Rare or not, an estimated half million is still too much: http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/sexslaves.html.

Well, like Seris said, there's a demand for hitmen too. And the people who demand it go home alive and happy.

But yeah, unfortunately the same can't be said for all parties involved. :P

It seems like as a society we haven't fully worked out the implications of our attitudes yet. We seem to have come to accept that we can be promiscuous. That this is ok. It's only a matter of degree to then go on to say promiscuity is ok in a specialized public forum. Similarly with prostitution. If you're not condemning the casual act itself, why condemn it when it's both casual and money is exchanged?

It is true that whomever this person was, He had no authority to judge. As people,
Christians can only say that you will go to hell if you are not forgiven for your
sins, by God.

But its quite false to assume she will go to heaven if she keeps living the lifestyle
she currently does.

You asked and I answered.

So Asia Carerra is going to heaven then?

Of course she is. Who are the male porn stars going to fuck when THEY get to heaven eh?

Not sure why you expect me to know the answer to that.

... dangit.

I agree with some of the points brought up here. Those being,

A. That we (we meaning christians) can't really condemn someone to hell, but we can say based on actions that theres a good chance. The bible does specifically point out that you have to repent & "sin no more" in order to be fully forgiven. The severity of the sins forgiven & not forgiven, as well as what they deserve, are ultimately God's to decide.

B. That pornography is synonymous with prostituition. Also, a promiscuous person is in the same category, makes no difference if your man or woman.

C. I quite like the whole hitman/prostitution angle. I could never put it into words like that.

D. I'm gonna get flamed probably, that the whole hellfire & brimstone thing isn't hell. Hell basically means destruction. Complete & total destruction. As in, if you go to hell, you'll cease to exist. Chrisitanity is based on you choosing to be a Christian out of love, not being "scared straight" as it were. At least that's what the bible says, if you filter out the dogma you hear from current institutionalised religions.

Also, it has been proven, that after being exposed to porn for an extended amount of time, you tend to get in a weird mindset about sex, as well as the opposite sex. Makes people view it as more of a thing you do, then what it is physically & emotionally otherwise.

Very true, and that's actually one of the worse things our societies are cursed with. Takes some time to realize, when you've been raised with naked women all over your cities' walls.

I realize some Christians believe this, but I don't see how it's biblical. If the people in Hell are completely destroyed, how do you explain the "wailing and gnashing of teeth"? I don't believe in fire and brimstone, but I do believe Hell is an actual place which is completely devoid of God. The display of pain (wailing, gnashing) is indicative of an emotional/spiritual pain rather than a physical one.

For those that say "Yes, some girls and women are kidnapped and forced into it, but by and large, it's a voluntary job," you're primarily wrong. Sure, in the United States and Western Europe that might be true.

However, take a trip down to any of the border towns in Mexico, prostitution is often not voluntary there, as is with Thailand, Singapore, most of the Mediterranean African nations, the former Soviet states, and pretty much anywhere one can find child pornography-- as I'm sure none of that is with consent as many are unable to even voice such concerns.

I don't have any real problem with prostitution or pornography, as what goes on between two consenting adults is none of my business. Some women find it very easy to make money and I'm sure it's quite a thrill for many more. Some men, too.

Hell, to be honest, if I knew I could make money as a male stripper, I'd do it. It pays more than what I'm doing now, and if you do it right, your potential earnings are that of any other white-collar job.

I think if anyone watches that episode of the Boondocks with "Crystal" in it, they'll understand, sure they make fun of strippers but it does kind of explain why a woman might do it.

Who is the wronged party where porn is concerned?

He was referring to the victims of the hit, Kolba. Not insinuating that porn necessarilly has its downfalls (though it does. Faceless murders, STDs, most hookers are into drugs and drug dealing as well, etc etc)

He seemed to be pointing out there was demand for hitman too, to draw into question julia's dismissal of the hitman argument. What he's done is highlight even more how tenuous the porn/hitman comparison is (and should be left alone really), since there's no immediate victim with porn. Those downfalls you mentioned are a step removed from the basic question of the morality of the act itself, a stretch that doesn't need to be made when talking about the product of a hitmans work.

Not really. At least, the last I heard the official Catholic definition of Hell (confirmed by the Pope some time ago) is to be in a permenant state of Sin. How does that make sense? Because the accurate definition of Sin is not an evil act, but a condition in which one is out of the sight of God. So, if you are in Hell, you are permenantly out of the sight of God and are eternally alone, abandoned, etc...

Yeah, didn't fire and brimstone come about cause the preachers wanted people to listen to them, so they esentially created a state of fear?

For that matter, wasn't God invented my man?

Who's athiest, raise you hand...

The idea of "fire and brimstone" (which i think brimstone is acutally burning molten sulfur- so you know it smells wonderful like rotten eggs) is a biblical concept. So if it was put in to induce fear, it was done so a long time ago back when John wrote Revelation. It mentions the beast and those that worshipped him being thrown into a lake of fire and brimstone in a few different places.

I'm wondering, what's the point of being an atheist? If there really is no God, then oh well... we'll cease to exist after we die which will be cool. But if atheists are wrong, isn't it better to be safe than sorry? And too, is it really all that bad to try to abide by a code of morality based on the idea of "love your neighbor as yourself" and believe in the idea that a supreme being is going to hook you up forever in the afterlife? Maybe I'm just a product of all that "hellfire and brimstone" preaching.

Of couse there is nothing wrong with abiding by a code of love thy neighbor as thyself. Many people live by that code who are not religious. But that should be my own right to choose to live by that code, not because someone or something (the Bible) tells me I should.

Better safe than sorry? So that means if I live my life according to the Bible, and then it turns out there is no God, nor hell, etc., man, think of all the party time I missed. :p

Ugh, I hate the idea of Pascal's Wager. It completely cheapens why you'd want to believe in God, and takes away your sincerity in your beliefs.

But it brings a valid point. Just imagine how much it'd suck to go through life not believing in God, and then when you die, find out there is one and you go to hell.

I mean I can understand why people believe/don't believe in certain things, but by the same tolken, I kind of don't. Atheists boggle me in that sense, even though I have a lot of friends who aren't religious at all.

If anything, people who believe in God boggle the hell out of me, and such a crude justification only makes me more confused.

I'll take my chances, because from the looks of it, God ain't there, folks. And if he really is, I SINCERELY doubt that he lacks the common sense that he would have to lack to set up such a stupid plan for salvation.

Seris, if we are going by Christianity beliefs, just believing in God does not keep one from going to hell. Also, being Athiest and not being religious are also two very different things.

Pascal's Wager. Have thought about that in a while. If anyone wants to take a few minutes to read this from my friend's forum, it's somewhat interesting about disproving and proving an existence of something.

Hacifusa ~ I agree. Check this out, along with the comments on the second page.

Regarding Pascal's Wager and MetheGelfling/Seris-

so supposing I "love thy neighbour", and follow all of these other moral christian codes too - or at least follow them as well as the average christian - and at the end of it the only puzzle piece missing to seperate me from some no-more-well-intentioned-than-me christian, would be the fact that I didn't believe in god - you're saying this god would turn me away from heaven for this, towards eternal damnation in hell?

Why is this a god an atheist would want to even make the effort of believing in?

Believing in God simply so you don't go to hell is not enough to save your soul. If God is all powerful and all knowing, then he knows that you're simply believing in him to avoid hell. And thus, that's exactly where you'll be going.

That is, Pascal's Wager may make sense, it wouldn't work. Believing not because you fell you have nothing to lose is not a true belief.