Pornography Shows Too Little

I heard a quote last week on The Catholic Guy Show that was attributed to Pope John Paul II. The pope was quoted as saying, "The problem with pornography isn't that it shows too much, it's that it shows too little." It's one of those quote that kind of makes you stop and think about what is being said. Over the centuries, too many prudes have portrayed the naked human body itself as something dirty or sacreligous. The pope is saying it isn't the naked body that in the pornography that is wrong it's how it is being portrayed.

The human body itself is a very beautiful thing. It was designed and created by God. Granted, it may not always be pleasant to look at as I realized when I caught myself in the mirror getting out of the shower once. Other times, they can be very pleasant to look at. Don't get me wrong--I don't mean in a sexual or lustful way but in the same way that it is beautiful to look upon a valley from a high peak. It's makes you wonder about God's grandeur.

I think that is what the pope is saying--the naked human body isn't wrong. It's the fact that it's being portrayed in an exploitive way. In a way that causes men or women to have lustful thoughts. In a way that makes the human body just a thing without taking into account the person that the body belongs too.

As human's we are very special. We are made in the image and likeness of God. We are body AND soul. That is how we are supposed to see other people--as someone made in the image and likeness of God. If we do that then we will see Jesus in everyone.

But with pornography--you see the naked body there and you don't see the soul inside. It is simply a piece of flesh to be used for the other's sexual pleasure. Don't take that to mean that sexual pleasure is wrong. When it comes about in the correct manner it can be one of the most amazing things but it has to come about in the right way--between a married man and his wife as they are giving love and pleasure to each other. Not in a way that is selfish.

The idea of seeing Jesus in everyone and not just seeing them as objects to be used should go beyond sex or pornography though. It should be an idea that we have in our every day existence. Am I seeing the person across from me as a child of God or as someone to be used. Am I judging them because of their appearance or seeing them as a brother or sister in Christ?

"The problem with pornography isn't that it shows to much. It is that is shows too little." A short little quote that gets the mind to thinking--

What do you think about it??