The Prison of Pornography
I write this post in response to the person who has decided to become a follower of my blog using a pseudonym and photo (for a joke?) that suggests that he/she is involved in pornography. First to note is that I have blocked their picture and name (not them as follower).*
Some Statistics
Like many of Satan's prisons, pornography causes breakdown in marriages, breakdown in family relationships and drags people into a dark lonely existance. Since the day's of Adam and Eve, Satan uses glamour as he tries to deceive the eye and the mind - offering you something better than what God can offer you - only to reveal a shame that takes away all sense of self worth. In the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe the white witch offers Edmund Turkish Delight as a tempter to bringing his siblings with him, but when he is imprisoned he realises that the Turkish Delight is really nothing but the most awful of stale bread.
A friend of mine who openly admitted to using web pornography regularly has become a recluse and is not happy with himself at all. He is very inward looking, no longer visitis friends and family, is totally imprisoned and in his shame has become a recluse. There is only the cleansing blood of Jesus that can set him free.
* Unfortunately I have also accidently blocked other people's photos at the same time and am unable to retrieve them
Some Statistics
- World wide in excess of £100 Billion is spent on accessing pornography every year (what might be achieved if the world put that sort of money to good use?)
- In a US survey 20% of those asked admitted to accessing pornography at work
- 40 million US adults admitted to visiting pornography websites on a regular basis
- 10 % of adults admitted to internet sexual addiction.
Like many of Satan's prisons, pornography causes breakdown in marriages, breakdown in family relationships and drags people into a dark lonely existance. Since the day's of Adam and Eve, Satan uses glamour as he tries to deceive the eye and the mind - offering you something better than what God can offer you - only to reveal a shame that takes away all sense of self worth. In the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe the white witch offers Edmund Turkish Delight as a tempter to bringing his siblings with him, but when he is imprisoned he realises that the Turkish Delight is really nothing but the most awful of stale bread.
A friend of mine who openly admitted to using web pornography regularly has become a recluse and is not happy with himself at all. He is very inward looking, no longer visitis friends and family, is totally imprisoned and in his shame has become a recluse. There is only the cleansing blood of Jesus that can set him free.
* Unfortunately I have also accidently blocked other people's photos at the same time and am unable to retrieve them
Comments
great post, especially the last line particularly ministered to me.
You seem to be unclear or at least inconsistent about your own views about pornography, on the one hand you have stated that you have been unhealthily involved in pornography, on the other hand you are justifying its use by others. (As if it is not healthy for you, but is ok for others).
You are right in saying that the use of pornography can be a sign of an already unhealthy marriage, but getting involved in such things could be the final straw for that marriage.
Pornography can never be justified. You touched on the fact that those who are involved in the making of pornography are victims. If there was no one to fuel demand for pornography, if pornography is totally unprofitable – it would not exist. Paul was right when he said the love of money is the root to all evil.
Your statistic that 1% of internet sites are of a pornographic nature – yet 70% of internet hits are for pornographic sites shows what an unhealthy sex craved world we live in. Sex is good beautiful and healthy between a married couple.
I share you distain when Christians try to present cases to non-Christians using phrases "because the Bible tells me so". I am a Christian, and I believe in the authority of the Bible, but I can not expect non-Christians to live by the same values, as much as I would like them to do so.
So to step outside that box, I would like to put forward my own theory. There is a deep correlation with the rise in sexual crime (rape, peadophilia) and the lowering of sexual standards in society, particularly in the media.
I entirely disagree with the Western view that looking a little pornography is healthy. Pornography is addictive. It often fills people with guilt and shame. And like any drug, porn eventually loses it's novelty and we require more and more extremes to slake our lust. This increased need to satisfy ones lust I believe leads to the completely irrational behavour of things such as forced sex and child pornography. No one was born a rapist or a peadophile, something had to happen.
So yes I agree that people are the problem not pornography. Pornography feeds the problem. So in the fight against the problem, pornography is on the side of the problem.
Also you said, "Otherwise, as long as it does no harm to anyone else (including those involved in making the porn) what business is it of mine or yours?"
That's just the thing, it does cause harm as I've stated above. But also to those who are involved in making it - the sex trafficking industry. I expect to be called naive for that statement for there are those who say people make porn by their own choice. There may well be those people, but i do not accept that view.
What is it that we want to teach our children?
Blessings,
Chris
I have chosen to delete my posts as I took on board Neil’s point about ‘bad grace’; that said in reply to your post – I certainly never said looking at a little porn is healthy; what I said was that for some people pornography is an outlet for sexual feelings (esp. those for whom sexual relationships are not possible due to disability or the like) and if they find it useful it is no business of mine or yours. I certainly DON’T think pornography is ‘healthy’; nor do I condone the pornography industry – but it’s here to stay and so I don’t go into a moral panic about it – as long as it doesn’t involve children or the vulnerable. As I noted there are just as nasty industries and ones that do far more harm in the world (e.g. the worse excesses of capitalism have caused much more misery in the world than the sex industry).
I’ve tried to find some research that was quoted on Radio 4 the other day which stated that since the advent of the internet there is evidence to suggest violent sexual crime has decreased – the inference being the internet has become an outlet for such fantasies. I can’t find the link (and as an academic I’d need a little more convincing than just one piece of research). Yet there is no evidence to suggest there is an increase in sexual crime only that there is an increased reporting and knowledge of sexual crime. This is an important point and one that needs consideration. I’ll use a pertinent example. As you are no doubt aware there has been ongoing revelations of sexual and physical abuse by Roman Catholic priests and institutions in the R. of Ireland. Why was this ‘abuse’ not exposed at the time? There are many reasons, the main being the power of the R.C. Church, the fact that until recently few, if any, would take seriously a child’s or vulnerable person’s testimony; and lastly, the putative belief that ‘priests’ (or any leader in religion) wouldn’t do such a thing. However the abuse went on, whether or not it was reported.
It is extremely intellectually weak to deduce from one piece of data a ‘fact’ without first examining the complexity of issues and variables around a subject. Before beginning my PhD I was a social worker for many years and the number of adults, especially elderly people, who have disclosed to me sexual or physical abuse they suffered as children is legion. Therefore I’d suggest before wandering into the easy answers provided by syllogistic logic – i.e. there are now more sexual crimes therefore internet porn must be the cause – there needs to be an acceptance that sexual crimes – especially within the family - have been part of human existence since the beginning. I suspect the internet is just the ‘new’ Bogey Man; something to blame rather than face the more unsavoury fact that sexual abuse is far, far more common than many of us would like to admit and is committed not by the dirty old man in a rain coat, but by fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters; teachers, police officers, priests, ministers, imams – the list goes on.
“For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man 'unclean'.” Matt 15: 19
It is the tendency, especially of the religiously inclined; to blame this or that for the world’s problems that irks me. We make our own problems and are responsible for our own actions. There are probably far more damaging things than leering at downloaded porn being done to our neighbours’ welfare across the road or in the next street. As St Anthony said: ‘Our life and death is with our neighbour...’
Have a happy and blessed Christmas!
(P.S. does the ubiquitous champ even get included in Christmas Dinner? – our guest for Christmas Dinner is originally from Antrim and as he is disabled, in the spring I usually accompany him on his annual visit to relatives in Ballymena as his driver and it seems that almost all dishes in Northern Ireland are served with champ!)
You would not go wrong if there were champ in your Christmas dinner, but there is no such tradition here in the black north - it's your call.
Blessings,
Chris
Anonymous - I have not removed the comments above, it was the author of the comments that did so.
As far as I can remember I have published all comments that are not offensive against God or do not contain swearing.
"your blogs are like some propaganda machine you are more likekly to find in north korea, ie we will only show what we agree with."
I am surprised that you are even allowed to go onto a Christian blog if you are living in North Korea. Indeed my visitor's country page view records visitor from SOuth Korea but not North Korea.
"your blogs lack love humilty and grace"
I am sorry you see my blog in this way, I try to speak about freedom rather than condemnation and hope that my blog has a blance of love and judgement (from which according to the Bible no one can avoid outside the saving grace of Jesus Christ.
Thanks though for your comments.
Neil
Just a thought...