SCHENECTADY – The Porn Debate is on.
Legendary porn star Ron Jeremy will square off against Pastor Craig Gross at the GE Proctor’s Theater on Tuesday, Sept. 27.
The debate over whether being in porn degrades or empowers women and whether viewing porn is an addictive, destructive habit or a window to a fun, fantasy world has raged since the first sex act was put on film.
The 63-year-old Jeremy has acted in more than 2,000 porn movies and has directed more than 285. He, obviously, will take a pro-porn side of of things.
Gross is the founder of the California based XXXChurch, and will try to convince the audience about the damage porn does to individuals, and by extension society as a whole.
The event is sponsored by the CityReach Church, which holds its weekly services at Proctor’s Theater.
“It’s a cultural topic, and we wanted to bring the church side into the discussion,” said CityReach Pastor Jason Cooper. “We want to give attendees a balance of information from Ron Jeremy, a porn star in the industry who will preach his gospel, and from Craig Gross, a pastor from California who will preach his gospel.”
Personally, Cooper said, he thinks porn does have a more harming effect on people and society than the action portrayed on the screen, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t respect those with a different opinion.
“That is the definition of tolerance,” he said, adding his parishioners are “100 percent behind” the event.
Some estimate porn is as much as a $13 billion a year industry in this country alone. One in five mobile searches are for porn. And, according to Cooper, half of all men who attend some type of church view porn, as do one in six church going women. The average age a person sees porn for the first time is between the ages of 8 and 11, he said.
“It is a cultural issue. By hosting this event they (attendees) can hear all sides of the equation and get the information to help make up their own minds – and we are excited about it,” Cooper said.
Jeremy and Gross have taken the Great Porn Debate across the country, as well as Canada and Australia, to crowds as large as 4,000 to as small as 250.
Attendees will have a chance to ask question during the 90-minute debate and it will be followed by a meet and greet with the audience.
Tickets are $10. They can be had by texting “PornDebate” to 31996 or at eventbrite.com.
