Rape

Upon hearing about the murder of Emmett Till as we were discussing the Civil Rights Movement in history class, one of my more troubled students muttered, “If he had known that that was going to happen he should have just raped her.”

My shock rendered me speechless, so I was only able to mumble something stupid like, “He didn’t know what was going to happen…” How I wish I could go back in time.

This response to a horrific act of murder, saying that it would have been worth it had the woman in question been raped, is the consequence of a society that has completely ruined sex for those who don’t have parents to raise them and teach them the true meaning of the gift. This distorted view of sex is not helped by shows such as Game of Thrones, which recently boasted an incestual rape scene, which the director said, “…became consensual at the end…” (If you choose to watch it, you can clearly see that there was no consent.)

I am deeply troubled at the world that is being created. Of course, rape is not a 21st century invention, and I don’t pretend to think that sex, for every person, has always been free, total, faithful and fruitful as it should be. However, can we at least try for that? Can we at least try to create a world in which this incredible act of procreation and bonding between a man and a woman be between two people who desire it, give themselves completely to each other, and only each other? Can we just try?

Please, if you have been a victim of this gruesome crime, know that it is not your fault, ever. Call this Hotline, or look up more information and resources that are available to you at the same link.

Game of Thrones Is Porn

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“It made me feel crappy and disgusted.”

“I am so disappointed in you, how can you teach our son to be a Godly man if you are filling your head with that filth?”

“I feel like he is cheating on me.”

The quotes above are real reactions from women upon finding out that their significant other watched the wildly popular television show, Game of Thrones.

Wait a minute, Game of Thrones? Isn’t that the TV show everyone is talking about? I thought this article was supposed to be about pornography…

Yes, we are talking about pornography- and that is why I am writing on Game of Thrones, the two words are interchangeable, really.

I’m willing to bet that quite a few people just stopped reading this.  Some of you that are still with me are probably just reading so that you can leave a really scathing comment below about how as Christians we can’t bury our heads in the sand. Come on, I am obviously ignorant about the plot of the show, why am I being such a prude? What about all of that be “in the world and not of it” stuff? Christians need to be relevant; we need to meet people where they are. We need to be in the real world.

Right, because in the real world you walk in on two girls eating each other out in full nudity in a (your?) palace with sexual moans that can be heard from upstairs every day.  Give me a break.

Don’t start with me about my obvious ignorance of the storyline and how relevant the sex is to the plot. I know good literature. I’m an author. I’ve seen a few episodes. I’ve read the reviews. I’ve read the synopsis. I’ve read all the “Game of Thrones goes above and beyond any other work in its genre.” It is comparable to Tolkien in its prose yet bitterly realistic in its portrayal of the hardship of life. In the Game of Thrones, there are no impeccable heroes, no saviors, and there are absolutely no morals.  What they do have is great story telling, coupled with a raunchy sex scene every 3 minutes, on average.

Just like real life, right?

Wrong.

And the fact that there are so few Christian articles addressing this is astounding to me.  What it shows is how easily the devil can fool us.

Has it not become obvious to the rest of the world that sin is ALWAYS, AL- WAYS wrapped up in something that looks good? Seems harmless? Has some “redeeming” qualities?

Sin always seems, “not that bad…”

What I am saying is, excellent story telling is not an excuse.

Being a Christian and watching Game of Thrones is a sin.

There, I said it.

Real life, the real world, the world that you and I are living in, the world where in New York City more Black babies are killed by abortion than are born alive, the world in which Pope Francis has won the hearts of all by his reflection of Christ, the world in which slavery is at an all time high and sex slavery is a booming industry, the world where I can use the internet as a means to ruin someone’s life and where I can save it by the same tool, this world is a world that is struggling, to be sure, but this world is also full of hope.

Hope that we can have more good than evil. Hope that maybe one day people will figure out that sex makes babies so that when they do have sex they will be open to life and can then bear and love and raise the child instead of killing it because it is embarrassing or inconvenient. Hope that maybe one day the number one killer of women will not be men, and that the highest number of women killed by men will not be the ones who are pregnant. Hope that boys and girls who runaway because they have no hope can find or return to a loving home, instead of being swept into a repulsive form of slavery that is being fed by the very thing, the very culprit that many Christians, many Americans are choosing to ignore.

Pornography.

Creating that world starts with us as Christians closing our hearts to anything that may even slightly open the door to sin, sin in our hearts, sin in our minds, sin in our homes.

“If you want to stop people from becoming like me, don’t burn Catcher In The Rye, burn Hustler.”- Ted Bundy

Now, you tell me, does Game of Thrones add to the culture of life, this world we hope for, or does it do the exact opposite?

I think we all know the answer to this question.

Sin is an offense against reason, truth, and right conscience; it is failure in genuine love for God and neighbor caused by a perverse attachment to certain goods. It wounds the nature of man and injures human solidarity. It has been defined as “an utterance, a deed, or a desire contrary to the eternal law.”(CCC 1849)

Basically, if it ain’t leading you to God, it is leading you away from him.

We as Christians need to stop and acknowledge the fact that porn is not just graphic material that is distinctively labeled “Pornography”, it is everywhere. The film industry is competing with the porn industry for audiences, and we need to step up and say that they don’t have to.

Put your actions behind your creed, friends.