Pastors as Porn Stars (Or What to Do if your Faith won't Let You Do Something.)

There are a number of things that I cannot do because of my faith. Mind you, there are usually OTHER factors as well, such as what kind of person I am, and my understanding of the world and what kind of world I want that to be... but as those are factors heavily influenced by my faith, I think it is fair to say that my faith prohibits me from such action.

For instance, I made a vow before God and witnesses to be faithful to my wife, which among other things means sexual fidelity. So having sex with someone else is prohibited by my faith, which means that I probably shouldn't get a job in porn.

Now, we all know that the situation of Kim Davis (the Kentucky Clerk refusing to issue marriage licenses to gay couples, despite multiple court orders, allegedly because of her faith) isn't exactly like that. Gay marriage wasn't a part of the package, and she should know, since she seemed to have inherited the job from her father and was preparing to pass it on to her son. (Odd, for an elected position, but I digress.) So let's run the above scenario in a position more pertinent to her.

Let's assume for a moment that the Presbyterian Church, in which I am ordained, decided that in order to raise more money, its Teaching Elders (my formal title) were required to star in pornography. Think of all the cash that would bring in! (My name would be Rev. Spencer Cleveland, now tell me ALL your sins, baby.)

Just one problem... my faith doesn't allow me to do porn. Even if my denomination did, my personal faith does not. Now let's say this decision got appealed and, going all the way to the top, was finally approved by the denominational governement, our General Assembly. Pastors are now Porn Stars, and my church is setting up the studio and lining up partners for my first shoot. What do I do?

Some would say that the courageous thing for me to do would be to stick it out (sorry, bad phrasing) and defy such expectations, standing proudly exposed (whoops again) for my ideals and refusing to bend to such pressure, saying "this is who I am, look at me in all of my (ethical) glory!"

But really, I should probably just quit my job, and get one where the base requirements do not include the violation of my faith, for precisely the same reasons that I wouldn't simply go out and get a job in porn, or why a member of the Amish community wouldn't join the military, or why a Scientologist wouldn't become a Psychologist.

People of faith often like to sound like martyrs, to be the brave hero who stands up for what they believe in, but the fact of the matter is that the world doesn't owe us a living, and nowhere in the Bible does it say to get paid for a job you refuse to do. If you cannot perform your job for religious reasons, then you shouldn't have your job. Leave it. Get out. Find a job that doesn't ask you to compromise your faith, where you aren't constantly in a battle between what you believe you should do and what you are being paid to do.

It really is just that simple.