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by HungryGuy on December 11th, 2005

HungryGuy

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Does the Bible forbid images of nude people (a.k.a. pornography)?

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Answers. 9 helpful answers below.

  • by Shabba on January 8th, 2006

    Shabba

    Nude people do not equate to pornography. What is pornography?

    It is the depiction of people (mainly female) in sexually provocative poses, or engaging in sex acts. It is designed to stimulate the sexual desires of people. It is basically selling sex.

    I disagree with Alatea on the issue of ancient pictures of sexual rites not being porn. Most of these were dedicated to pagen idol worship, ritual prostitution and using orgies and sexual rituals as worship to a god. If not the images, then the concept of being drawn into these activities was something that God did not want his people being subjected to. That's why he had so many laws against paganism. 'Put away all of your idols';'do not eat meat sacrificed to idols';'do not engage in orgies and debauchery as the pagans do'. These are things he commanded.

    Other answers here are correct. Pornography - the depction of sex or invitation of sex - all result in the building of lust. While most people take their lust out via masturbation or consensual sex, there are many harmful effects.

    So no, in exact words, the bible does not say 'thou shalt not look at porn'. However, the concept of viewing porn is covered by the principles of sexual purity that both the old covenant, and later Jesus and the new covenant, taught.

    "If any man looks at a woman with lust in his heart, then he has already committed adultery with her in his heart." You cannot look at porn without lust. If you could, it wouldn't be porn.

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  • by Alatea on December 12th, 2005

    Alatea

    The Bible does not forbid nudity. There are many implications of nudity being a sin but nowhere in the Bible is nudity forbidden. Not all nudity is pornography as the question implies. Porn didn't exist until the printing press was invented in 1450 A.D. The Bible does say not to make graven images or likeness Exodus 20:4

    Ancient images depicting sex acts cannot be compared to pornography. Those images had religious significance, and were not mass-produced for profit. Sex imagery is not porn. The sexual taboos imposed by the western world create a need for porn.

    Violent images on television are much more destructive. They depict real events and mass murders around the world. Porn is mostly fictional and some of it is tasteful. The nightly news on the other hand is ALWAYS violent and often depicts torture and murder. The makers and distributors of “child porn” must be stopped, there’s no doubt about that. However, unless you want your PC to be a max security prison there will be porn for all to download.

    Side note – The Pagan Babylonian religious text, the Gilgamesh epic paralells the Genesis story. It involves Enkidu and a harlot who received sexual knowledge as a result of eating the forbidden fruit. The Epic was written many centuries before Genesis. Religious liberals assume that parts of Genesis were copied from The Gilgamesh epic. This would include the stories of the forbidden fruit, the clothing, and the universal flood.

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  • by Ezra Dool on December 22nd, 2005

    Ezra Dool

    The Bible speaks very negtive about Fornication.
    Fornication- in Greek it's porneia (where the word porn comes from)
    is used of "illicit sexual intercourse," and includes adultery;
    Being nude is diffrent then porn. But right from Adam and Eve the first shame they felt was nakedness. Shame is attached to guilt in turn is normally sin.
    We can go to Genesis 9:20-28 the story when Noah got drunk fell asleep in his tent nude. Ham his son came in and saw him naked and told his brothers. Shem and Japheth walked in his tent backwards to cover him. When Noah awoke and found out what happened he cursed the family line of Ham.

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  • by Gabriel on September 28th, 2007

    Gabriel

    By "nude people" I presume we can exclude nude baby photographs -- most families in America have these professionally taken.

    Nude pictures/images themselves are not sin. What is sin is what happens to you when you do view those images? I can think of a few quick problems with viewing pornography and its subtle, yet destructive consequences.

    Problem #1: 2 Chronicles 10:5 commands believers to cast down imaginations and bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. God is omniscient as well as omnipresent. Do you not know that He knows what you are thinking(Psalm 94:11; Job 31:4)? Do you not know that He is watching(Proverbs 15:3)?

    Problem #2: The tenth commandment prohibits coveting what does not belong to you. Whose wife are you gazing upon and getting off on? That is sin
    (Deuteronomy 5:21).

    Problem #3: Pornography is a form of idolatry. And the Bible is replete with prohibitions against any form of idolatry. Do you suppose that the images you lift up on your computer in order to worship them is not sin (Colossians 3:5)?

    Problem #4: What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and you are not your own? 1 Chronicles 6:19. Do you think every time you search an image and jerk off that this activity is pleasing to God?

    Problem #5: Pornography is an attack on the institution of the family through mental adultery (Mathew 5:27:28). Even unbelieving societies recognize this (Atherva Veda 6.45.1. VE, P. 489).

    Problem #6: Decision time -- will you seek additional information? Or, will you go a whoring after your gods like the people in Exodus 34:16?

    Hope some of the above helps. Once addicted to pornography it is VERY hard to break loose from it. Remember the airman who got sucked in to the engine of a jet aircraft? If you get too close to pornography you'll get sucked in and unless you shut it off completely (like they did the jet engine so he could get out) then I'm afraid you're stuck, just like the rest of sinking America!

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  • by mironos on December 15th, 2005

    mironos

    First off, an image of nudity does not always equate into pornography. The statue of David is an image of a nude person, but certainly isn't pornography.

    While the Bible doesn't explicitly forbid pornography per se (since it may not have existed at the time), it does deal in no uncertain terms w/ lust, and lust is really the issue at hand. One could argue that pornography is mostly or totally an attempt to either inspire or satisfy lustful desires. The bible is quite clear that we are not to give in to lustful desires, and by extension, this would forbid pornography.

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  • by christian on May 19th, 2009

    christian

    nude people does not equal to pornography and bible says nothing about nude people either for or against,

    but if you are talking about pornography itself, yes it is as sex is sacred and must not be done outside of marriage

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  • by Anonymous on December 12th, 2005

    Anonymous

      There really isn't any direct statement about pornography one way or the other.  There are numerous references to nakedness being associated with wickedness and shame.  The Bible is clear on the point that sexual relations outside of marriage are evil; adultery being a sufficiently serious offense to warrant capital punishment.

      In Matthew 5:28 ( http://tinyurl.com/cjupn ), Jesus says, “But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.”  Inasmuch as the purpose of pornography is to incite the viewer to lust after the persons depicted therein; and inasmuch as pornographic images are usually not of persons married to the person who is viewing these images; I think a clear case can be made for this passage to be a condemnation of pornography.

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  • by CurtisNeeley on June 24th, 2008

    CurtisNeeley

    Romans 14:16
    Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil.

    A figurenude is NOT evil.
    http://www.figurenude.com/Curtis.Neeley

    Most nudes are evil.

    Nude art can be done that is a manner of praise. There are people who refuse to consider Christianity and Jesus because of the hypocrisy that surrounds this issue.

    Ansel Adams did some VERY well known nudes. Yosemite is always nude.

    A nude human may have been too difficult for Ansel to photograph as purely art. It may have filled him with lust.

    Did God make humans nude on accident? My God doesn't make mistakes.

    God covered humans with clothes made from the skins of animals after humans sinned. The animals God ripped the skins off did not sin. Removal of skin usually results in death?

    Did the same God who created everything prefer to kill animals to create the first set of clothes instead of just having humans grow fur and not need clothes? Was this also the first time humans had steak? *humor*

    God was demonstrating his first example that sin could only be covered by blood being spilled. It foreshadowed Jesus' sacrifice. God could have as easily made clothes from cotton.

    He made clothes instead of giving humans fur so that they could be removed and his masterpiece appreciated without obstruction.

    Out of the entire Bible there is no mention of nudity in art. In Rome at the time there were common examples of nudity in local PUBLIC art. Members of the church addressed the consuming of meat that had been offered to idols. Most misinterpret (Romans 14:21) to mean to do nothing that your brother believes is sinful. Does this mean to be a vegetarian? NO! Did they mention such a trivial detail that relates to idols of the time and overlook mentioning nudity in art?

    I was in a coma for 6+ earth weeks. I have stood at the entrance to Heaven. Today heaven is filled with people who are happy and UN-happy people. If you are in heaven watching the results of your sins cause someone you love not accept Christ, you will feel sorrow. This is the plain truth. It is not mentioned in the Bible for good reason. Jesus deals with sorrow every day. Sorrow is not beyond Jesus. In the end times, there will be no more tears. NOT till then will that be true anywhere. Revelations 21:4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

    I do figurenude photographs from a wheelchair with one fully functional arm/hand. I am paralyzed mid back and will never have sex. I do figurenude photography better than most others in my condition, if not ALL in my condition. I am in a fairly unique set of physical and mental circumstances.
    http://www.figurenude.com/Curtis.Neeley


    I praise God that I can. He uses me every day.

    Romans 14:16
    Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil.

    Most nudes are evil today, but not all.

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  • by ImaCatholic2 on September 28th, 2007

    ImaCatholic2

    The Bible teaches us about the importance of human dignity, chastity, and the intimacy of marriage.

    Pornography consists in removing real or simulated sexual acts from the intimacy of the partners, in order to display them deliberately to third parties.

    Catholics believe that pornography offends against chastity because it perverts the intimate giving of spouses to each other.

    It does grave injury to the human dignity of all participants (actors, vendors, the public), since each one becomes an object of base pleasure and illicit profit for others.

    For more information, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church, section 2354: http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt3sect2chpt2art6.htm#2354

    With love in Christ.

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