Entertainment :: Movies
Porn’s Master Debaters
(Continued from Page 1)by Sam Baltrusis CRAIG GROSS, porn pastor
Pastor Craig Gross first earned national ink when he and a group of his followers handed out "Jesus Loves Porn Stars" Bibles at an erotica convention in Los Angeles.
"I believe Jesus, he’d be in the show with us," Gross tells ABC News. "He’d be mixing it up with these people. ’Cause he doesn’t look at them as porn stars, or porn producers. He looks at us as all the same.
Since forming his anti-porn ministry in 2002, he’s written four books and has launched a Web site www.XXXchurch.com. The online anti-porn portal averages one million hits a month.
In his discussion with EDGE, Gross chats about his initial reservations about going on the road with a porn star, his life living in the gutter and whether or not he’s actually seen one of Ron Jeremy’s notorious skin flicks.
Q: How strange is it for you to share a tour bus with such an infamous male porn star?
GROSS: If you had told me five years ago I would’ve said you were crazy. Last year or the year before, I would’ve believed you. If I hand out a Bible that says ’Jesus Loves Porn Stars’ and I’m not willing to get on a bus with a porn star, what sort of message is that?
Q: What’s your response to naysayers who say you’re doing this tour to get a taste of the porn lifestyle?
GROSS: Well, I’m sharing a bus with Ron Jeremy, not Jenna Jameson. Sure, there are strange moments when you try to walk on the bus and the door is locked (laughs). When do these guys sleep? They (Jeremy and his manager) head to the strip clubs after the debates. It’s a completely different world than what I’m used to. I don’t know how they do it.
Q: From what I’ve seen of him on interviews and ’The Surreal Life,’ Ron comes across as vulgar at times. Does that ever piss you off?
GROSS: Not really. He’s got some crude jokes. The thing with Ron is that he only has five jokes and if you spend enough time with him, you’ve heard them all several times. But there’s a gentle side to Ron and he genuinely cares about people.
Q: What does your family think about all of this?
GROSS: My mom’s probably a little nervous when she sees pictures of me and Ron playing catch with my son. People ask me if I’m concerned having him around my kids. My answer: not at all. I mean, the guy is not an animal. Yes, he shoots porn and likes rough sex but he also loves kids. He was a teacher before he got into the business.
Q: We’ve seen a recurring theme in the gay world where the ones who spew the most venom against the LGBT community generally have issues with their own sexuality. Does this hypocrisy exist in the anti-porn movement--those who have the strongest opinions against the adult entertainment industry usually have their own issues with porn?
GROSS: Yes, look at Ted Haggard. He had the whole anti-gay thing going on and he was caught with his pants down with a male prostitute.
Q: Who has been more adversarial to your mission, the porn industry or the old-school evangelicals?
GROSS: Without a doubt, the Christians. The porn industry is definitely supportive of the freedom of speech and against censorship. The church is way too skeptical of what I’m trying to do and how I’m trying to do it.
Q: Have you ever seen any of Ron Jeremy’s adult films?
GROSS: I’ve seen him on ’The Surreal Life’ and I watched the documentary about his life. The documentary was more than enough for me. So no, I’ve never seen any of the porn. Well, I’ve seen porn, but I’ve never seen any of his porn.
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