Hugh Heffner has died

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From a Catholic moral standpoint, when is it OK to pose nude for a photographer?
 
When the purpose of the art and the posing itself are not sexual outside the marital relationship, and are unlikely to lead anyone into sin. Obviously Playboy nudes are for sex and thus the posing is not okay. There is art photography out there that was done for non-sexual purposes and doesn’t present nudity in a sexy way.
 
A cursory search shows he did some things that would be reprehensible even outside of Catholic Doctrine.

Hopefully he repented before the end.
 
Apparently Heffner was born the same year as Marilyn Monroe, whom he never met.
 
Shortly after Hefner died, I saw an article that spoke of the two. It was an interesting take. Monroe was actually in (without her prior knowledge or consent) the first issue of Playboy. Prior to hitting it big, she had posed for those pictures for something like $50. Then Hefner bought them (from the photographer, not Monroe) for $500. He launched an empire. Monroe never saw a nickel nor ever even spoke to Hefner. Never received so much as a thank you card from Hefner.

The author of the article was making the point that Monroe sort of typifies the way that women are used up and spit out by the industry Hefner helped to create.

And to add insult to injury, Hefner actually bought the plot next to Monroe and will be/is now buried next to her. Again, without her knowledge or consent.

It was an interesting article.
 
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Yes. I read the same thing. I’ve always liked Marilyn Monroe. I thought she was a talented actress .

She had a very hard childhood, was in foster care and married as a teen just to get out of foster care.

Joe DiMaggio arranged her burial, and provided her grave with roses once a week for the rest of his life.
 
If I did not know better, I would have thought I was at a Baptist Forum throwing condemnation left and right. In this instance I would almost be ashamed to call my self Catholic if this is what it means to be Catholic.

Mat 7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
Mat 7:2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what MEASURE ye mete, it shall be MEASURE to you again.

And remember there is nudity on the ceiling at the sistene chapel in rome…LOTS OF IT…
 
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JoshuaIsLord said:
And remember there is nudity on the ceiling at the sistene chapel in rome…LOTS OF IT…
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I take issue with comparing Hugh Hefner’s work to that of Michelangelo. Just because both have work that included the display of naked human bodies does not mean that there is no moral distinction between the two.

It’s been a week since the thread was active, so I can’t say I recall every post, but I don’t think anyone is judging Hefner’s eternal destiny. But we definitely can judge the manner in which he earned his livelihood and generally lived his life. And it’s not at all consistent with living the Christian life.

Is it possible Hefner was not morally culpable for having sinned mortally? Perhaps. Is it possible he repented in that split second before death? I sure hope so. I hope that anyone and everyone has such a moment of conversion before they meet their end. So can we say for sure that Hefner is in hell? No.

However, he made millions of dollars playing off of men’s lust and women’s desperation. That is not a good thing. In fact, it is quite an evil thing (and I don’t toss that accusation around lightly). Pointing out that it is not a good thing is not a judgment on the eternal state of Hefner’s soul. It is a warning to those who would think that it is okay to follow in his footsteps or look to him as an example. It is a condemnation of living a life predicated on the objectification of women and a life of self-indulgence.
 
Nudity is Nudity. Accept all or Reject all. Don’t Protestant Cafeteria Pick what is acceptable and what is not.

Don’t try to rationalize away the works of Michelangelo. If he was alive today doing his work for Art Shows in New York City and similar Metropolis’ he would be denounced by the Right as the current ones are now.
 
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JoshuaIsLord said:
Nudity is Nudity. Accept all or Reject all. Don’t Protestant Cafeteria Pick what is acceptable and what is not.
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Actually, I’d say Puritanical and/or Fundamentalist Protestants are more likely to think in terms of all-or-nothing absolutes like “accept all or reject all.” It’s the Catholic worldview that does not encourage painting everything with the same broad brush.

Do you really think that what Hefner was doing was “art” along the same lines as Michelangelo?
 
Yes and most Catholics were probably say so as well. I’ve been an IT Tech for 20 years. I’ve been doing IT work for Parish Families at 8 different Parishes during this time. I’ve gone to their house to do work for them ( Mostly Knights of Columbus types ) I charge them 1/4 the going rate because they are Catholic and Fraternal Brethren. Well the majority of them forget to hide their current Playboy Magazine. Get my drift?
 
Art is relative to the eye of the beholder. Do I view Nudity? Hell no.
 
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That a lot of men—even Catholic men—struggle with viewing pornography doesn’t make it morally acceptable. That some of those men don’t see it as a sin also does not make it morally acceptable.
 
I’m pretty sure if you put on a bar graph:
  1. Men who lust/masturbate viewing Playboy; and,
  2. All people throughout time who lust/masturbate viewing the Sistine Chapel.
that the Playboy viewers are going to come out WAY ahead. Way.

Nakedness isn’t sinful. It’s reason behind the nakedness that may be sinful and it is what that nakedness inspires that can cause sin.

Does the Sistine Chapel inspire lustful thoughts by it’s display of nakedness? Playboy surely does and further objectified women by normalizing that behavior. I don’t know nor care how God has judged Hugh Hefner; but, we can judge the effect of his life’s work here. It isn’t good.
 
Not arguing the point, only pointing out the facts.
Just like the contraception issue. Look at any Catholic family. 95% have only 1 or 2 children. That is my observation over 30 years at roughly 20 parishes( I have traveled a lot being a Nuclear Road Whore and now an IT Tech ) . Those observations dictate a different belief in Contraception. Current parish I attend, all of the Church Leaders fit into the 1 and 2 child statistic.
 
JetteZ said:
Does the Sistine Chapel inspire lustful thoughts by it’s display of nakedness?
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To say no to that would be lie. Do you know the thoughts of every single man and woman that enters into the Sistine Chapel?

The mind of man/woman is a perverted place.
 
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