Book Review: The Death of Porn, by Ray Ortlund
To be quite honest, when given the task of reviewing The Death of Porn: Men of Integrity Building a World of Nobility (Crossway, 2021), my gut reaction was a general sense of dread. Having been through numerous volumes on the subject, I suspected that Ray Ortlund’s approach would fall into one of two extremes, as most porn-defeating books are prone to do. On the one hand, I could be coddled with gentle, normalizing antinomian fluff. On the other, I could be berated with a drill sergeant’s perpetual bludgeoning reminding me of all the ways in which I was not, in fact, a real man. So, which would it be? Stuart Smalley or Patton? Mercifully, it was Ray Ortlund.
Written as a series of letters to struggling sinners, The Death of Porn stubbornly refuses to move away from the gospel into legalism or ease in the face of besetting sin. Ortlund is forthright, frank, and gentle in a way few books on the subject have managed to tread. Rather than heaping shame and statistics, Ortlund’s approach is quite simple: remind readers who they are, who they’re watching, and whose they are. The Death of Porn pronounces victory not through perfection and gold-star accountability programs but through the performative work of Christ and through union with him. In this way it is quintessentially a book written by an Ortlund. While practices and methods are mentioned, the reader’s eyes are drawn upward to a vision of possibility rather than a shaming or self-flagellating brokenness. Ortlund is gracious in the expectation of struggle along the way, but assured that in Christ and through the work of brothers and sisters fighting alongside one another, addiction’s end is within reach.
One of the best features of The Death of Porn is the use of illustration and imagery. It is easy to quote Lord of the Rings or Braveheart or any sports movie while putting the onus on the readers to be as heroic, as brash, as stout-hearted and above-the-fray as the characters in the book. But Ortlund uses illustrations from these same types of texts which draw the eye off the reader and onto the other person as valued, dignified, and as Ortlund would say, royal. His illustrations don’t make you want to run through a brick wall so much as they call you to treat those around you with kindness, compassion, and the truth of the Gospel.
The Death of Porn is brief, punchy, thoughtful, and moderate. It expresses the weight and penalty of lust, and offers a weighty and glorious Gospel. Unlike some books on the subject, it could easily be shared in a small group of students as a pre-emptive strike rather than a triage text. The principles of worth, beauty, royalty, dignity, and design are worth the read regardless of whether or not your youth are currently embroiled in the trap of porn. For those who have struggled or are struggling, there is grace to be found here. For those who know someone who cannot seem to kick the habit, there is a path forward within these pages. For those who have conquered and need reminders along the path, there is challenge and truth. May God use this book as Ortlund intended, to see hearts transformed and entire cultures changed.
Note: Youth Pastor Theologian received a complementary copy of this book but was not required to write a positive review. This review also includes Amazon Affiliate links to help offset the cost of running the site.