Porn on Medium?!?

February 10, 2025

Yesterday, I got a notice of a new “follower.” This person had three stories posted all under the heading “Zhena’s Life Erotica.” Accompanying photos were pictures of half or fully naked women.

My first reaction was to block it… I don’t need any of that crap on my site or in my life. I wondered why that person would want to “follow” me in the first place, since most all of my publications are about encouraging people to follow God, Jesus, and the Bible.

Now, I have no idea how I got into sites exploiting women exploiting one another, but unfortunately, and to my shame, for a while I actually did.

Look, as a Born Again Bible Believing Christian, I had known better, or at least, should have known better, than to click on any porn site. Yet, I did not exercise my ability in Christ to resist and simply to say “No.” I am slow on the uptake and acted like I was ignorant of the power that God gives us — called free will choice: “So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” — James 4:7, New Living Translation (NLT).

So, not only was I acting ignorantly, but I was acting stupidly.

I found out the hard way that all such images are very difficult to erase from the mind. More importantly, I was supporting the exploitation of women — hardly a Christ-like trait…

Regardless, there is a reason — not an excuse, but a reason found in the Bible that illustrates the instinctive allure and why it’s harmful,

Way back in the beginnings of Creation and the outset of civilization is this: “…the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose.” — Genesis 6:2, English Standard Version, ESV.

News flash! Women are attractive!

Still and all, it is not insignificant what God said immediately following those activities: “My Spirit shall not abide in Man forever, for he is flesh…” and then, “The Lord saw that the wickedness of Man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.” — Genesis 6:3 and 6:5–6, ESV.

But someone might try to point out, “Didn’t God command people to be fruitful and multiply? Wasn’t Man’s way just a quicker way?” Well, that may be your point of view, but Jesus gave us His insight: “Moses permitted divorce only as a concession to your hard hearts, but it was not what God had originally intended. — Matthew 19:8, NLT.

Oh, but we know so much better than God our Creator… or so we think…

We also think deep down inside that we will never die.

Don’t we presume to think a lot of things?

Hmmm… Hard hearts?

Hmmm… Maybe thick skulls, as well?

One day, I found out that I wasn’t so smart after all…

Nevertheless, God foresees the hurt and the harm in what we are trying to accomplish, all the while, we are only seeing daring challenges and potential for reveling in our own successes.

I think that God’s “original intention” for men and women is best represented in the Creation Story when God made Eve out of Adam’s flesh. I draw from that illustration that God is the best one to match one man with one woman in marriage. It’s the ideal even though it seems not always possible.

Now, are we really so shallow and short-sighted and blinded by our own ambition?

Let’s look a bit farther

The Bible’s panoramic view of how God sees these things is also found in Man’s attempts to build his own stairways to heaven (shown in the Tower of Babel story). It can also be seen in Man’s making up his own ideas about God, making up his own gods, philosophies and religions in His stead.

Mankind always likes to think we can do a better job than God. Maybe we are the kind of person who thinks that there is no God in Heaven, let alone one that sees what’s going on.

We are not only ignorant, but stupid.

How did God react to the building of that Tower?

“So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth…” — Genesis 11:6, NIV.

What is God’s response to Mankind’s building religions and idols?

“But their idols are silver and gold, made by human hands. They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see. They have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but cannot smell. They have hands, but cannot feel, feet, but cannot walk, nor can they utter a sound with their throats.

Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.” — Psalm 115:4–8, NIV.

All things considered, keeping all this in mind, I decided to temporarily unblock the site for the outside chance that I could share the alternative to the exploitation of women, trying for a voluntarily taking down of the site and an opportunity to share what I have learned about God, Jesus, and the Bible.

However, the next day, I thought maybe this person was just trolling, which is like some punk starting a fight between two other guys so he can stand back and watch for his own amusement.

“Online trolling is when someone intentionally posts or comments online to upset or provoke others. Trolls often post anonymously and use inflammatory, irrelevant, or offensive content to get a reaction.” — AI Overview.

That was yesterday. But this morning I woke up thinking that perhaps there was a more nefarious or malicious intent, that is, they might be using a backdoor online to steal contacts. This reveals their ulterior motives: “They are the kind who work their way into people’s homes and win the confidence of vulnerable women {and men, as well,} who are burdened with the guilt of sin and controlled by various desires.” — 2 Timothy 3:6, NLT {my edit}.

So, I decided to both block and to report the violation…

Still, here are four excerpts from the Bible which I want to convey to all people trapped in that kind of exploitation and uncivil and misleading discourse:

1. A vision — “Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing?” — Matthew 6:25, NLT.

2. A caution — “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” — Proverbs 14:12, ESV.

3. A choice — “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to destruction is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.” — Matthew 7:13–14, NLT

4. A promise — “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.” — John 3:16–17, NLT.