Did you know there was a connection to Playboy Magazine, Hugh Hefner, and the Broadway Church of Christ?

It's true.

But what's funny is seeing former Broadway Church of Christ minister and former Pepperdine University president Bill Banowsky in a picture with the one and only Hugh Hefner.

In 1967, Dr. Banowsky began a debate with Playboy Magazine and its editor for religion, Anson Mount, about sex and morality.

Billed as a “clash of philosophies” between “Christianity and hedonism,” the debate was held in Lubbock before an audience of 3000 college students. As the moderator suggests, the event showcased “two perspectives on how 1967 should be,” as Mr. Mount argued for a humanist approach to sex based on situation ethics and Dr. Banowsky countered with a Christian perspective. As he put it during the debate: “I am affirming the moral principles of Christ, which honor the power, and majesty, and beauty of sex as the sacred, limited, exclusive gift of married love.”

Who would have ever thought this could happen? Especially in Lubbock in 1967?

If you would like to listen to these debates, you can do so for free by visiting Pepperdine University.

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