I recently had the opportunity to pray for a man who has had a huge influence on my life, and on the lives of every American man, Hugh Hefner. Thousands of people pray daily for leaders in the entertainment industry and cultural influencers. Thursday’s prayer target was “Hef.”
It’s risky to share a private conversation I had with God about somebody else. It is bad form to waggle on about another man’s life in public. Of course, that’s just what fills countless gossip columns in newspapers, magazines and blogs. Here at “The Old School,” we try to rise above our baser inclinations. God help us.
OK, back to Hef. What can one say about the leader of the sexual revolution as we know it today? Hefner said, “The major civilizing force in the world is not religion, it is sex.” Is Hefner referring to sexual politics? The high stakes game of “who’s on top?” Is the single motivating factor in the world most responsible for human development merely the drive for procreation or raw pleasure? Somehow, I think not.
In the explosive 1950s, the young Hugh Hefner was bold and comprehensive in his mission. Publishing a magazine was merely an avenue to promote his ethic, his “playboy” lifestyle. America’s cherished freedoms of speech and press, defended over the last century through a civil war and reconstruction, two world wars, prohibition and a depression, were finally and fully exercised in the 1950s, with Hefner at the cultural vanguard. He preceded the birth control pill and Viagra. He preceded Roe v. Wade and Internet porn. He preceded AIDS and the explosion of teen pregnancy rates. Yet his principles were a unifying strand through these developments. His cultural ethos was central to the last half-century of gender relations, and they were central to my formation in the 60s and 70s as a hot-to-trot young man.
Every baby boomer guy I know has a story about the day he found those magazines, and the forbidden secrets they held. It’s too bad most families and the church have little desire to tell the stories of love, lust and sex.
I dug into those stories, as told by Hugh Hefner and his magazine. I bought into Hef’s philosophy as I pursued all that the world of sexual freedom had to offer. I paid cash money for his magazines. I paid a higher price in abusive and broken relationships, and misplaced priorities. Every day I fight (and usually win) the mental battle to respect women, not ogle them. I receive supernatural help daily to honor the fabulously beautiful woman God has given me as wife.
Hugh is beyond his second marriage now. He keeps a harem of seven blondes as “companions.” Hef says, “The interesting thing is how one guy, through living out his own fantasies, is living out the fantasies of so many other people.”
Mr. Hefner needs many prayers. He celebrated his 81st birthday this past April, and will soon meet his final reward. The rest of us will be left behind to clean up after the party.
LINKS
Check out Steve Gallagher’s book, How America lost her innocence – A history of the sexual revolution (Pure Life Ministries)
XXX Church - Helping to bring a different sort of awareness to the pornography debate. Providing Christians with non-judgemental and creative solutions to adult material.
It’s risky to share a private conversation I had with God about somebody else. It is bad form to waggle on about another man’s life in public. Of course, that’s just what fills countless gossip columns in newspapers, magazines and blogs. Here at “The Old School,” we try to rise above our baser inclinations. God help us.
OK, back to Hef. What can one say about the leader of the sexual revolution as we know it today? Hefner said, “The major civilizing force in the world is not religion, it is sex.” Is Hefner referring to sexual politics? The high stakes game of “who’s on top?” Is the single motivating factor in the world most responsible for human development merely the drive for procreation or raw pleasure? Somehow, I think not.
In the explosive 1950s, the young Hugh Hefner was bold and comprehensive in his mission. Publishing a magazine was merely an avenue to promote his ethic, his “playboy” lifestyle. America’s cherished freedoms of speech and press, defended over the last century through a civil war and reconstruction, two world wars, prohibition and a depression, were finally and fully exercised in the 1950s, with Hefner at the cultural vanguard. He preceded the birth control pill and Viagra. He preceded Roe v. Wade and Internet porn. He preceded AIDS and the explosion of teen pregnancy rates. Yet his principles were a unifying strand through these developments. His cultural ethos was central to the last half-century of gender relations, and they were central to my formation in the 60s and 70s as a hot-to-trot young man.
Every baby boomer guy I know has a story about the day he found those magazines, and the forbidden secrets they held. It’s too bad most families and the church have little desire to tell the stories of love, lust and sex.
I dug into those stories, as told by Hugh Hefner and his magazine. I bought into Hef’s philosophy as I pursued all that the world of sexual freedom had to offer. I paid cash money for his magazines. I paid a higher price in abusive and broken relationships, and misplaced priorities. Every day I fight (and usually win) the mental battle to respect women, not ogle them. I receive supernatural help daily to honor the fabulously beautiful woman God has given me as wife.
Hugh is beyond his second marriage now. He keeps a harem of seven blondes as “companions.” Hef says, “The interesting thing is how one guy, through living out his own fantasies, is living out the fantasies of so many other people.”
Mr. Hefner needs many prayers. He celebrated his 81st birthday this past April, and will soon meet his final reward. The rest of us will be left behind to clean up after the party.
LINKS
Check out Steve Gallagher’s book, How America lost her innocence – A history of the sexual revolution (Pure Life Ministries)
XXX Church - Helping to bring a different sort of awareness to the pornography debate. Providing Christians with non-judgemental and creative solutions to adult material.
2 comments:
I didn't know who Hef was until I read this article.
Nowadays, whenever I remember, I say a prayer for Prince... It's interesting that he says he draws his inspiration from the prophets of the Bible, and he says he is studying it.
I pray that God reveals Himself to him.
I really enjoy praying for celebrities. It's kind of like sanctified gossip, except, instead of wishing them harm, or mere curiosity, I get to specifically and directly wish them well. I'm hoping someone is praying for me, wishing me well, instead of just throwing rocks. Lord knows, we all have much to account for. Mostly we suffer consequences in this life. That's getting off easy.
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