A Debate Sexier than Barack Obama

A while back I saw a snippet on the Forward’s website about a big porn debate. The snippet claimed that Ron Jeremy would face off with an anti-porn pastor named Craig Gross. I didn’t believe it (for one thing, the links brought me to websites that were two years old), but apparently Jeremy and Gross have done this a few times before and are touring the country for the next few days. You can see them tonight in Indianapolis, tomorrow in Pittsburgh, Friday in Boston and Saturday in New York. For tickets head to the Great Porn Debate website. You may recall that I have strong feelings about porn. I stand by the things I wrote in that post. I’m still not a fan of porn, if only because the production of porn means there’s a porn industry out there, and I think the porn industry is incredibly destructive (porn stars agree with me, by the way). That said, I don’t see the point of this debate. It’s hard to believe that by Sunday Jeremy will be a reformed crusader for women’s rights and will refuse to screw another woman on camera. And something tells me that Pastor Gross (such an unfortunate name) won’t be stripping and jumping enthusiastically into a gang-bang while a camera crew catches it all, either. So, what’s the point of this kind of event? I assume that for Gross it’s publicity/an avenue for him to preach the Word, and for Jeremy it’s just fun/publicity. But at least on Jeremy’s end it seems like a really irritating week. I agree with Gross and I don’t think I’d want to listen to him preach five nights in a row. You can actually watch videos of the debates on YouTube. Though Gross makes some good points, it’s clear that Jeremy is the star. He’s not trying to convince anyone of anything, really, he’s just rolling his eyes and probably thinking that Gross would be much cooler if he got laid more often. It’s not that hard to sell porn. It’s a lot harder to sell Jesus. Public religious debates (and that’s what this is, even if Gross won’t directly bring the Jesus-talk to the debate) are, I think, a generally bad idea. You might think you’re a shoo-in for victory, but if the Muslims bring their top game you’ll be humiliated and so will every Jew in the crowd. Same goes for other religions who lose to Judaism. Isn’t there way too much risk that there will be someone edgier on some other team who will make a better point and garner the crowd’s support? Shouldn’t converts be a little more deeply committed than they are at the end of a round in a debate? Religion isn’t about talking points, sound bites, or finding a suit that looks great on camera. Standing at a podium and pontificating for ninety seconds on the shema is a waste of everyone’s time. Real faith and spirituality are about seriously wrestling with issues over a considerable period of time. Instead of heading for a quick fix at the porn debates, may I suggest that you pick up a copy of The Kuzari? You get religious debate, but you don’t have to look at Ron Jeremy, and answers go more in depth than a minute and a half might allow.