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From: mauney@ncsu.UUCP (Jon Mauney)
Newsgroups: net.women
Subject: Re: Pornography
Message-ID: <2781@ncsu.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 28-Jan-85 11:40:47 EST
Article-I.D.: ncsu.2781
Posted: Mon Jan 28 11:40:47 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 31-Jan-85 01:36:26 EST
References: <2770@ncsu.UUCP>, <43@gitpyr.UUCP>
Organization: N.C. State University, Raleigh
Lines: 30

> >     According to one recent posting on the net:
> > 	  "Married sexual activity is sacred and its use outside of
> > 	  marriage is a profanation of a holy thing."
> >     That's fine for you, but freedom of religion is constitutionally
> >     protected, so arguments based on church doctrine are disallowed.
> 
> 	Interesting.  Does this mean to say that one does not have to
> look at whether it was right or not, or true or not?  "If it's religiously
> oriented, we don't have to listen to it." is just as biased as "If it's
> religiously oriented, we MUST listen to it.".  As if driving off the
> left side of the road is a greater virtue than driving off the right
> side...

What this means to say is that the fact that a religious authority says X
is not sufficient to prove X is true.  Religious pronouncements cannot be
classed 'true' or 'false', only 'I believe' or 'I don''t believe.'
Religious statements may contain ideas that people of different religions
find useful.  Then again, they may not.  When someone quotes Catechism
to argue that porn is wrong, I consider it and form my own opinion.
When the statement occurs in the context of other people arguing that
porn should be banned, I point out that religious views should not
be the (sole) basis of secular law.  The Church's view of sex may be
a good reason for people not to buy or look at pornography.  It is not
a good reason to forbid other people to do so.

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Jon Mauney    mcnc!ncsu!mauney    C.S. Dept, North Carolina State University