Last Debate Of School Year

This is from the newspaper. We have one more debate tonight at Minnesota State University Mankata.

Strange bedfellows
Minister, adult film star to debate pornography at UW-Stout event
By Troy Espe
Leader-Telegram staff

The Rev. Craig Gross hates the sin but not the sinner.

For the past two years, he and adult film star Ron Jeremy have debated pornography at college campuses across the nation.

"We're good friends," Gross, 32, said during a telephone interview. "We can disagree on the topic, but we can put that aside and be friends. As a Christian, it's more important to show that, hey, we get along. For kids to be able to see that, I think it's huge."

Gross and Jeremy will square off in "The Great Porn Debate" on Monday at UW-Stout in Menomonie. The men will speak for 20 minutes each and then field questions from the audience.

Through his agent, Jeremy declined an advance interview.

Jeremy, 55, is perhaps the world's most famous porn star. He has appeared in more than 1,900 adult films, earning a listing in the Guinness Book of World Records.

"The Great Porn Debate" allows both men to reach new audiences, Gross said.

"It works well for both of us," he said. "We both enjoy it. It's entertaining. It's informative. Hopefully people leave thinking about these things."

Gross launched the Christian anti-porn Web site XXXchurch.com in 2002. It offers anti-porn software and sells "Jesus Loves Porn Stars" shirts. The site receives between 600,000 to 1 million visits per month.

"This is something so needed to be talked about," said Gross, who lives in Grand Rapids, Mich., with his wife and two children. "We can't keep quiet on this issue anymore."

Church members distribute Bibles at porn shows and offer counseling to sex industry workers.

"The media just wants you to see that (pornography) is glamorous, that this is great," Gross said. "It isn't real. This is fantasy. It's not reality. This has become sex education. We want to tell people that this looks nothing like the sex that God created to be between a man and a wife."

Pornography degrades women and often is viewed by children, Gross added.

"The Internet is to blame for the rise of the industry. I mean, they survived the dot-com crash," he said. "It's way too accessible. If the industry has figured a way to get this in every home in America, they could probably do a better job at keeping this away from kids."

Touring since 2006, "The Great Porn Debate" has visited private colleges and state universities. TV news show "Nightline" aired a debate from Yale University in February.

"It's probably the biggest problem on college campuses," Gross said. "You got kids away from home for the first time. They finally got a computer in their room. Everybody's got wi-fi. You got no one talking about this issue. You got kids thinking it's OK. This exposure is where a lot of addictions start. Kids are viewing this more than they ever have."