Though Hef didn\u2019t invent hedonism, he has been one of its most famous recent proponents. Hedonism is a philosophy and way of life that is rather at odds with certain aspects of Christian faith, and this is not new\u2013This has been the case since antiquity. But let\u2019s be clear that Christianity also isn\u2019t inherently ascetic. The sensual pleasures are properly seen by the faithful as a gift from God to be enjoyed, as a garden of delights (just go read the \u201cSong of Solomon\u201d, some of the raciest prose ever written, and it\u2019s purely from the Bible). However, it is inside of a covenant relationship, a complete and full giving of two people to each other\u2013not just bodies, but minds and hearts\u2013that sexual pleasure is a garden. Those who pursue sensuality as an end in itself, often find that the fullness of the experience is diminished and twisted. The garden is instead a mire and bog, infested with dark and lonely things. The waiting rooms of psychologists and divorce attorneys are full of the human wreckage of unrestrained sexual appetites. Jail cells are full of perpetrators whose lusts reached into the bathroom windows of strangers, or even the underpants of school children.<\/p>\n
Christian publications, such as Christianity Today<\/a> point out the dark legacy of an explosion of addictive pornography left in the wake of Mr. Hefner\u2019s revolution. They cite surveys such as Barna, which show the destructive impact of porn on Christian life: <\/p>\n \u2026most pastors struggle with porn\u201457% of pastors and 64% of youth pastors. These numbers equal the national average of 64% of men who admit to viewing porn at least monthly, according to a survey done by Proven Men\u2026And it\u2019s impacting all of us. According to a 2011 Lifeway Research survey, when presented with the statement, \u201cPornography has adversely affected the lives of our church members,\u201d 69 percent of pastors surveyed agree. And an additional 14 percent did not know or preferred not to answer. <\/em><\/p>\n Even some of those who would be his natural allies on the left, have been critical. A CNN article<\/a> which praised Mr. Hefner for bringing sexuality into the open, and for hiring blacks when others wouldn\u2019t, still faulted his objectification of women, treating them as second class citizens whose main role is to sexually satisfy men: <\/p>\n His legacy is full of evidence of the exploitation of women for professional gain. In creating Playboy, and maintaining its brand over six decades, Hef championed a world in which women serve to delight and entertain men, where their bodies are objects, where modification to appeal to male senses often took precedence over comfort (because who really wants DDDs?).<\/em><\/p>\n