NOT A FAN - Cognitive Dissonance, Therapeutic Deism & OnlyFans
I happened to check a new (to me) podcast that I had seen a clip of on my Instagram feed the other day. It caught my attention because Ruslan ( Christian Hip-hop artist & YouTuber) and Lila Rose ( Founder of LiveAction) were on the show debating with several people, who are involved in making porn content, about its negative effects on society. Lila and Russian were there making a case for the Biblical design for sexuality within marriage. I am not mentioning the name of the podcast because I can’t get behind some of the other stuff that was going on but I am thankful that Ruslan and Lila stepped into this space and stood for Biblical principles.
One of the guests, on the side of the pro-porn argument, was a young lady named “Christy. Christy is an OnlyFans content creator. If you are unfamiliar with OnlyFans, it is a platform where men and women post sexual content in exchange for financial subscriptions. Now, technically you could post whatever you wanted on the platform but the reality is OF has become a hotbed for those wanting to make money from sexual acts. It’s important to note that every previous generation would’ve referred to Christy as a prostitute or pornstar. Not in 2023 though. Now, women are much more liberated from the bonds of narrow-minded views of morality. They believe that they shouldn’t feel any shame for selling their body online for $10 a pop - it’s called freedom and progress. If you can’t tell, that's my gift of sarcasm shining through.
The recorded conversation went from disappointing to full-out heartbreaking as Christy started talking more about her worldview. Here is a general breakdown of how the entire discussion went.
Christy- “ I am a traditional girl…I am Republican…I am a Christian… I'm a child of God… I have a real connection with God and with my spirit guides.”
“But you do OnlyFans?!”
Christy- “Yeah so?… It's a reality show for me, not adultery…I feel like you are judging my journey.”
This, my friends, is what is called Cognitive Dissonance. If you are unfamiliar with the term it means, the state of having inconsistent thoughts, beliefs, or attitudes, especially as relating to behavioural decisions and attitude change.
Christy doesn’t see the incongruence of her claim to be a follower of Jesus while also making sexually graphic content to sell to her subscribers. To her, the sexual things that she does with her body have little to no connection to her claimed faith. She believes that she can be sexually immoral and have Jesus too. Unfortunately, Christy isn’t alone in this thought. Lately there have been numerous porn-stars who have publicly stated that they are Christians. I am not saying that you can’t be a porn-star and come to Christ. Not in the least! There are countless stories of men and women who were involved in this sinful and destructive industry and came to Christ. They then in turn left the industry and chose to honour God with their entire lives. I pray that becomes their story but when we have former Christian school teachers leaving that profession to join the porn industry stating, “ God told me to do this…this is my way of serving” - we’ve got a problem!
Now before you think I am getting all judgy, I don't see these girls as the enemy or even somehow lost beyond repair. They are victims of a “gospel” that is no gospel at all. It is a counterfeit message that unfortunately many people who may never have an OnlyFans account, have trusted in. This is the lie of Therapeutic Deism -where Jesus simply exists to be Saviour and Healer, but not Lord and King. He's the ticket to a life of material comfort and prosperity, with eternal life as a final destination, but He is given no place to speak to the way we live our lives or, heaven forbid, defining what is right and wrong. He is no longer the one who calls us to “ Take up our cross and follow Him.”
That would be too oppressive and such a downer. Our society and even some churches define what is right and good by how happy it makes them while they are alive, not when they die.
In the New Testament, Jude wrote in his letter,
“3 Dear friends, I had been eagerly planning to write to you about the salvation we all share. But now I find that I must write about something else, urging you to defend the faith that God has entrusted once for all time to his holy people. 4 I say this because some ungodly people have wormed their way into your churches, saying that God’s marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives. The condemnation of such people was recorded long ago, for they have denied our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”
It's easy to point fingers at these people I mentioned. They are the “low-hanging fruit” of our cultural moment, but don’t forget, they are victims. The real problem is with pastors and leaders who know better, but refuse to speak the truth in love (for God and people) for fear of being offensive or counter-cultural. I hate to break it to you, but that's exactly what the Church is called to be, the Ecclesia, the called-out people.
Jesus always invited His church to be a people on high ground, not of prideful moral superiority but like a city on a hill that calls to those caught in the flood of immorality and perversion, “This is the way out of hell! Come and be reconciled! Jesus’s way is the best way! He forgives! He restores!”.
If we continue to operate in the worldly perspective that provides a weak definition of genuine love and sees intolerance as the only unforgivable sin, we sentence those who are gasping for air in the waves of sexual brokenness to a slow and miserable death where they soon find out that you only live once, but you can die twice.