Are atheists generally against pornographic content?
UPDATE: Here is a sample of the type of stuff that Christians might find objectionable, but I don’t think it should be a problem for atheists: https://www.reddit.com/r/LeArtDAboutCode/comments/90jrtj/the_sexual_escapades_of_john_harvard_post_1/
Source: reddit.com/r/eroticliterature/comments/90l6sr/are_atheists_generally_against_porn
The nice thing about being an atheist is having no commandments but your own. My personal belief is that, if you want to have serious discussions about morals, religion and ethics, you should know and understand your opposite’s views.
I consider myself an atheist. I don’t believe in any kind of higher power, nor in any man-made set of doctrines regarding godlike beings. But to get my points across, I need points of reference, so I have read the Bible, the Qoran and even the bloody Satanic Bible, along with a handful of philosophers. No, not Nietzsche. :) The other ones. Sokrates, Laozi, etc.
Anyway, I don’t get why so many Christians, especially those in the US, have such a strict “You shouldn’t…” mindset. A pastor friend of mine always says “Jesus was all about the things you should do, like being a kind soul. He is about love and forgiveness, not punishment.” We shake our heads at all those forum posts beginning with “Hi, I am a devout Christian…” and the topic creator invariably asks if it is wrong to hear a certain kind of music, watch certain movies or play certain video games.
Last I checked, there was no “thou shalt not listen to rap music” commandment. Or a “thou shalt not watch Avengers” commandment. Or the “thou shalt not play Minecraft” commandment. I have yet to find the “thou shalt not watch porn” commandment either. And no, even if you are extremely literal, you are not committing adultery when jacking off to Piper Perri taking a cock up her ass. Nowhere is it written that a simple believer has to behave like a bloody, abstinent hermit. Just be a decent human being. And being a human means having fun. Listen to rap. Or Death Metal, if it takes the edge off. Ogle Scarlett Johanson as Black Widow, maybe jack off to her if you’re alone in your room. Play violent or magic-involving video games, because they are fiction. You are not killing people or casting spells, you are pushing buttons.
And if your reverend puts his hands where you don’t want them, kick him in the nuts and call the cops. Because he is not acting like a decent human being.
Okay, I went off the deep end there. Back to the question. Atheists and porn. Since there are no religious commandments, it comes down to personal choice. I like porn. So much in fact, I write my own. And I happen to live in a healthy relationship of 23 years. For me, porn is a window into a world I can’t have. My wife is very tolerant, but she has her stances on things like group sex or anal. Instead of breaking up with her over one area in an otherwise great partnership where we have differing views, I either write down my fantasy and publish them on Literotica, or I log on to PornHub and crank one out when the urge hits. She knows what I write, even critiques sometimes and my desires are well known to her. No secrecy, no guilty conscience.
Huh. I almost sound like a Christian now, only it’s not God piping his ideas into my head.