A little rhyme that's worth your time...

I ran into this clip YouTube. Amazing.

Let's talk about....porn. (And romance novels.)

So, at this time, I'll give all of you who are still in shock over this post's title a moment to breathe....

....okay....

...Ready....? Let's go!

First, let me break down my initial views on both of the subject matters:

• Pornography is imagery, either pictures or video, that are erotic in nature, usually produced for the purpose of sexual arousal. According to the Bible, looking at porn is usually a sin, because lusting over it is the same as committing adultery in the mind.'
• Romance novels are fictional books that are based around a romantic relationship and focus on the romantic love between the characters.

Recently, I came across this theory floating around that the romance novel is to women, what porn is to men. At first, most are shocked at this; "How can you even compare the likes of such a extreme thing as pornography to something as harmless as a novel about true love and whatnot...".

The two things seem quite different, right?

But so are men and women. (Now I'll warn you, some of the things I say from here on out are based on the majority of guys/girls, but not ALL.)

Recently, my youth group (Ignite Student Ministries) did a series titled "The Power of Sex". One of the messages, which was taught by our youth pastor's wife, was called "What a Girl Wants....How a Guy's Wired". In a nutshell, her lesson discussed how male and female are radically different when it comes to relationships and the like.

One of the points she touched on was the difference between how a guy is turned on, and how a girl is turned on. Here's the key: GUYS are (more) visual. GIRLS are (more) emotional. Porn turns on a guy because seeing the imagery sets off fantasies in his mind. What does it for the girls is the things that make her feel loved and emotionally attached to the guy. She gets turned on by the intimate conversation, the little reminders of his love for her, etc, etc.

And where, I ask, can a girl delve into the fantasy of such things?

The answer: Romance novels.

So it seems that maybe, just maybe, these books can do an almost similar thing to girls that porn does to guys. Maybe the girls don't go too far with their fantasizing, as some guys do; maybe they do. We really don't know, as guys are not girls, and girls are not guys. (I'm not going to get into the whole "changing" thing....) So its really a blurry area.

In my opinion, it comes down to this:

• Porn is a sin on its own, not to mention when its used to lust over.
• Romance novels aren't a sin in themselves, but if you start getting into it with a fantasizing mindset, perhaps you should put that one down. Besides, if you don't want to hear your future husband has had an "affair" with Heidi Klum, he probably doesn't want to hear you've had a "fling" with Jacob Black!

Stay gold,

Benjamin

Introduction to Blogpost #3

I failed to live out my commitment. On multiple terms. Not only did I fail to write the blogpost I promised two weeks ago, but I also didn't live up to my one-post-a-week standard. I am not good at keeping such promises, and these last two weeks have been too darn busy...

The Mozambique trip is drawing nearer and nearer. I had a great day today with my team. We had our last official training meeting, and we went out to a fancy dinner at the Plum Garden (a local Japanese/Hibachi restaurant), and some Coldstone Creamery finished off the night. A good day indeed.

Anyways, coming up in a few minutes is an interesting post. I have a few new ideas.... :)