(All scripture references are from the
King James Version unless noted otherwise.)
"For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh,
and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but
is of the world" (I John 2:16).
In order to understand the problem with pornography, some
terms need to be defined.
Pornography: "1 writings, pictures, etc. intended
primarily to arouse sexual desire 2 the production of such writings,
pictures, etc." (Webster’s New World Dictionary Third College Edition,
1988.)
Because of the negative connotations of the word
pornography, the industry does not like this word. They prefer to be called
the adult entertainment industry.
The word "pornography" comes from two Greek words,
porneia, meaning a harlot, prostitute, or whore, and graphos,
meaning a writing or depiction. When combined together we get the literal
definition "writing about or drawings of harlots." The word fornication in
the New Testament comes from this same Greek word, porneia. (Pornography,
Wikipedia,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pornography.)
The Bible is very clear that fornication (porneia)
is sinful. Since the word pornography is derived from this same root word,
pornography is also sinful. This fact cannot be debated.
Some of the scriptures using this term are:
"But that we write unto them, that they abstain from
pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and
from blood" (Acts 15:20).
"Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the
kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor
adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor
thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall
inherit the kingdom of God" (I Corinthians 6:9,10).
"Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he
that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body" (I Corinthians
6:18).
"Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are
these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry,
witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions,
heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the
which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they
which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God" (Galatians
5:19-21).
"But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness,
let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; Neither filthiness,
nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather
giving of thanks" (Ephesians 5:3,4).
"For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should
abstain from fornication" (I Thessalonians 4:3).
Morality in Media interviewed Roger Young, a
former lead obscenity investigator with the FBI, about his career
investigating obscenity and how citizens can support such work. One of the
questions asked was this:
"MIM: Pornography is not just a criminal problem, but
also a spiritual problem. Why do you think most pastors have been silent
about the growing menace of pornography?
"RY: In many cases, it's a lack of understanding and
education and awareness. Awareness and education are the greatest weapons
against pornography. Where does a pastor go to get training in this area?
Certainly they don't spend time on it in seminary.
"Then you have clergy who believe this is something they
should not talk about. This is something to pray about, but not something
to be involved with. They don't want to give the appearance they're
carrying the flag, charging forward, fighting this type of thing in our
society. But with the Internet, more of these clergy-and their families-are
being hit right in the face with it. And that is going to wake up people."
(Interview With a Former FBI Agent, Morality in Media,
http://www.moralityinmedia.org.)
Carbon monoxide is a deadly gas because it is colorless,
odorless, tasteless. It is called a silent killer. Most anyone can spot an
alcoholic or drug addict. Certainly anyone with a sense of smell can figure
out who smokes cigarettes. Pornography is the silent spiritual killer of
men. Men can easily hide their problem from others. It isn’t easy to
detect. Spotting the symptoms of pornography in a persons life is nearly
impossible. You may not know who has a problem with it until it is too
late.
Satan is out to destroy you. He does not fight
fair. He will do whatever he can to defeat you. His ultimate goal is to
make you lose your soul. He does not care about you, your family, church,
job, friends, etc. He does not care what others think of you or what you
think of yourself. He will throw temptation your way and he wants to make
you fall.
Ephesians 6:16 calls the temptations the enemy throws at
you, "the fiery darts of the wicked." He will throw many different things at
you in order to see what wounds you. When he finds one that works, he will
bombard you in that area. Sexual imagery or pornography is probably the
biggest weapon he has to throw at men. We will discuss later why.
Many things feed sexual bondage that may not include
nudity. Catalogs, lingerie ads in newspapers, non-pornographic men’s
magazines, and ungodly videos. Many of these items have sexual imagery that
is geared toward men.
Pornography was once only available at newsstands, or
seedy adult theaters. It was difficult to find. Years ago if a person
wanted to purchase or view pornography, they had to go look for it. Today,
it is everywhere. It is easy to find on the internet, whether you look for
it or not. According to Adult Video News, an adult industry trade magazine,
11,000 new titles are pumped out each year. This is more than 20 times that
of Hollywood. (Ralph Frammolino and P.J. Huffstutter, The Actress, the
Producer and Their Porn Revolution, Los Angeles Times Magazine.
January 6, 2002.)
You can find a vast array of pornography genre, anything
from straight sex, to gay, lesbian, teens, "Mature" - older women,
bestiality, "rape," "gang bang" (which is several men sharing one woman), to
illegal child porn, and more. You can find anything that you could possibly
want to see. It runs the gamut from straight sex to things that will turn
your stomach. And it is all available at the click of a mouse.
Pornography affects the way we think, it affects our sex
drive, and it affects our relationships with others.
Once we have experienced pornography, it is very
difficult to let it go. Why is that? When a man views pornography, powerful
biochemical reactions occur which can quickly and easily lead to addiction.
When a man is excited by an image, a chemical called epinephrine is secreted
by the adrenal gland. This chemical locks the image in the brain. Once
locked in the brain the image can be recalled years later. This is why it
is easy to recall the first pornographic photo or video you saw.
Other biochemicals are released as well. They include
serotonin, endorphins, adrenaline, and dopamine. They produce the
excitement, pleasure, and induce a "high." Obviously because of the immense
pleasurable feelings pornography brings, many return to it in order to
duplicate those feelings.
Males are primarily turned on by sight. That is why
pornography is geared mainly towards a male audience. When viewed,
pornography creates illicit desires and fantasies. That perverts the sex
drive into something that God did not intend. Once the sex drive is
perverted, it is difficult to take away the perversion.
Here is a simple analogy. If a person only eats green
beans straight from a can, they will never know how good they are after
being seasoned. Once you have tried green beans that have been cooked with
bacon, onion, salt, or whatever else you add, plain green beans are very
bland.
Pornography makes sex within the confines of marriage
bland or boring. A proper sex life with a spouse just doesn’t satisfy the
perverted desires. A person will begin to desire the things they saw. If
risque or kinky sex is viewed, it will cause a person to want to act that
out. The sex drive has become perverted.
Viewing porn becomes a vicious cycle. It creates the
illusion of what sex should be. Then, in order to fulfill that abnormal
desire, you need more porn to satisfy it. After a while, it will lose its
excitement. To regain that excitement, harder material is needed. For
some, they may even act out what they have seen by visiting prostitutes,
physically committing adultery, abusing innocent victims, or even committing
rape.
The need for sex is just as natural as your need for
food. When it comes to food there are certain things that are simply
unhealthy for us. It would not be wise to eat spoiled food, rotten eggs,
soured milk, meat that has been left out of the fridge for several days.
These thinks will make you physically sick. Porn does the same thing for
your sex drive and soul. It is like eating rotten eggs.
Once the sex drive has been twisted or perverted it is
extremely difficult to overcome the perversion. The images of porn or past
experiences can never be erased from memory. One has to learn how to put
the sex drive under proper control again and how to rid himself of the
perversion.
Pornography is not fulfilling. It creates a false
intimacy. You can "be in love" with some fantasy woman. She is there
strictly to fulfill your desires sexually and nothing else. You do not have
to meet any of her needs. You don’t have to see her when she is sick, or
has had a bad day. Her needs and desires are non-existent. There is much
more to a true relationship than just sex. Sex is an added bonus to
marriage. Sex should not be what the relationship is about. Pornography
turns sex into the whole objective of a relationship.
The issue with the sex drive is control. Once the sex
drive is twisted, control must be regained. How does one keep the sex drive
under proper control or regain control? One of the key problems with
overcoming pornography is people have a hard time admitting they have or
have had a problem with it. People admit addictions to drugs, alcohol,
cigarettes, gambling, but rarely, if ever, pornography. The primary reason
for this is because of the fear of rejection by peers, wives, family,
church, etc. It is a difficult subject to discuss because it is seen as
taboo. If you cannot talk about it, you will not overcome it.
Sin is always a choice at the beginning and it continues
to be a choice even in your addiction and bondage. Too often the word
"addiction" is used as an excuse to continue to sin. The word "addiction"
implies that sin is committed without choice and implies that the one who
sinned is not responsible for his or her actions. In other words, a person
continues to view pornography because they do not believe they have the
ability to break their porn habit.
We are to be stewards of everything God gives us
including our sex drive. God gave it to us to control. Either we control
it, or it controls us. There is no other possibility. No one accidentally
sins. Temptation may come out of no where, but you must choose to sin or
not to sin. To steal a line from Shakespeare, TO SIN OR NOT TO SIN? THAT IS
THE QUESTION. When we are tempted, we must make the correct decision and
maintain our integrity.
Because of pornography people have lost the value of
intimacy. Their view of intimacy becomes skewed. True intimacy only comes
in a healthy, loving marriage relationship. The "intimacy" in porn is not
intimacy at all. In fact it is the opposite. Antonyms of the word intimate
are: distant, superficial, impersonal, unfriendly, unconnected, unsexy,
extrinsic, inexperienced.
According to Dr. Victor Cline there are five stages to
addiction. They are "Early Exposure, Addiction, Escalation,
Desensitization, and Acting Out Sexually." (Victor B. Cline, PhD.,
Pornography's Effects on Adults and Children, Morality in Media,
http://www.moralityinmedia.org.)
Early exposure - Most see porn early in their lives.
Statistics indicate that the median age for the first use of pornography for
boys was 11-13 and girls 12-14. (Tom Buford, Your Children &
Pornography: A guide for Parents, Tommera Press, 2001.)
The average age for first time exposure to internet
pornography is 11 years old. (Internet Filter Review,
http://www.internetfilterreview.com.)
Addiction - Pornography becomes a part of your life.
You cannot let it go. You are hooked by it. An unhealthy habit of viewing
pornography has been formed.
Escalation - After a while, the porn that you have
seen no longer works for you. You begin looking for more graphic porn. You
start looking at things that would have turned your stomach if you saw it at
the beginning. But now, you like it. Many times when porn is viewed it
becomes mundane. Harder material is needed to keep the excitement level.
Desensitization - You will eventually get to the
point that nothing excites you. Even the vilest, most degrading porn will
not do anything for you. You can no longer produce the thrill.
Acting Out Sexually - The last point is when you act
out. The porn images become reality. You act out by mimicking what you
saw. Some men get to the acting out stage and begin raping women. That is
the only way to get the thrill of what they felt again. Ted Bundy, the
serial rapist and murderer, committed his crimes after viewing pornography.
Pornography is dangerous. It can easily lead you into an
uncontrollable downward spiral.
Pornography will lie to you. It will say things about
women that just isn’t true. Here are five common lies of porn.
1. Women are less than human. Porn refers to women as
animals, body parts, playthings. They are objects to be used for your
pleasure.
2. Women are a "sport." Porn views sex as a game. The
woman is meant to be conquered. Many times sex is called "scoring."
3. Women are property. Pornography projects the idea
that women can be purchased. If you spend money on the woman she is
obligated to have sex with you. Much like a car. You purchase the car to
use it.
4. A woman’s value depends on the attractiveness of her
body. Only women with perfect store-bought curves have value. If a woman
is overweight or is flawed in any way, she is ridiculed. Porn doesn’t care
about a woman’s mind or personality, just her body.
5. Women like rape. In porn, a typical scenario is,
"When she says no, she really means yes." Women are shown being raped,
fighting and kicking, and then giving in to it and enjoying it. Porn
attempts to make rape sexy and arousing. Women are shown being tied up,
beaten, humiliated, and tortured, all with a smile on their faces. Porn
teaches that men can hurt and abuse women for entertainment and the woman
will come back for more.
So, how do I
let go?
 Return
to "The Problem"
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