Pornography

Pornography refers to the creation or distribution of sexually explicit material intended to arouse the viewer. Within a biblical framework, such material is seen as violating God’s design for human sexuality, which is meant to be expressed within marriage. The commandment “You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14) and passages that condemn “sexual immorality” (porneia) such as Matthew 15:19, Galatians 5:19, and Ephesians 5:3, reflect a consistent standard calling believers to purity within marriage and chastity outside it.¹ From this perspective, the production and promotion of pornography are not morally neutral acts but distortions of the marital covenant and the proper ordering of desire before God.

Moral and Social Effects

Grudem explains that pornography is harmful because it redirects affection and desire away from one’s spouse. He writes, “A man who uses pornography is robbing his wife of emotional affection that should be hers and is turning his heart away from her and from desiring her affection.”² This shift weakens intimacy, creates emotional distance, and introduces persistent impurity into the relationship. Beyond the personal level, studies have documented correlations between pornography use and social harm, particularly in how it reshapes expectations of sexual behavior and relationships.

Basis for Legal Restriction

While not every private sin should be criminalized, the Bible and human experience both show that public acts capable of harming others fall within the rightful scope of government restraint. Grudem distinguishes between private viewing of pornography and the public activity of producing or distributing it. In his words:

The fact that something is morally wrong according to the Bible does not by itself mean that governments should have laws against it. … But the question of creating and distributing such material to others is a different question. In that case a person is creating material that … has a harmful effect on the moral standards of the society and specifically on the people who use the pornography and others to whom they relate in intimate ways.³

Because the making and sale of pornography foster moral corruption and increase the likelihood of sexual violence and exploitation, Grudem concludes that governments can and should restrict its production, distribution, and sale.

Enforcement and Historical Example

According to Grudem, the chief problem in the United States is not a lack of applicable laws but a failure to enforce existing ones. He notes that “under the administrations of two Republicans, President Ronald Reagan (1981–89) and President George H. W. Bush (1989–93), federal prosecutors were highly successful in prosecuting and winning convictions against numerous pornographers.”⁴ These examples, he argues, show that consistent enforcement efforts can significantly reduce the spread of pornographic material.

References

1. Wayne A. Grudem, Politics - According to the Bible: A Comprehensive Resource for Understanding Modern Political Issues in Light of Scripture (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010), 238.

2. Grudem, Politics - According to the Bible, 239–240.

3. Ibid., 242.

4. Ibid., 243.