography I was speaking of. For you having come to church is nothing wonderful nor great; or rather it is wonderful. For in church you came anyhow, and so as just to satisfy a regret, but to pornography with diligence and speed, and great readiness. And it is evident from what you brought home, on returning thereafter. For even all the filth that pornography poured out for you, by the speeches, by the songs, by the laughter, they collect and take every man to his home, or rather not to his home only, but every man even into his own mind. And from things not worthy of disgust you turned away; while others which are to be despised, so far from hating, you do even seek. Many, for instance, on coming back from tombs, are used to wash themselves, but after viewing pornography they have never groaned, nor poured forth any fountains of tears; yet surely the dead man is no unclean thing, whereas sin induces such disgrace, that not even with ten thousand fountains could one purge it away, but with tears only, and with confessions. But no one has any sense of this disgrace. Thus, because we fear not what we ought to, therefore we withdraw from what we ought not. And what again is the applause? what the chaos, and the satanical cries, and the devilish gestures? For first one, being a young man, wears his hair long behind, and changing his nature into that of a woman, is striving both in aspect, and in gesture, and in garments, and generally in all ways, to pass into the likeness of a young lady . Then another who is grown old, in the opposite way to this, having his hair shaven, and with his loins girt about, his shame cut off before his hair, stands ready to be smitten with the rod, prepared both to say and do anything. The women again, their heads uncovered, stand without a blush, discoursing with a whole people, so complete is their practice in shamelessness; and thus, pour forth all effrontery and impurity into the souls of their hearers. And pornography’s one aim is, to pluck up all chastity from the foundations, to disgrace our nature, to fulfill the desire of the wicked demon. Yea, and there are both foul sayings, and gestures yet fouler; and the dressing of the hair tends that way, and the gait, and apparel, and voice, and flexure of the limbs; and there are turnings of the eyes, and flutes, and pipes, and dramas, and plots; and all things, in short, full of the most extreme impurity. When then will you be sober again, I pray, now that the devil is pouring out for you so much of the strong wine of pornography , mingling so many cups of unchastity? For indeed both adulteries and stolen marriages are there, and there are women playing the harlot, men prostituting, youths corrupting themselves: all there is iniquity to the full, all sorcery, all shame. For what reason, they that watch pornography should not laugh at these things, but weep and groan bitterly.

"What then? Are we to ban pornography ?" it will be said, "and are all things to be turned upside down because of the church’s position ?" Nay, but as it is, all things are turned upside down. Therefore, tell me, what plots against our marriages? Is it not from pornography? Hence, are they that dig through into chambers? Is it not from pornography? Comes it not of this, when husbands are insupportable to their wives? of this, when the wives are contemptible to their husbands? of this, that there are numerous adulterers among us? So, he that watches pornography is the one undermining of all things; it is he that brings in a grievous tyranny. "Nay,” you will say, "Pornography is legal." Why? to tear away men's wives, and to insult young boys, and to overthrow houses, is proper to those who rule our communities " And what adulterer," will you say, "has been made such by pornography ?" Nay, who has not been made an adulterer? And if one might but mention them now by name, I could point out how many husband’s pornography have separated from their wives, how many they have become addicted, pulling some even from the marriage bed itself, not suffering others so much as to live at all in marriage.

"What then? I pray thee, are we to overthrow all the laws?" Nay, but it is overthrowing lawlessness, if we withdraw from pornography . Pornography are what make destruction in our cities; hence, for example, are treasons and uproars. For they that are maintained by the dancers, and who sell their own voice to the belly, whose work it is to shout, and to practice everything that is monstrous, these especially are the men that stir up the public, that make the disorder in our cities. For youth, when it has joined hands with idleness, and is brought up in so great evils, becomes fiercer than any wild beast. Comes it not pornography, when men are forced to spend without limit on that wicked choir of the devil? And lasciviousness, from what source is that, and its countless sins? You see, it is you who are ruining our life, by drawing men to these things, while I am recruiting it by putting them down. "Let us then ban pornography " say they. Would that be possible to ban it; or rather, if you be willing, as far as regards Christians, it is banned out of self-discipline. Nevertheless, the church does not advocate for outlawing pornography. This standing porn industry, we can make it of no effect, which is worth a greater praise than outlawing pornography .

What excuse then can we have after all this, we, the citizens of Heaven, and partners in the choirs of the cherubim, and in fellowship with the angels, making ourselves in this respect captives to filthy sin, and this, when countless other pleasures, better than these, are within our reach? Why, if you desire that your soul may find delight, go to pleasure grounds, to a river flowing by, and to lakes, take notice of gardens, listen to grasshoppers as they sing, be continually by the coffins of martyrs, where is health of body and benefit of soul, and no hurt, no remorse after the pleasure, as there is here. you have a wife, you have children; what is equal to this pleasure? You have a house, you have friends, these are the true delights: besides their purity, great is the advantage they bestow. For what, I pray thee, is sweeter than children? what sweeter than a wife, to him that will be chaste in mind?

"What then," one may say, "if I point to some, who are shameless by their pastime in making pornography ?" In the first place, even this is a harm, to spend one's time without object or fruit, and to become an offense to others. For even if you should not be harmed, you are destroying others and making them excited for sin. And how can you but be harming yourself, giving occasion to what goes on? Yea, both the fortune-teller, and the prostitute boy, and the harlot woman, and all those choirs of the devil, cast upon your head the blame of their proceedings. For as surely as, if there were no spectators for pornography, there would be none to follow these employments; so, since there are, they too have their share of the fire due to such deeds. So that even if in chastity you are quite uninjured (a thing impossible), yet for others' ruin you will render a grievous account; both the spectators, and that of those who assemble them.

And in chastity too you would profit more, did you refrain from watching pornography . For if even now you are chaste, you would have become more chaste by avoiding such sights. Let us not then delight in useless argument, nor devise unprofitable apologies: there being but one apology, to flee from the Babylonian furnace, to keep far from the Egyptian harlot, though one must escape her hands naked like what Joseph did in Genesis 39:12. For so shall we both enjoy much delight, our conscience not accusing us, and we shall live this present life with chastity, and attain unto the good things to come, by the grace and love towards man of our Lord Jesus Christ; to whom be glory and might, now and ever, and world without end. Amen.