We spend a lot of time in the bloggernacle analyzing, critiquing, and otherwise discussing the church and its culture. I think there is value in this for those of us who need this type of engagement. However, Mormonism (like many other religions) is a topic that few are able to dispassionately discuss. Some of us lean toward criticism, others toward apologizing. I do not know how those in the b’nacle (those who actually read what I write) perceive me, but my posts are not exactly oozing with praise most of the time!
pornography
Top 10 Reasons for and Alternatives to Viewing Porn
Porn is a subject that irritates many members. Some wish it didn’t have to be discussed as much as it is, while others think it doesn’t have to be discussed as much as it is. (Maybe there are some who wish it was discussed more than it is, but that’s a completely separate issue.) I want to take a very different look at it by explaining the Top Ten Reasons I can think of to view it – and the Top Ten alternatives for me personally. This post is not primarily a religious one; rather, it is a practical...
Defining Lust and Chastity
Matthew 5:27-28 includes the statement: “Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” Rather than debate that statement, although I am open to discussing it here, I want to focus on an underlying issue within something to which we refer frequently as the “Law of Chastity”. My primary focus is on the injunction regarding eliminating “lust” – and particularly how it can be avoided no matter one’s surroundings and exposure. This a result partly of the long, interesting discussion we had recently about “naturism” – but I don’t want...
Dissecting Porn: A look at some interesting statistics.
Today’s post is by Orchard. First off an introduction of myself is in order as this is my first actual post! I’ve been around for a while writing behemoth-sized responses to threads which then require massive digestion on the parts of readers. I’d apologize for that, but doing so might imply some level of contrition or intention to stop. Since neither is the case, I’ll say that I am aware that it does cause some people’s brains to go into shock mode. I am a research associate at a large educational research organization and my background is in Industrial/Organizational...
Nipples, Sexism and Racism
There was an interesting article in Time recently about Facebook’s censorship of pics with nips, specifically eliminating pictures of breastfeeding moms (and, in their defense, a few of topless women who just happened to be holding babies). But, this brought up an age-old question of Mormondom: why are there no nipples on the Nephites in the BOM vids?
Is Pornography Adultery?
The following article is interesting and asks a fascinating question. Is Pornography Adultery? Coincidently, the following is excerpted from a post I wrote independent of the above article on my own blog two weeks ago (September 6), entitled “Becoming More Chaste in Thought and Deed“.