Answer
Ethically sourced pornography refers to efforts to establish safer and more equitable standards within the porn industry. In the past, physical abuse, financial exploitation, and unsafe working conditions have been common in the pornography business. While reducing danger and unfairness are good goals, ethically sourced pornography is no less sinful. Pornography is sinful no matter the workplace standards where it’s made.
Pornography is sinful because it entices people to lust, which God forbids (James 1:14–15; Matthew 5:28). According to the Bible, lust is an impure desire of the heart. Impure sexual desire often begins with seeing inappropriate images, which can lead to sinful thoughts and actions. Realizing this danger, Job vowed not to look at women in an unholy way: “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a young woman” (Job 31:1). Furthermore, lust does not require physical action to be sinful. Proverbs 6:25 warns, “Do not lust in your heart after her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes.”
Ethically sourced pornography does not eliminate the allure of lust for the viewer. New industry standards may require more frequent screenings for sexually transmitted diseases. This practice might promote better health, but it does not change the immoral behavior of the participants. Nor does it lessen the sin of watching it. Efforts to improve the industry’s practices fail to address the core issue—the sinful nature of pornography itself.
By analogy, worshiping a false god is a violation of the second commandment (Exodus 20:3). It doesn’t matter whether the worshipers are committing their idolatry “dangerously” or “safely.” For example, in Canaanite religion, worshiping Molech sometimes involved child sacrifice (Leviticus 18:21). Eliminating murder from this religion would be moral progress, but it would not make worshiping Molech any less sinful. Similarly, followers of Baal cut themselves as a sign of religious devotion (1 Kings 18:28). While removing self-harm from their worship would be ethical, it would not make the worship of Baal a holy act.
This principle is also evident in God’s laws for Israel, which forbid practices like religious prostitution. The law states, “No Israelite man or woman is to become a shrine prostitute” (Deuteronomy 23:17). Specifically, God forbade the Israelites from bringing the earnings from such practices “into the house of the Lord your God to pay any vow” (verse 18). These laws make clear that immoral practices cannot be made holy, no matter their context or purpose.
Another reason ethically sourced pornography is no less sinful is that it glorifies sex outside of marriage. The Bible affirms that God intends sexual intimacy exclusively for marriage (Matthew 19:5; Ephesians 5:31). Aany sexual activity outside of marriage is wrong (Exodus 20:14; Leviticus 18:20).
In summary, improving standards within the pornography industry is a positive step. However, it does not change the sinfulness of pornography itself. God’s design for sex remains the best way to honor and steward the body (1 Corinthians 6:19). Those in the pornography industry, as well as those who consume it, would do well to heed Paul’s instructions. First, he explains what to avoid: “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality” (1 Thessalonians 4:3). Second, he provides guidance on how to do so: “Each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable” (verse 4). God calls Christians to follow this standard and live according to Jesus’ words: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matthew 5:8).