The relay creator project is going well so far. Thank you to everyone who joined early and helped me test the systems! I am now raising the invoice cost for a new relay to 21k sats. All relays will continue to run and I have not implemented billing yet so enjoy the next few months for the flat cost that you already paid, or will pay. 🌴

Lots of exciting things in the works. Stay tuned!

Micro relays, large relays, fan relays, topic specific relays, hometown relays, marketplace relays, we got all your types of relays at the click of a button!

nostr1.com

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Each page has it's own setting. You need to change it 3 times to get the result you want.

Christians and #Christ seekers of Nostr! wss://christpill.nostr1.com is a topic specific relay for #Christian content on Nostr. ☦️

Pornography and and Christian Libertarian Worldview

Yesterday I witnesses several plebs standing up for and applauding sex workers once the dust settled from the zapathon. Controversy was due to the fact that one of these ladies used the #zapathon tag to show off her "assets" to plebs during this highly anticipated and high traffic time. I witnessed the same pictures everyone else did and was initially offended that someone would use that hashtag for marketing x-rated material that could be witnessed by anyone who didn't Agree to the infamous cheeto stick guard rail 18+ content warnings. And yet, I'm on Nostr to help support in anyway I can to promote freedom from government overreach. As a Christian who understands and says he believes in libertarian principles, this posed a problem for me.

For all the non-Christians on Nostr, I totally get why this freedom is encouraged and applauded, but for Christians, how are we to look at this situation?

Christians hold to the idea that morality is not subjectively based on what we believe is right or wrong. This would be to make a God in our own image that is conveniently accepting of all our sins. Instead, we believe that God has set in place an objective moral standard, and this is the standard in which we will be judged by when we meet our Maker. This worldview frames how we view everything else in life, even our political inclinations.

In regards to the issue of pornography, the power of decentralization has given this work unlimited freedom. At this point, it is unstoppable and comical to assume that it could be. And yet, we inherently know that these freedoms can and will be abused, and ultimately lead to higher levels of protected perversions such as child pornography, rape, pedophilia, etc. Our political inclinations prevent us from running to the government for help. This decentralized technology has already left the harbor. Instead, the only means of escaping this is to purpose to do so individually, to be in the world but not of the world.

I for one, cannot applaud in good conscience the existence or inevitable growth of sex work on decentralized platforms any more than I can applaud those who will use it to sell drugs that will kill people, traffic women, or coordinate assassinations. Varying degrees of morality, granted, but consider the effects. A girl on onlyfans is ignorant of the ramifications of her influence on her clients conscience and actions. What might be a means of paying rent for her is a stain on the conscience of the man who willingly took advantage of her marketing. What starts off as vanilla, sporatic self-gratification will grow into an obsessive addiction that will continually seek darker perversions. Granted, the man is morally responsible for his own actions, and God will hold him accountable for every word, thought, and action. However, God warns that those who cause others to sin will be judged greatly. Thus, out of love for these women, I cannot applaud, but must mourn that these women are digging themselves their own grave.

So what is a #Christian to do? We don't judge those who are outside the Church of Christ, considering we are in no conceivable way morally superior. We do, however, encourage everyone to find freedom, true freedom, in the hope and service of Christ. He offers a freedom that Nostr and #Bitcoin can't provide us, and that is the freedom of knowing that although our sins are horrendous, Christ offers forgiveness to even the worst offenders. He offers freedom of conscience that allows the Christian to wake up every morning free from the burden of a fractured conscience, even though he knows he will inevitably mess up today. We have a benevolent King and Savior who cares for and comforts the shamed and broken hearted sex worker who hates herself for what she does.

As a Christian who believes in freedom, I seek a world, here and now, that is free of all evils, including the evil that rests in each of our hearts. Decentralization will disrupt how the world operates, and Christians need to understand the implications and effects this will have on society. But rather than pouting about how sinners shouldn't be allowed to sin, it forces us to realize that Christianity isn't about depending on the government to save us, but striving for holiness and allowing Christ to work in our hearts so that we no longer chase corruption.

I've heard that there are means in which one can build a relay that blocks unwanted content. I'm not familiar enough with the technology yet, and how we'd go about doing that. However, as a call to action to those who do not share my worldview and convictions, consider the fact that a platform that is free and safe for even children to use is much more appealing to masses seeking the freedom we can offer them than a platform that celebrates freedom FOR sinful use. In 10 years, #Nostr could be a hub for brilliant minds and sciences unadulterated by political propaganda or it could be reduced to the most depraved and unfiltered version of the Darkweb. We have the opportunity to choose today what tomorrow will look like. If that means factions of differing worldviews form and divide the work being done here, realize it is a feature of freedom, not a bug.