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NOTE: This article or series has not been updated recently. As such, it may possibly contain some outdated information, and/or ideas and beliefs which I no longer embrace, or which have changed to some degree.



Pornography. It is everywhere; from television programs, to movie theaters, to corner convenience stores, bookstores and drugstores, to many thousands of websites on the Internet, and elsewhere. Pornography -- whether it is so-called "soft porn", or hardcore porn -- has become such a pervasive part of our modern society, that it is virtually impossible to not come in contact with it in some form, even when we try to avoid it. The fact of the matter is that greedy merchants of all kinds have become so crafty and adept at flaunting the flesh in our faces -- from sexy screen stars, to body builders, even to characters that are found in cartoons and comic books -- that short of totally disconnecting ourselves from the grid, and divorcing ourselves from the world, there is no escaping it.

Sex surely sells; and these evil people know it! Inspired by the god of this present world -- Satan himself, who the Bible refers to as the Prince of the Power of the Air -- the shrewd leaders of the mass media, as well as Internet entrepreneurs and the head honchos of the entertainment industry have taken the Apostle John's sober admonition in his Epistle and turned it around and used it against us. These unscrupulous people have enticed us all by appealing to the lusts of our sinful flesh, as we see by the following verses:

"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever."


"In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them."


"Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:"


"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."


What actually motivated me to write this current article is an incident which transpired over the past twenty-four hours. As many of my online friends will know, I am very actively involved on Facebook. For those of you who may not be aware of this, you can find my Facebook page at the following URL:

https://www.facebook.com/billsbiblebasics

Being as my primary purpose in having my Facebook page is to be a witness to the world, and to extend the outreach of the Bill's Bible Basics ministry, by hopefully inspiring more people to visit my website, where they will discover a lot of Bible-based articles, Bible verse lists and quite a few other resources which will feed their hungry souls and strengthen their faith, my Facebook page is viewable by everyone. Please note, however, that I have enforced a few comment and tagging restrictions.

At any rate, yesterday, while I was approving some new friend requests, I happened upon an individual -- who for their own protection will remain anonymous -- who had a number of links to lesbian porn sites in his "likes" section. I am certainly not a prude. However, I was quite taken back by the fact that someone who had shown an interest in being accepted as one of my Facebook friends, would so willingly offer this kind of sexually-explicit material on his timeline. The fact that it is so apparent that my Facebook page is Christian-oriented, made this person's friend request even more bewildering.

In determining who to accept as Facebook friends, I do tend to be judicious. I don't just accept people in order to build up my number of friends. I am not interested in quantity, as so many Facebook users are inclined to be. Rather, I am more interested in acquiring quality friends, and building up a quality list of friends. For this reason, whenever I receive a new friend request -- I usually receive a few dozen each day -- I will take the time to visit their page in order to hopefully learn more about them. Sometimes, they have their page so restricted, that I cannot learn anything whatsoever, so it really comes down to a matter of taking a small leap of faith. In other words, I will accept their friendship, just so that I can see what is on their page. Afterwards, I will make my determination.

Please note that regardless of whether or not I approve a person's friend request, as I stated a moment ago, they can still view my full timeline. In other words, in obedience to our Great Commission to be a witness to the world, even if I reject a friend request for whatever the reason, I am still allowing said person to receive the Gospel message on my page. Consider these verses:

"And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come."


"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:"


"And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem."


"And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature."


"Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent."


"Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you."


"But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."


"And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publickly, and from house to house . . . Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears."


"How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things . . . So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."


"For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!"


"Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things."


"Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints, For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel; Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth:"


"And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also."


"Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine."


Returning to our previous discussion, in determining who to approve as a friend, I endeavor to give people the benefit of the doubt. For example, I have encountered a few individuals who use very offensive expletives on their pages. While I do not like such language, and strive to avoid it in my own life -- some timelines have foul words which I would never use -- at the same time, I stop to think about what the Lord may possibly be doing in that individual's life. I consider that perhaps under the hard outer surface, there may actually be a hungry sheep inside, and that perhaps this is why they made a friend request with me. So, despite my personal objection to the language that I find on their page, I may still approve their friend request.

In other cases, I have received friend requests from people who demonstrate a clear propensity for engaging in doctrinal debates on their own Facebook page. Some of these people are very entrenched in their views, and sometimes their positions are very much in opposition to my own. Depending on the level of the adamancy which I find on their timeline, and how rigid they are, I may or may not approve their friend request. If I sense that they can be trusted, and will not endeavor to stir up trouble and division on my timeline, I may approve their request. However, as a precaution, I will sometimes send them a private message in which I will remind them of the rules and policies which are enforced on my own page.

So, for those of you who may be interested, this is the basic vetting process which I follow insofar as approving Facebook friend requests is concerned. Having said that, let me make it very clear that what I found on this particular person's page -- the links to lesbian porn sites -- is not acceptable to me in the least. However, as I said, I endeavor to be fair and balanced when I consider friend requests. So, while I did approve this person's request, I also messaged him privately and rebuked him. I also asked him if he is a Christian, being as I could find no evidence of this on his page.

As I explain in such articles as "Are You Just a Baby Huey?", "Halloween and Samhain: No Room for Compromise" and "Light Up and Die!: The Smoking Addiction", the Apostle Paul informs us that in order to protect our Christian testimony, we should strive to avoid the "appearance of evil". Paul writes that we should all endeavor to "walk in wisdom", and "walk honestly toward them that are without", and strive to "live peaceably with all men". Consider the following verses:

"Abstain from all appearance of evil."


"If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men."


"Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man."


"That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing."


The Apostle Peter offers similar advice in the following verses as well; because by so doing, we can hopefully stop the mouths of our accusers and critics:

"Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God."


Obviously, this person is not abstaining from the appearance of evil. Quite to the contrary, he is in fact being a rather poor witness of our faith. It would be bad enough if he was just doing these things in his private life; but he is not. He is in fact openly broadcasting his personal sins for the whole world to see. Furthermore, by providing the links, he is inviting his other timeline visitors to likewise partake of his sins. I am reminded of something that the Apostle Paul wrote when he was dealing with a case of incest that was occurring in the Church at Corinth. Paul wrote:

"It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife. And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you."


As you can see, rather than mourning and being in a contrite state of repentance, Paul informs us that the guilty parties who were involved in this shameful case of incest were rather puffed up. Derived from the Greek word "phusioo", what Paul is actually saying is that these individuals were so deceived, that they were acting haughtily and proudly, as if there was absolutely nothing wrong with what this man had done. "Oh well; that's carnal Corinth for you. That's just the way it is here, Paul", seemed to be their misguided attitude.

In fact, I have wondered if after living near sinful Sodom for a time, Lot may have acquired the very same misguided attitude which says "Live and let live. To each his own. I don't agree with it, but it's their lives, not mine." There are Biblical indications that the livestock business must have been rather profitable for Lot. It is evident in the Bible that when Abraham and Lot each went their separate way, they were still living in tents. In fact, we are told that Lot "pitched his tent toward Sodom." Consider these verses:

"And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land. And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren. Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left. And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar. Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other. Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom."


If there is one thing I have come to realize, it is that Lot must have been a rather selfish man. As the previous verses demonstrate, when his uncle Abraham gave him a choice, Lot chose the best of the land. Not only did Lot choose the best of the land -- right in that fertile plain of sin -- but he must have become quite comfortable living there as well. This point is made evident by the fact that when the incident with the two Angels occurred, we are told that Lot and his family were living in a house -- which obviously had a door -- and no longer in a tent. Thus, it is apparent that Lot had grown quite rich from dealing with the sinful people of Sodom and Gomorrah. Furthermore, the two Angels found Lot sitting in the gate of Sodom. Lot was obviously very comfortable as he sat there and offered his livestock products to passersby.

Another thing which indicates the level of Lot's selfishness is the fact that when the men and boys of Sodom insisted on knowing -- or having sexual relations with -- the two Angels, perhaps out of fear, Lot even offered those wicked people his own two married daughters. He outright told them to do with his daughters whatever they liked. Lot was willing to throw his own daughters to the wolves. In spite of the disgusting things which Lot obviously knew were occurring in the cities of the plains, he had absolutely no intentions of leaving. Life was just too good and too easy for him. He was making a lot of money, and living the good life, at the expense of the sinners of Sodom and Gomorrah.

As you may recall, the two Angels had to literally drag Lot and his family out of that wicked place. Even then, despite the Lord's Mercy upon him and and his family, Lot still had the nerve to complain when the Angels informed him that he must take his wife and two daughters and flee to the distant mountains for safety. Lot did not want to go. After living the life of comfortable, sinful luxury in Sodom, life in the mountains would be too difficult, he must have thought. So, Lot whined and complained, and asked the Angels to let them go to Zoar -- which was another small city in the plain -- instead. While the Angels relented and gave Lot his wish, as it turned out, Lot fled with his two daughters to a cave in the mountains, because he was afraid to remain in Zoar after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah had occurred.

Taking into consideration everything that happened, Lot's very own selfishness resulted in him having nothing in the end. His livestock business was totally destroyed. Lot's lifelong earnings were wiped out. The fertile plain he had once occupied was turned into a wasteland due to the Lord's strong judgments against it. Except for his two daughters, the rest of Lot's family was killed because they refused to leave the cities of the plain, even after Lot had warned them to do so. Lot's own wife was turned into a pillar of salt because she regretted leaving the old life, and looked back in defiance of the Lord's command. Lot himself died an apparently broken, old man, spending his last days living in a cave in the mountains.

As an interesting side note, Lot's two daughters went on to give birth to Moab and Benammi. These two boys were actually the result of Lot's daughters engaging in incestuous sexual relations with him after making him drunk. Moab and Benammi became the progenitors of the Moabites and the Ammonites. Today, their former territories form a part of modern Jordan. You can read this amazing story in its entirety in Genesis chapter nineteen. However, for those of you who may not be inclined to pull out your Bibles, allow me to share it with you here as well:

"And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground; And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night. And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat. But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter: And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them. And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him, And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly. Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof. And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door. But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door. And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door. And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place: For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it. And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law. And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city. And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord: Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die: Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live. And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken. Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar. Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD: And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace. And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt. And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters."


Concerning this attitude of knowingly living amongst sin, we have clearly seen the very same attitude expressed many times in our current day as well. As I amply explain in series such as "When Sin is No Longer a Sin", as well as in "The Gay and Lesbian Agenda: To the Point!", this is precisely what is now occurring with the militant gay and lesbian rights movement. For decades now, they have been waging a fierce propaganda war with the ultimate goal of both normalizing and legalizing their sinful lifestyle all across the nation. To our shame, these rebellious and ungodly people have been successful in a growing number of states. They have absolutely no intentions of stopping either. They won't be happy until everyone views their sinful, perverted lifestyle as both normal and natural. As I will explain momentarily, there is cause for concern.

As for those of us who faithfully adhere to God's Word and give it precedence over man's laws, even if we don't like it, agree with it, or accept it, through legal means, the gay and lesbian community will force us to endure their carnal sins, and keep our mouths shut. In addition to legalizing same-sex "marriage", even now they are endeavoring to classify any negative talk about their sinful lifestyle as a hate crime, and the liberal media is happy to assist them in their crimes against God's holy and unchanging Laws.

In a discussion I shared a few weeks ago, I asked why there was any need to ban the Bible, as so many Christians seem to fear. As I pointed out, it certainly wasn't necessary to ban the Bible in order to legalize abortion. Neither was banning the Bible necessary before gay and lesbian pastors, priests and ministers were accepted in some of the wayward churches. Neither was it necessary to ban the Bible before some of the states began legalizing same-sex "marriage". Personally, I am convinced that these things which God-fearing Christians detest and regard as sins will continue to take place, even without God's Word ever being banned. Ungodly abortions will continue. The churches will continue to become more liberal. More states will continue to legalize same-sex "marriage".

In my view as a Christian, and as a man who is advancing in age, I think that what should be of great concern to us is the fact that over the past fifty years, social attitudes in the United States -- and no doubt elsewhere as well -- have become increasingly liberal. At this current time, we are without a doubt witnessing the most liberal generation which the United States has ever seen. The difference in attitudes between so-called "baby boomers" and their children is quite mind-boggling. In fact, I find it alarming. Those of you who have raised children of your own during this same period will know exactly what I am talking about.

For those of you who may be too young to understand why I am saying these things, allow me to explain it to you. You see, when I was a young boy growing up, there was zero cussing on the television set. Actors were always dressed modestly. Any form or suggestion of sexual promiscuity was nonexistent; at least in the TV shows that we were permitted to watch. If a white man were to date a black woman, it would still cause eyes to turn in disapproval. While homosexuality obviously existed back then just as it does now, the notion of same-sex "marriage", or openly gay and lesbian individuals serving in the priesthood would never have been imagined, and much less tolerated. I doubt that there were very many people who had the foresight to sense what is happening now, fifty years later. Back then, even the civil rights movement had just begun to gain strength.

How far we have come since those days. Sadly, it hasn't all been good. As we have seen, some of the social developments have been downright evil. How low we have gone; and what an abomination we have become in the eyes of the Lord. However, just like ancient Israel which likewise became an apostate nation despite many warnings from her Prophets, the tragedy is that I am convinced that we have not yet hit rock bottom insofar as our plunge into carnal sin and moral depravity is concerned. I suspect that the only reason why this has not happened yet, may be because conservative attitudes still remain strong in both the government and in American society in general. Consider the following verse regarding ancient Israel, and then think about the current state of America:
"And I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; but when ye entered, ye defiled my land, and made mine heritage an abomination."


But the question we need to ask ourselves is how much longer this will continue to be the case. The aforementioned bulwark of conservatism is slowly but surely being eroded. This is clearly evidenced by the developments of recent decades; not only social developments, but political developments as well. As our much more liberal-minded children begin to come into their own, and take the reins of leadership, exactly what is it going to mean? How will the nation be affected?

Please go to part two for the continuation of this series.

⇒ Go To The Next Part . . .

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