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Why Prostitution is not Glamourous When it comes to the topic of prostitution, we find people of various opinions, depending on their worldview. To me, I think the term "prostitution" is a lot like the term "evolution", in that, it can mean a wide variety of things and can bring about a range of reactions in how it is presented. For instance, if I mention all the atrocities that can occur to a call girl (such as pimp abuse, rape, etc), most anyone would say, prostitution is such a terrible way of life and all women should avoid it. However, if I mention to the very same person the example of a Hollywood celebrity posing nude for Playboy magazine, many would not find this as offensive and even would consider it normal. So to me, the term prostitution needs to be defined, such as we see with the term evolution. As the term "micro-evolution" is a factual occurance that even biblical creationists accept, while "macro-evolution" is the one generally meant by the term "evolution" and is a theory not supported by the evidence. So, with prostitution, I believe there are varied degrees, lifestyles, concepts, etc. And we can not lump it all into one basket, even if it appears all to be the same "evil" in our minds. The reason I am mentioning all of this is because I have seen testimonies on both sides of the aisle. Generally the very negative testimonies are with regards to actual prostitution. It sounds like a war zone. One where a woman is entrapped by a pimp, raped regularly and essentially becomes a sex slave. Such a testimony makes it clear, prostitution is something which can enslave woman and destroy lives. But is posing nude for a photographer the same as street prostitution? Should all of it be deemed degrading to women? As I have seen positive testimonies from the opposite spectrum, such as posing nude or fulfilling a sexual fantasy with your spouse or liberated concepts, getting away from victorian prudishness. Such things as this are not the same as street prostitution and should not be lumped into the same basket. My point being we should be careful with the data. It is clear, when hearing testimonies from street prostitutes that street prostitution is a terrible industry and it is good for it not to be legal. However, many Christians will lump simple things like playboy magazine, experimenting with your spouse, or anything else not conservative into the "sin of prostitution" category. They tell you that when you pickup a playboy magazine, you are looking at a women broken by society, using drugs and raped regularly. However, I have seen many testimonies 100% to the contrary (video testimonies from numerous women and I am quite able to read people to know if they are lying or being coersed). When Christians try to lump it all into one basket they are actually propagandizing people. When I read comments from Christians online (male or female) who say that all women who do anything erotic were raped or have some sort of personality disorder, it is equivelant to racist white men from the 40's saying African Americans are an inferior race. Its sort of a "control the masses" approach to sexuality within the church. Did you know that almost all doctors between 1700-1900 believed that masturbation will lead to health problems? Here are some of the health problems that can occur according to various doctors of this time:
Seriously, do you think you can not be deceived by propaganda and misused data, seeing the most educated of society (i.e. ~ doctors) from the 1800's were misled? What I am trying to say is sexual desire is God's design and to be enjoyed by Christians and it does not equate to prostitution. You will not become mentally insane if you enjoy sex. Neither will loose your eyesight if you masturbate. The occupation of prostitution reminds me a little of mixed martial arts. As those in the spotlight, who have a professional fight contract are similar to professional nude models. In that, they have the money, they have the life, there is little fear of problems, abuse, etc. The money is good, the fights are legal, ethical, and the business has a glamour to it. However, the woman doing tricks on the street is like an actual street brawler, where every moment is great risk. Where each day could be your last day on this earth. Such a lifestlye as a real street fighter or a regular street prostitute is a high risk area, where lots of risk, sin and abuse can be borne from. Also, you see similarities to this concept within gambling as well. If you look at the top professional gamblers, it appears to be glamourous. They are making the money, winning matches in a controlled ethical design. However, those addicted to gambling or are not professionals could loose their house, their marriage and more. Could be pushed around and threatened by the mafia or people they owe. So, again, we see the same pattern. However, when I say all of this and we can see the obvious error of these ways, does it mean it is a sin to gamble? Is it a sin to look at a nude photo? Is it a sin to praticipate in boxing or mixed martial arts? I believe the answer is "No, it is not a sin". Yet, I do believe it is against God's ideal for you to get into some of these things and there is an amount of risk to it. What do I mean by this? God does not condemn you for such activities, but rather warns you on where they could lead. Gambling could lead to you loving money and being around the wrong type of people, which could then have a spiral effect on your life. Any form of erotic work can potentially lead a person to being around the wrong people and lead you to other types of riskier erotic or sex work, which could bring you to enslavement under a pimp and also have a spiral effect on your life. With mixed martial arts, in some countries, it could lead to very risky fights, becoming a gangbanger or hitman, having a form of enslavement. Some real street fighters are in the same position of some So, does this mean drinking one beer, googling nude photos, watching boxing/UFC, or playing the lottery should be condemned as sinful? Where does one draw the line? Couldn't one beer lead to alcoholism? Isn't it supporting the addiction? Or looking at a nude photo? Isn't it supporting the porn industry? What about boxing or mixed martial arts? Isn't it glorifying violence?
For me, I separate things like alcoholism from drinking a beer. That does not mean I am not cautious about such things. As long as one has his head on straight and knows his own self control (one of the fruits of the spirit) and is not condoning bad lifestyles. Of course, the easiest way to avoid error and potential risk is to just avoid altogether all of them.
However, someone should take such things as prostitution, alcoholism, violent behaviour or gambling addiction as serious issues. The one who does not consider the seriousness of them, has the potential of being sucked into one of them. Do not underestimate your adversary the Devil. He would love for you to see the glamourous side of these lifestyles and get sucked in. Drinking, partying, getting stoned, making lots of money as an escort, hitting the jackpot, etc all sounds fun on the surface. Its the in-thing, will make you popular or rich.
All of these lifestyles below have this ability to suck you in:
Maybe the best approach would be this: avoid all the blatently evil forms of these lifestyles and assume they are sin. On the gray area ones (drinking a beer, etc). search the scriptures and seek God to ensure you are not sinning or going down the wrong path. However, do not assume a gray area is automatically sinful, but rather pray to seek God's thoughts and search the scriptures. I do not prescribe to the idea of drawing a line in the sand and then taking five steps back, "just in case" it is a sin or standing on some victorian or ultra conservative principle. If something is a sin, it will be detailed as a sin in the Bible. If it is not detailed, pray about it, and seek God's face, do not assume it is a sin anyways. This is where the pharisees got into error. If you find yourself adding to God's Word or taking away from it, know you are on shaky ground.
The point is, keep your head on straight. Do not become too legalistic. However, at the same time, do not allow yourself to get caught up into any of these worlds. They all have a fatal attraction to them. They are like a Venus Flytrap or the Sirens in the Odyssey. Seem so beautiful and tempting, but in the end lead to destruction.
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