Fifty Shades of Porn

British writer E. L. James erotic home run is flying off the shelves. In the United States alone almost twenty million copies of the 1594 page trilogy have been sold. The book has held the top three spots on USA Today’s bestselling books list for nine weeks.

Not a few people have asked the question, “Why are women by the millions buying this book and simply devouring it?”  There may be nuanced reasons, such as the fact the story is apparently profoundly romantic, and women have always been attracted to this genre.  Nothing new here.  But beyond that simple fact there are some other very basic facts.  The book is all about sex; it is without doubt a form of soft porn.  Does sex sell?  You bet it does, the more profound question is, “When doesn’t it sell?” 

A further reason for the high sales relates to the fact that this book deals with sex in a way that is new for most mainstream people.  It delves deeply into the realm of sadism and masochism and does so in a focused erotic way.  Although there is nothing new under the sun, there is plenty under the sun that is new to people who have never tried it or thought about it. This book directly appeals to the curious crowd who have an interest in learning and maybe even trying something new in their intimate lives.

My great concern is that unwary and unwise Christians might take up this book.  They might think that any book that is so mainstream and at the same time so wildly popular is not likely to be harmful. They would be wrong.  In my view this work has the power to attract and seduce well meaning Christians.  It has the power to invade their thought life and to take them to places they should not go. Porn will do that, you know.  

It might be called Fifty Shades of Grey, but a better title would be Fifty Shades of Porn.  I do not believe that literature like this has any place in the life of a committed follower of Christ.

It is dangerous to even toy with the temptation to pick up this book—Running is a far better strategy.