They say that prostitution is the world’s oldest profession. People have been getting paid to fuck for centuries. As we all well know, they still do. In every town, in every city, in every country in the world, people still sell their bodies for cold hard cash. In the Old Testament, they usually killed any lady of the night, even if she worked all day. Stoning was the preferred method for any divine retribution. In the New Testament, Jesus is much more forgiving but it is Paul, particularly in the letter to the Romans (Romans 1-3), who condemns any form of adultery and idolatry. Prostitutes who give themselves sexually usually did so under the guise of one God or another. Many worked right from the applicable temple. In turn, anyone who has sexual relations with a temple prostitute has, as a matter of scripture, given oneself to the deity in question. Guilt by association. Paul asks, “Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body?” (1 Corinthians 6:12-20, NIV). Theologians and other academics have coined the phrase “shrine prostitution” or “scared prostitution” to represent this view. Although the circumstances may have changed, little else has. We capitalize, even stigmatize, always judging, always ready to condemn. We demonize them like we would a pedophile or a rapist. We vilify them. In antiquity, it was believed that “going to a prostitute was essentially the same as being a prostitute.” These days there is a different view, a new definition. Morality is always in flux. The idea of legal prostitution has been met from Nevada to Amsterdam . In these cases, the taboo has become a full blown profession. I am not here to judge anyone or even make a case for one side or the other. It is not my place to tell anyone what to do with their lives, even if I had been instructed by God to do so. I am simply here to observe, cash upfront.
“You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.” (Romans 2:1-5, NIV)
My first exposure to the oldest profession was not with some trashy, heroin-popping Whore. There was no diacetylmorphine involved, at least not that I knew of. This exposure was due to three young men I met in a park. I had no idea exactly what kind of a park it was but I was glad to find out. Victoria Park, I later learned, was known as “the cruising park.” Located in downtown London , Ontario Dundas Street to my friend Brenda’s place on Westmount Drive . Cutting through the park was a no-brainer. I was slightly inebriated but fully functional. As I headed straight through the middle of it, suddenly a football bounced around in front of me, dancing in the dark. I picked it up and I tossed it right back at its supposed owner. He soon joined me with his two buddies and we stood talking for the longest time. Andrew, Jimmy and Todd were all teenagers when I knew them. Ranging in age from fifteen to eighteen, playing with a football was simply a pastime, while they waited. I stayed with them a little, joking around, playing catch and deliberately not asking any questions. They held very little back. At first, I wasn’t sure if I believed them but with each trip to another car and then another car, I was convinced they were legit. All three made it known to me that they were working lads. All three seemed to be just fine with that reality. I had never been friends with a prostitute before. I tried to remain friends with those boys but time and indifference overruled my intentions. After a year or so, I never saw them again. I have no idea if they are still whores.
“No Israelite man or woman is to become a shrine prostitute. You must not bring the earnings of a female prostitute or of a male prostitute into the house of the Lord your God to pay any vow, because the Lord your God detests them both.” (Deuteronomy23:17-18, NIV)
A few months ago, I was shopping at the Walmart, located near St. Jacob’s, Ontario . I appreciate the choice, the diversity in the products they carry. You can get almost anything you want within its walls. As I approached the children’s section, I sadly noticed a couple making out right in front of (I presumed) their child. The kid was no more than two years old and sat perfectly still in his stroller. He stared at them like they were a mural dangling from the roof. They acted like he wasn’t even there. Both parties seemed adolescent, neither could have been more than twenty-one years of age. As they, clearly, stuck their tongues down each other’s throat, daddy started to grind against her. I had to stop and pretend to look at toys. I rubbernecked the both of them. Breeders can be so amusing. Although I do not appreciate public displays of affection, there was something even more disturbing about them pseudo-fucking in the middle of a department store. As the baby watched on, she reached to her mate, slid her hand down the front of him and she appeared to grab his erect penis through his track pants. It was obviously not a big deal. It was strange to witness such incredulous behaviour. Some people have no shame. I should have called a cop. At this point, I wasn’t sure if she was a whore or a slut. There is a difference between the two. A slut is defined as a promiscuous or disreputable person who engages in casual and unrestrained sexual behaviour. A whore charges for any encounter. You can be a whore without being a slut and you can be a slut without being a whore. You can even be a slut and a whore at the same time. Standing there made it easy to see that he was just as bad as her. Blame her all you want but he was just as responsible, standing there while she cuddled his member. He was just as guilty and should have known better. The spectacle of it all faded quickly. It was actually rather gross. As I began to move past them, she let go of him and reached into his back pocket and took out a his wallet. He took it from her, opened it fully and handed her a Visa card. I had no idea that Walmart had started to sell hookers.
“Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, ‘The two will become one flesh.’” (1 Corinthians 6:15-16, NIV)
In 1994, I lived near downtown Toronto with my late partner. We would often travel to and from the city’s core with ease. Our apartment was directly across from the Kensington Market, an area dedicated to independent shops, artisan wares and casual browsing. It’s like Chinatown but way more hospitable. Quaint shops adorn the place. Open air shopping and open street walking make the experience seem more like entertainment value than actual value. Delicatessens, restaurants and bars, and niche vendors offer a great selection but with a better view than if one was in a store. It is charming in a materialistic sort of way. Come night, and it is an entirely different story. The area that was so vibrant and safe during the day holds much debauchery and seedier behaviour once the sun has gone down. Drug users fill Bellevue Square Park Dundas Street to just before Bathurst Street and the Toronto Western Hospital Dennison Avenue and then we would be home. When we rounded the corner, she was standing right in the middle of the street, you couldn’t miss her. She saw us coming and rushed over to check us out. The late hour made her stand out against a background of crackheads and junkies who littered the park mere feet from where she was. We tried the ‘drop your head and keep going’ manoeuvre but she stopped right in front of both of us, relatively blocking our way. It was not me she wanted to talk to. She offered him everything in exchange for just a few dollars. The longer she tried, the more annoyed he got. He later told me that the experience would not have been that bad if she had more than one tooth in her mouth. To be honest, I have no real idea why the two of us stood there talking to her for as long as we did. The conversation was interesting, to say the least. I felt sorry for her. At that point, it was the longest conversation I had ever had with a black person. It had to end at some point and
so it did. As we scooted around her, she made one last appeal, offering whatever he wanted for only a dollar. She actually was willing to give herself away for mere pennies. I had no idea there were bargain basement whores.
“Jesus said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God
Madonna is to my partner as Amy Grant is to me. The two are icons in our household. Personally, I’ve never been a big fan of Madonna, although there are several songs which I rather like. “Rain”, “Love Profusion” and “Joan of Arc” I consider my favourites. The rest I can live without. I have seen her live and in concert four times over the last twenty years. Thanks to my spouse’s love, and the media’s obsession, I have listened to the same songs being played, on different radio stations, in video form and ad nauseam when a new CD comes out. They play over and over again, just like a prayer. It’s hard to escape her at my home. With all the music, and photos, and posters that fill the basement hall, she is more art form than welcome mat. You can usually find me at the end of critiquing her. I am not particularly fond of her public persona either. I don’t actually like her as the person she presents herself to be. Despite any irrelevance I feel towards her, I have always respected her and the career she has maintained. You can say a lot about her but the fact remains she is still with us, still recording and still performing, and successfully to boot.
With all that success has come great ridicule and disregard. For years, her critics have called her the “whore of Babylon ,” referring to “Babylon the Great, the Mother of Prostitutes and Abominations of the Earth,” found near the end of the Bible. She is a “symbolic female figure and also a place of evil mentioned in the Book of Revelation,” (Chapters 17 and 18). Ironically, in 2004, Madonna went out on the circuit with The Whore of Babylon concerts, part of her Re-Invention world tour. I never once have thought of her in such terms. I don’t believe she is a scarlet whore nor do I believe she received cash for putting out. It is a better world with her in it. I believe she earned what she got and not by using lubrication. For me, she is representative of a wider cultural phenomenon. I’m not sure if she is actually, or ever has been, a whore but she most certainly plays the part well.
“Folly is an unruly woman;
she is simple and knows nothing.
She sits at the door of her house,
on a seat at the highest point of the city,
calling out to those who pass by.”
(Proverbs 9:13-15a, NIV)
With the ‘Me, Too’ movement upon us, women have earned a voice. It is loud and it is clear. The days of treating women like sex objects, assuming they are at men’s disposal, are over, for the most part. I am sure that some grub somewhere will still think it’s just fine to grab a waitress’ ass or make suggestions that cross the line of decency. Men will try to rape them but women no longer have to dwell as a victim. Finally, there is actual justice from taking back the night. To what end and to whom does this serve? Day and night, on corners, in alleyways, women are still left with little choice but to sell themselves to survive. Our mothers, our sisters, even our children, fall prey to what many would call an easy way out. I assure you, not one of them would agree. From the witness I have made, prostitution is not an easy way out. I would argue that even those women in Nevada or Amsterdam lose a little piece of themselves when they are offered at a price. The act itself must deaden your soul, regardless if it is legal or not. I cannot imagine ever being in such a predicament that I would need to sell myself. Of course, it just goes without saying that this is easier said than done. I am not sure that I could do it but if I did try, I most certainly would go hungry.
“For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey,
and her speech is smoother than oil;
but in the end she is bitter as gall,
sharp as a double-edged sword.
Her feet go down to death;
her steps lead straight to the grave.
She gives no thought to the way of life;
her paths wander aimlessly, but she does not know it.”
(Proverbs 5:3-6 New International Version (NIV)
Photo
https://www.thesun.co.uk/uncategorized/5551825/amsterdam-red-light-district-is-a-front-for-human-trafficking-rape-drug-addiction-and-brutal-beatings/
https://atrl.net/forums/topic/23-madonna/?page=191
Sources
https://peacetheology.net/romans/pauls-deconstruction-of-idolatry/
http://www.thirdmill.org/files/english/html/nt/NT.h.Pratt.1Cor6.12-20.edited.html
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+6%3A12-20&version=NIV
https://www.gaychristian101.com/Romans-1-And-Homosexuality.html
