R. Albert Mohler Jr.'s Blog, page 295
October 13, 2015
Bad News, Indeed — Playboy Opened the Floodgates and Now the Culture is Drowning
A venerable parable from Confucian China told of an elderly man who had seen emperors and events come and go, and observed from his Confucian worldview that good news and bad news were often difficult to tell apart. “Good news? Bad news? Who’s to say?,” he would reply to any news from his neighbors.
I thought of that parable when I read the headlines that announced the news that Playboy would cease the publication of nude photographs of women in its magazine. From any moral perspective, that should appear as good news. The headlines might suggest that Playboy has had a change of heart. A closer look at the story, however, reveals a very different moral reality. Playboy acknowledged that its decision had nothing to do with any admission that pornography is morally wrong. Instead, the publishers of the magazine were acknowledging that their product was no longer commercially viable as explicit pornography because pornography is so pervasive in the Internet age that no one need buy their product.
Scott Flanders, Playboy CEO, told the media that his product had been overtaken by the larger culture. “You’re just one click away from every sex act imaginable for free. And it’s just passé at this juncture.”
That is one of the most morally revealing statements of recent times. Playboy has outlived its ability to transgress and to push the moral boundaries. As a matter of fact, it was a victim of its own sad success. Pornography is such a pervasive part of modern society that Playboy is now a commercial victim of the very moral revolution it symbolized and promoted for decades.
Reporting on the story, Ravi Somaiya of The New York Times commented: “Now every teenage boy has an Internet-connected phone instead. Pornographic magazines, even those as storied as Playboy, have lost their shock value, their commercial value and their cultural relevance.”
That is a stunning and sadly accurate assessment on all three fronts. The iconic magazines of the sexual revolution, the very magazines that promoted the sexual revolution and opened the floodgates to even more explicit and graphic pornography, have lost their ability to shock, their ability to sell themselves to the public, and their cultural relevance — and it is precisely because the culture has become Playboy and what was once shocking is now a feature of mainstream American culture.
Playboy once had a paid circulation of near 8 million. According to the Times, it has only 800,000 subscribers now. The market is much larger than ever, but the marketplace is now the polymorphous perversity of the digital age.
“That Battle has Been Fought and Won”
Another very revealing comment from Flanders was more ambitious. “That battle has been fought and won,” he said. “That battle,” we should note, was the declared battle to overthrow an entire system of sexual morality that had once defined pornography as sin and affirmed the responsibility of a civilized society to uphold the dignity of sex and the sanctity of marriage.
As Elizabeth Fraterrigo, author of Playboy and the Making of the Good Life in Modern America, noted: “Playboy magazine played a significant role in defining an alternative, often controversial, and highly resonant version of the good life.”
That was the goal of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner. Hefner saw himself as a moral revolutionary, even bragging that Playboy “certainly made it possible to open up the floodgates” to the deluge of sexual libertinism that it encouraged, commercialized, and symbolized.
Flanders told the Times that the world has now adopted the Hefner worldview to the extent that his libertarian views on an entire range of moral and social issues are now so widely shared that the magazine’s ability to package pornography is outdated.
By almost any measure, that statement rings true. Pornography is now mainstream entertainment and available 24/7 just a click away. The vision of sexuality glorified by Playboy is no longer on the cutting edge of moral change. Playboy won the battle and can now leave the battlefield commercially wounded but culturally victorious.
The Playboy Philosophy and its Underlying Theology
Hugh Hefner was never less than ambitious and he was never covert in his goals. He wanted to transform American sexual morality and break down the Judeo-Christian sexual morality that was once dominant in the culture. He presented what he identified as the Playboy philosophy of life, and he packaged his product as a way of selling men on the sexual objectification of women — while claiming to present a portrait of sophisticated male sexuality that was both glamorous and free from the shackles of traditional morality.
Underlying every moral philosophy there lies a theology. In Hefner’s case, that theology was also in public view. He told journalist Cathleen Falsani that he was a “spiritual person, but I don’t mean that I believe in the supernatural.” He said that he believes in a creator, but not in the God of the Bible.
As he explained: “I do not believe in the biblical God, not in the sense that he doesn’t exist, just in the sense that I know rationally that man created the Bible and that we invented our perception of what we do not know.”
Further: “I urge one and all to live this life as if there is no reward in the afterlife and to do it in a moral way that makes it better for you and those around you, and that leaves this world a little better place than when you found it.”
As Falsani understood, there was a “Playboy Theology” that explained the Playboy Philosophy:
“Hef doesn’t believe in a ‘biblical God,’ but he is fairly adamant about the existence of a ‘Creator.’ He hasn’t been to a church service that wasn’t a wedding, funeral, or baptism since he was a student at the University of Illinois in the late 1940s, but says he worships on a regular basis while walking on the grounds of his own backyard. And he follows a system of morals, but not those gleaned from the Methodism of his childhood–or at least not the ones that pertain to sexuality.”
A theology that rejects the “biblical God” and any notion of divine judgment or the afterlife is integral to the Playboy Philosophy, and the overthrow of Christianity as a belief system precedes the rejection of Christian sexual morality. And all this came as Hugh Hefner made millions exploiting women and mainstreaming pornography.
“Good news? Bad news? Who’s to say?”
The headlines announcing that Playboy would no longer feature nude photographs of women looked like good news, but the underlying story is horrifying in moral terms. Playboy did open the floodgates and pornography now pervades the entire culture. Hefner’s moral philosophy and its underlying theology are now mainstream in America, and the current Playboy CEO can claim “that battle has been fought and won.”
What you should hear in that claim of victory is the fall of an entire civilization and the moral consensus that made that civilization possible. Any morally sane person must recognize that as horrifyingly bad news, indeed.
I am always glad to hear from readers. Write me at mail@albertmohler.com. Follow regular updates on Twitter at www.twitter.com/albertmohler.
Ravi Somaiya, “Playboy to Drop Nudity as Internet Fills Demand,” The New York Times, Tuesday, October 12, 2015.
Cathleen Falsani, The God Factor (New York: Sarah Critchton Books, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2006). Quotations from pages 23 & 25.
Elizabeth Fraterrigo, Playboy and the Making of the Good Life in Modern America (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009), page 3.
The Briefing 10-13-15
1) First Democratic debate will feature Sanders pulling party sharply left
What to expect from Tuesday’s Democratic presidential debate, Washington Post (Chris Cillizza)
Why Bernie Sanders isn’t going to be president, in five words, Washington Post (Chris Cillizza)
2) Tragic counsel of doctors to delay puberty in transgender child reflects societal confusion
Transgender at 8: Tyler remains certain he’s a boy as the world changes around him, Washington Post (Petula Dvorak)
3) Pediatricians rethink screen-time regulations for children, surrendering to reality of tech saturation
Pediatricians Rethink Screen Time Policy for Children, Wall Street Journal (Sumathi Reddy)
October 12, 2015
The Briefing 10-12-15
1) California bill undermining liberty of crisis pregnancy centers, requiring abortion promotion signed
Brown signs bill requiring pregnancy centers to provide abortion information, Associated Press
2) Journalist attempts to place responsibility of sex ed on schools, not parents, for sake of moral agenda
Pregnancy rate, STD stats show sex ed in U.S. not working, USA Today (Greg Toppo)
3) Secretary of Education resignation reminder of political nature of national education agenda
Arne Duncan, Education Secretary, to Step Down in December, New York Times (Gardiner Harris and Motoko Rich)
Notable & Quotable: Hamilton Jordan, Wall Street Journal
4) Embarrassment over false prediction of end of the world detracts from seriousness of cause of Christ
Leader of Christian group adjusts incorrect doomsday prediction: 'Soon', The Guardian (Adam Gabbatt)
October 9, 2015
The Briefing 10-09-15
1) Withdrawal of McCarthy from Speaker nomination reflects battle for soul of Republican party
Kevin McCarthy’s implosion signals a full-blown Republican revolution, Washington Post (Chris Cillizza)
2) #ShoutYourAbortion falters over moral difficulty of unconditional celebration of abortion
#ShoutYourAbortion Gets Angry Shouts Back, New York Times (Tamar Lewin)
3) Recycling thrives despite questioned ecological impact because helps people feel virtuous
The Reign of Recycling, New York Times (John Tierney)
October 8, 2015
The Briefing 10-08-15
1) Obama apologizes to Doctors Without Borders taking moral responsibility for mistaken hospital strike
Obama Apologizes for Afghan Airstrike on Hospital, Wall Street Journal (Carol E Lee and Felicia Schwartz)
2) Congress appoints special committee to investigate abortion more broadly
Special House committee will investigate Planned Parenthood, abortion issues, Washington Post (Mike DeBonis)
3) Ohio effort to aid addicted gamblers example of biological reduction of moral accountability
State launching new campaign to combat problem gambling, Columbus Dispatch (Alan Johnson)
4) Revived Muppets show's promiscuous characters illustrates extent of sexual revolution
How ABC’s ‘The Muppets’ killed Jim Henson’s vision of making the world a kinder place, Religion News Service (Brandon Ambrosino)
October 7, 2015
The Briefing 10-07-15
1) Biblical counseling conference at SBTS protested over view of homosexuality as sin
Activists protest Baptists' seminar on homosexuality, USA Today (Deborah Yetter)
Southern Seminary, ACBC to refute protesters’ claims in morning news conference, Southern News
Your God and My Dignity, New York Times (Frank Bruni)
2) Hillary's effort to defend slowness to affirm gay marriage shows velocity of moral shift
Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden, in Dueling Speeches, Focus on Transgender Rights, New York Times (Amy Chozick)
Hillary Clinton Mocks Ben Carson, Ted Cruz on Gay Rights, ABC News (Liz Kreutz)
3) ABC Family changes name to avoid 'family friendly' perception for sake of market
ABC Family is dropping 'ABC' and 'Family', ABC News (Gary Levin)
October 6, 2015
The Briefing 10-06-15
1) California right to die law signed by governor, furthering redefinition of human life
Gov. Brown signs controversial assisted-suicide bill, Los Angeles Times (Patrick McGreevy)
To the Members of the California State Assembly, California Office of the Governor
2) South Carolina flooding reminder of need of all cosmos for redemption
Flood-Hit South Carolina Set for More Rain After Record-Setting Downpour, NBC News (Alexander Smith, Matthew Grimson, and Shamar Walters)
3) Non-theists overwhelmingly support abortion, exposing theological nature of debate
Abortion opposition is a religious stance. Atheists must help fight for choice, The Guardian (Adam Lee)
4) Oppostion to police car decal 'In God we Trust' shows depth of secular opposition to truth claims of religion
Police Agencies Defy Critics and Show ‘In God We Trust’, New york Times (Alan Blinder and Richard Pérez-Peña)
October 5, 2015
The Briefing 10-05-15
1) Brokenness of world evident through tragedies, failures in Afghanistan, Syria, and beyond
Airstrike Hits Doctors Without Borders Hospital in Afghanistan, New York Times (Alissa J. Rubin)
Billions From U.S. Fail to Sustain Foreign Forces, New York Times (Eric Schmitt and Tim Arango)
Questions about leadership follow Obama, Chicago Tribune (Christi Parsons)
British Teenager Sentenced in Plot to Kill Police on Anzac Day in Australia, New York Times (Steven Erlanger)
2) Oregon shooting example of disguised and irrational nature of evil
Oregon Shooting at Umpqua College Kills 10, Sheriff Says, New York Times (Dirk Vanderhart, Kirk Johnson, and Julie Turkewitz)
Oregon Killer Described as Man of Few Words, Except on Topic of Guns, New York Times (Jack Healy and Ian Lovett)
Oregon shooter said to have singled out Christians for killing in ‘horrific act of cowardice’, Washington Post (Eli Saslow, Sarah Kaplan, and Joseph Hoyt)
Mass Murderers Fit Profile, as Do Many Others Who Don’t Kill, New York Times (N. R. Kleinfield, Russ Buettner, David W. Chen and Nikita Stewart)
3) 25th anniversary of fall of Berlin Wall, a great moral scar of 21st century, passes largely unnoticed
In a United Germany, the Scars of the East-West Divide Have Faded, New York Times (Alison Smale)
October 4, 2015
October 2, 2015
The Briefing 10-02-15
1) Oregon community college shooting tragic demonstration of evil and sin
Gunman in Oregon college shooting killed; multiple fatalities reported, Washington Post (Joseph Hoyt, Mark Berman, and Jerry Markon)
Oregon shooting: Gunman dead after college rampage, CNN (Dana Ford)
2) Obama's call to combat ISIS ideologically rejected by UN intimidated by strength of Islam
Obama’s Call at U.N. to Fight ISIS With Ideas Is Largely Seen as Futile, New York Times (Gardiner Harris and Eric Schmitt)
3) Majority of Harvard freshman class secular, foreshadowing future of American elites
There are more atheists and agnostics entering Harvard than Protestants and Catholics, Washington Post (Sarah Pulliam Bailey)
Class of 2019 by the numbers, Harvard Crimson
4) In light of secular confusion, important for evangelicals to assert biblical basis of value of all living creation
It's time for evangelicals to speak up for animals, USA Today (Kirsten Powers)
Every Living Thing: An Evangelical Statement on Responsible Care for Animals, Every Living Thing
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