WAKE UP: Pornography is not victimless - it destroys lives and kills people - Yellowhammer News | Yellowhammer News

Dr. Harry L. Reeder III 4 years ago

WAKE UP: Pornography is not victimless — it destroys lives and kills people

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PORNOGRAPHY’S RECENT SUICIDE SPIRAL

TOM LAMPRECHT: Harry there are times that we have to deal with stories that are rather sensitive. Perhaps there are sensitive young ears around the radio or the smartphone or the tablet – we just want to give a heads-up to Mom or Dad that today’s subject is one of those. We’re going to deal with the fallout of those who find themselves involved in an immoral industry, the adult film industry.

Harry, The Daily Wire reported recently that a lonely actress in this industry, at age 20, took her life. She stated over Christmas that she was lonely during the holidays and she was also grieving the death of her boyfriend, who died from a drug overdose. What’s even sadder about this story, Harry, is this is the fourth young lady who has passed away – several of these because of suicide – that are involved in this industry.

DR. REEDER: Let me just use the term one time: this pornographic industry, “adult entertainment.” There’s nothing adult about it. I actually see it as an adolescent industry because of what it preys upon – the young people of our society – both in terms of those who participate and those who are purveyors.

NOT A VICTIMLESS CRIME

Tom, one of the things that’s constantly said to us is that we have matured to a society so that we have recognized that this should not be criminalized because, if it was a crime, it’s a victimless crime.

Well, so much for that notion. What we are looking at is the multi-faceted destructive elements of this particular industry, which America, by far, is the most prolific producer of this adult entertainment. It’s like a tsunami wave through the internet into the lives of people.

We are now opening up entire counseling clinics based upon addressing the addictions of this industry, which it is designed to be addictive and it is designed to produce a downward spiral into the clutches of this industry. We now have them at junior high age – entire counseling centers that are there because of the addictions at the junior high age.

It is now said that 70 percent of men are engaged in this activity in our society – over 70 percent. The statistics on when young people are exposed to this have now identified the elementary age as the point of contact and then, once somebody sees something, you can’t unsee it anymore. There’s actually a chemical dynamic that burns the images into your brain.

What we need to realize is that this is not a victimless crime. Tom, honestly, we talked about whether to do this program or not. One of the reasons I finally was persuaded to do it is because this news item not only reminds us of the victims of broken homes and broken families because of the addiction to the products of the pornographic industry, but also the people that participate, the destruction in the lives of these young women, the objectivization of women in general because of this, the loss of the beauty and blessing of God’s gift of the sanctity of sexuality within marriage, the idea that sexuality exists for personal gratification and the other person becomes an object and there are no ethical parameters that are to surround the sanctity of the gift of sexuality by God to us.

WE MUST CONTINUE TO HOLD SHARED MORALS IN SOCIETY

This last week, Tom, I was in a forum dealing with a public ordinance that would penalize people if they will not extend civil rights to sexual activities, sexual orientation, and self-identification of gender. In that particular forum, at the end of it, a person asked this question: “Listen, can’t we just realize that there are some morals that we ought to all agree just to set aside for the sake of peace in the community?”

And the indication was that one of those morals we ought to not be prohibited from making ordinances about how people conduct themselves sexually in the apartment building that I live in and that I ought not to have any moral codes in the apartment buildings that I rent out or the businesses that we put in place. I just said to everyone, “Wait just a minute. You are now in the throes of a sexual revolution – a tsunami of degradation is taking place. You have just now gone through the #metoo, where women are being objectified, where they are being coerced by the powerful into objects of a person’s pleasure and that’s what’s happening in the sexual revolution which, by the way, exists to declare that there should be no parameters concerning sexual morality.”

Let me ask you a question: how is that working for us now to remove parameters? That’s why many of us are saying you must understand that the free practice of religion and the freedom of speech allows people to make the point that there are parameters for these things and, when you set them aside, it has destruction.

WOMEN ARE TREATED AS OBJECTS, JUST LIKE #METOO

Here are these women, most of them were in a vulnerable state, are drawn into the industry, told that it really doesn’t matter, but what they begin to find out is, “I don’t matter. All I am is an object for people to look at and to use,” and that empties their life.

And so, you’ve now had these four public cases, as many of us were celebrating the Advent season of rejoicing and the gift of God through His Son, Jesus Christ, to save us from our sins, there were those who were caught up in this rebellion against God that has become this profitable entertainment industry and the people that are in it are being killed. That just breaks my heart. These women aren’t just names – they’re somebody’s daughter, they’re somebody’s sister – women made in the image of God that have become nothing more than objects of prurient voyeurism and then destruction.

THERE IS HOPE – AND HELP

If you are somehow listening to us and you have become a participant in this industry, I want you to know there’s a God who loves you, who gave His Son who died for you that you could have forgiveness, and you are somebody because God made you to be somebody and God’s Son can save you from your sins and you can have eternal life. And there are people we can help put you in contact with that were where you are and God, by His grace, has transformed them.

And, if you are a purveyor of this, it is nothing but a death spiral. This is going to take you to emptiness and there are casualties not only concerning your life, but your marriage and your ability to have relationships. There is a God who can work in your life so that you can see the glory and majesty of what it means to know Him and love Him and what is good and beautiful and true and we would love to connect you to people who are able to help you with this Gospel uplifting, transforming truth. You can be forgiven of all of your sins and you can be transformed so that your life can be totally renovated by the grace of God and it’ll be a glorious progress as God brings you from the clutches of this.

Maybe, as you’re listening to us, you have this secret life that’s not going to be secret very long – it is ultimately going to be exposed because the consequences of it will demand its exposure – but there is one who can expose your heart, and heal it, and give you a new heart and a new life and you can become a new creation in Christ where the old passes away and the new life has come.

Friends, listen: On the scale of public policy, the adult industry is not an industry with victimless crime. It actually is killing the people that are providing this entertainment and it is killing the people that are buying into this as entertainment – killing the heart and the soul – but there is One who can deliver you in heart, soul and body.

This is the will of God, that you abstain from sexual immorality and that you know how to present your body as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which becomes your glorious spiritual service of worship. Life can be worship. The marriage bed can be held in honor and God can be glorified in every aspect of His good gifts to us in life.

Dr. Harry L. Reeder III is the Senior Pastor of Briarwood Presbyterian Church in Birmingham.

This podcast was transcribed by Jessica Havin. Jessica is editorial assistant for Yellowhammer News. Jessica has transcribed some of the top podcasts in the country and her work has been featured in a New York Times Bestseller.

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Jeff Poor 19 mins ago

State Sen. Whatley predicts Auburn, Alabama football ‘will go on as originally planned’ despite COVID-19 spike

With 37 days to go until Auburn and Alabama both kick off the 2021 football season, COVID-19 is creeping back into the picture of everyday American life.

However, State Sen. Tom Whatley (R-Auburn), whose district includes Auburn University and an economy that relies in some part on the annual football season, said he was not expecting any disruptions resulting from COVID-19.

During an interview with Mobile radio FM Talk 106.5, Whatley said he expected all of Alabama’s Division I colleges to play as planned and touted the vaccine passport ban passed by the legislature and signed into law by Gov. Kay Ivey earlier this year.

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“Back to Senator Orr’s bill that I supported, I think that one puts it into perspective — you know, you can’t do that,” he said. “You can’t require a vaccine passport. And I think that the football will go on as originally planned. Auburn and Alabama said they are both planning on full open tailgating and full open football season. I’m looking forward to that and I’m looking forward to that economic boost that will hit Lee County, hit East Alabama, hit the whole state of Alabama once you pour in all the colleges and universities that play Division I football.”

Whatley also predicted it was a “foregone conclusion” Auburn would go 12-0, play for the SEC Championship and play in the college football playoff on the way to winning the national championship under new head football coach Bryan Harsin.

@Jeff_Poor is a graduate of Auburn University and the University of South Alabama, the editor of Breitbart TV, a columnist for Mobile’s Lagniappe Weekly, and host of Mobile’s “The Jeff Poor Show” from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. on FM Talk 106.5.

Dylan Smith 13 hours ago

Birmingham-Southern College to impose fee on unvaccinated students

Unless students of Birmingham-Southern College are vaccinated against COVID-19, those who attend the private liberal arts school will be forced to pay a $500 fee “to offset continual weekly antigen testing and quarantining.”

In an email sent to students, the college announced its pandemic protocols for those returning to campus for the fall semester. In what appears to be an effort to encourage students to receive the vaccine, BSC told students it will levy a monetary charge against those who are unvaccinated. The school cited the need for funding to be applied toward COVID-related mitigation measures as a reason for the charge.

The email reads in part, “Due to the lack of federal funds for pandemic precautions this term, all students will initially be charged $500 for the fall term to offset continual weekly antigen testing and quarantining. Students who are fully vaccinated prior to the beginning of fall term will receive an immediate $500 rebate.”

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The college announced in the email that it has also set separate move-in dates for vaccinated and unvaccinated students.

The College Republican Federation of Alabama (CRFA) has condemned the move as discriminatory against students who have chosen not to receive the vaccine.

Please see our statement regarding Birmingham-Southern College’s COVID-19 protocols. pic.twitter.com/dcERcqdC3u

— College Republican Federation of Alabama (@CRFAlabama) July 29, 2021

“The College Republican Federation of Alabama condemns this obvious attack on students who are not vaccinated,” says CRFA chairman Clint Reid. “While vaccines are an important tool in the fight against COVID-19 we are still a free society where one should not be held at ransom to the tune of $500 if they do not feel the vaccine is the best course of action for them. We call on Birmingham-Southern College to drop this outrageous fee.”

The college’s email goes on to direct students who have been immunized against the virus to complete a “Vaccination Report Form.” BSC stated that the school’s goal is to achieve an 85% vaccination rate among students, faculty and staff.

Portion of the email sent to BSC students as follows obtained by Yellowhammer News:

Birmingham-Southern College did not respond to a request for comment. Yellowhammer News has inquired with the Attorney General’s Office regarding the legality of BSC’s guidelines and will provide updates accordingly.

Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL

Tim James 14 hours ago

Tim James: A house divided against itself cannot stand

Last week the discussion of COVID vaccination burst into the news and ripped the scab right off the wound exposing the divide among Alabamians about whether to vaccinate or not. We all know there can be tense moments among friends and family when the vaccine topic comes up especially when there are differing opinions in the room.

Well, last week the discussion hit a fever pitch on a grand scale and landed on the front pages of the national news outlets. According to news reports, in Alabama, there are about 2.5 to 3 million people that have CHOSEN NOT to take the vaccine out of the state’s population of 5.1 million. Approximately 60% of all Alabamians have made this their personal health choice.

I am writing this letter today to express my distaste for those bent on shaming people in which they disagree on the vaccine issue. They divide Alabamians into two classes: the vaccinated and the unvaccinated. The media’s contempt is in overdrive for anyone that dares to disagree and not blindly follow the government directives. So, they shame by spewing their poison proclaiming the unvaccinated are the problem. Their assertion of “Blame” by extension means the unvaccinated are responsible for the spread of COVID. If you want to blame someone or something, blame the virus and the makers of it. As everybody knows, it was not the bats.

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The problem is not the unvaccinated, but rather those spawning division among the population. It’s the BLAME GAME.

They shake their fingers in the face of millions of Alabama citizens for refusing to take the vaccine and are beside themselves when everyone does not fall in line like sheep. I guess the unvaccinated are the “New Deplorables.”

I’ve listened to their shaming long enough and felt it was time to stand up for millions of Alabamians that have made their decision, over the many months, NOT to take the vaccine. I fall into this category; however, like most families I have family members that have chosen TO take the vaccine. Alabamians know full well what is going on in their communities, local hospitals, nursing homes and churches. They are not ignorant to the medical realities and associated risks. Neither are they reckless or selfish.

Every unvaccinated person has considered whether to take the vaccine for months. They have discussed the matter with others, prayed about it and even may have tolled back and forth on the decision. In the end, their “call” was to not take the vaccine for their own personal reasons. I can’t help but wonder why so many vaccinated people lecture everyone else when they themselves have marginal health risk as they are the vaccinated class.

Has it occurred to them that their shaming is certain to follow children into the classroom in the form of bullying? Do they care about young women in childbearing years who are rightfully cautious about what goes into their bodies? It’s ironic that people that CHOOSE NOT to take the vaccine are labeled dissenters even though they are the majority in Alabama and cross all races and political lines.

Going forward I want to encourage people to take a deep breath and stand back from the situation. COVID, of course can be lethal, but at the same time the odds of fatality are extremely low. This is one of those times when we must not succumb to fear. Fear is the root from which anxiety and worry bud.

Fear is a weapon used to manipulate the public, and the press is its enabler. The Lord speaks to the issue of fear through the Apostle Paul. “For God hath not given a spirit of fear but of power and sound mind” – 2 Timothy 1:7

I also would like to take this opportunity to say something about Governor Ivey’s statement last week concerning unvaccinated Alabamians. She said, “It’s time to start blaming the unvaccinated folks, not the regular folks. It’s the unvaccinated folks that are letting us down.”

The unvaccinated people represent approximately 60% of the population in our state. The Governor’s comments triggered uncontrollable elation and gaiety from politicians and news anchors at CNN, NBC and others. As one could expect, President Biden and Dr. Fauci were ecstatic at Alabamians being scolded by their Governor over this issue. I believe the Governor’s comments were off-base. I also believe she likely misspoke in the heat of the moment; something any of us could do. As we navigate forward, we need to lower the tone and not take the bait of those whose goal is to sow seeds of division amongst Alabamians.

I have a message for the American press corps concerning their hysterical, fear-based coverage of the pandemic.

It’s a quote from Edward R. Murrow, the great broadcast journalist during the first half of the 20th century.

He effectively warned his fellow journalists what would happen if the free press became compromised. He wrote: “No one can terrorize a whole nation unless we are his accomplices.”

Tim James, the son of former Gov. Fob James, is a Greenville, Alabama businessman. He was a 2010 GOP candidate for governor.

Tim Howe 15 hours ago

Regions names Jason Isbell senior vice president of state government affairs and economic development

Regions Bank has tapped one of the state’s foremost experts on banking law and government affairs to serve as senior vice president of state government affairs and economic development.

Jason Isbell comes to the Birmingham-based bank brandishing nearly two decades of legal and government affairs experience in the public and private sectors.

Elizabeth Taylor, head of government affairs and economic development for Regions, highlighted Isbell’s depth of knowledge and relationships throughout the industry.

“Regions Bank has a strong history of working with government leaders and other stakeholder groups on issues impacting our associates, customers and communities,” Taylor said in a statement to Yellowhammer News. “Jason Isbell brings a wealth of knowledge and experience on a variety of financial services matters to this role. His work building relationships and navigating a myriad of legislative issues will serve us well. We look forward to his service advancing economic development opportunities that move our communities forward while also building on the strong relationships we have in the areas Regions serves.”

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Isbell most recently worked with Maynard Cooper & Gale where he represented a wide array of clients, including Regions, as an attorney and lobbyist in the firm’s Government Solutions Group.

Prior to his time at Maynard Cooper, he held the position of vice president for legal and governmental affairs at the Alabama Bankers Association (ABA). Isbell was charged with implementing ABA’s legislative and regulatory agendas at both the state and federal levels. He honed his skills in public policy during his 11 years in state government, first as a fiscal analyst for the Alabama Legislative Fiscal Office and then as general counsel to the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Isbell is a member of the Faulkner University board of trustees and is a graduate of the school’s Thomas Goode Jones School of Law.

Regions Financial Corporation recently reported $748 million in second quarter earnings. The company cited strategic decisions in high-growth areas, such as Florida, Texas and Tennessee, as contributing to those earnings.

Isbell noted the momentum of the bank’s growth and influence throughout its footprint as he prepares for this new endeavor.

“I’m excited to represent an institution with such a rich history and stellar reputation,” he told Yellowhammer News. “Regions Bank is poised to continue making a positive impact on communities in Alabama and beyond. I’m grateful for this opportunity and look forward to being part of the Regions team.”

Isbell is set to officially join the bank in mid-August.

RELATED: Joia M. Johnson appointed to Regions board of directors

Tim Howe is an owner of Yellowhammer Multimedia

Wes Allen 15 hours ago

State Rep. Wes Allen: Biden administration’s mixed message on COVID shows he doesn’t put Americans first

The Biden administration is issuing warnings to Americans regarding the increasing number of COVID cases across the country. Calls for a return to mask-wearing and social distancing are becoming more frequent from the President and his advisors.

Businesses, large and small, fear the possibility of mandated shutdowns that plagued our nation last year. Parents are wondering if they will be forced to face the inadequacies and challenges of remote schooling again. These are all worries that are being forced upon law-abiding, tax-paying Americans by the Biden administration.

But it goes further. Our northern border with Canada remains closed to non-essential travel for fear of spreading the virus. Biden and his team cited concerns over the Delta variant as the reason for banning travel from 26 nations including most of Europe, South Africa and Brazil.

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This all seems like a concerned President who is trying to save our nation from the death and damage of a pandemic. But a closer look at Biden’s policies proves that his concern is not for Americans and he has little to no desire to stop the spread of COVID from coming across our border.

His policy that allows thousands of illegal immigrants to move freely across our southern border and into our towns, neighborhoods, restaurants and schools without any regard for their immigration status or their COVID test results prove that the Biden administration doesn’t care about America or Americans. Is the health of Americans, the success of our economy and the fate of our schools and health care system of any concern to this President or his advisors?

I think not.

State Rep. Wes Allen is a Republican candidate for Alabama Secretary of State.