By Jesse Jost

Love scenes stir deep passions within us. It’s difficult to look away: Sexual attraction is inherent in us, and sex has unparalleled beauty. Hence, sex is a popular subject for photographers and filmmakers. But what messages are these public portrayals of physical affection communicating about sex?

God created sex (best idea ever), and also laid out strict instructions to keep the sex act within marriage. In His omniscience, He has reasons and purposes for these commands that we may never fully understand. However, the test tube of earthly life shows the brutal consequences of unrestricted sexual expression. What was meant to be a transcendent experience has often turned out to be a hellish nightmare for millions of exploited women.

Sex is designed to make two individuals “one flesh.” (Mark 10:8) This is fulfilled literally in reproduction, as the parents’ genes combine to form a new person. But sex is also given to unite a husband and wife spiritually and emotionally, a bond that is unmatched in any other relationship.

Clearly, good sex is so much more than the physical act. Sex the way God intended it is a physical and tangible expression of the emotional and spiritual bond that should be forming at the same time. Any sex act divorced from these relational bonds is destructive and exploitative.

Good sex is found only in an environment of trust. Intimacy requires a disclosure that makes one vulnerable. Before a woman can let go and fully express herself sexually, she needs to know that man receiving this sacred knowledge of her will not use it against her, and will be a safe place where she will be treasured for who she is, where she will not feel compared with any other woman. Good sex creates a paradise for a woman, a new Garden of Eden where she is queen alone.

This requires privacy. The very act of bringing a camera into the equation breaks the spell, stealing from the woman her sacred knowledge and making it available to any man who wants to mentally violate her by using that knowledge for his own selfish gratification. No matter how beautiful the portrayal of sex or how innocent it appears, the on-screen image is shouting a lie, and to receive lustful gratification from that image is to participate in the exploitation of that woman. Continue reading…