Beacon Deacon Home
The Beacon Deacon Web Site





 
 
Avoid Pornography!

AVOID PORNOGRAPHY!


Statistics | Definition & Scripture | Related Links | Repentance | The Temple of God's Spirit | Questions | Recommended Reading

Internet Pornography Statistics Statistics

Pornography Statistics: Annual Report 2013 (Covenant Eyes)

2012 Stats on Porn from Mars Hill Church

Based on data from 2006 and Grace Transformed Sexuality (information that takes an intentional grace-centered approach to helping men in this battle) by Gary Yagel:

Top of Page


Definition & Scripture

Webster Definition for "pornography"
por.nog.ra.phy \po.r-'na:g-r*-fe-\ n [Gk pornographos, adj., writing of harlots, fr. porne - harlot + graphein to write; a kin to Gk pernanai to sell, poros journey - more at FARE, CARVE] 1: the depiction of erotic behavior (as in pictures or writing) intended to cause sexual excitement 2: pornographic material


Look at the definition of the word and its roots. Pornography literally means "the writing of whores." Refer to the following verses that are applicable to pornography: Exodus 20:14 (Adultery? See Matthew 5:28), Deuteronomy 5:18 (Adultery? See Matthew 5:28), Job 31:1, Proverbs 6:23-26, Proverbs 17:24, Matthew 5:28, 2 Corinthians 10:5, Philippians 4:8, I Thessalonians 4:4-5, 2 Peter 2:14, and 1 John 2:16 (and there are others!). If you have fallen into the trap of pornography, read Hebrews 4:16. Realize the sin, confess it to others in the faith and to God, ask His forgiveness, and repent (turn your back on it). If you mess up, you are not a failure. Go to God, scrape off your knees, and keep moving forward with Him.

Top of Page


RELATED LINKS

13 Ways to Ruin Your Life

American Family Association

Beacon Deacon Psych Page -- Sexual Disorders

Bravehearts -- Leading a New Sexual Revolution

Competing with Porn by Harvey Yoder

Consuming Desire Sermon Series by Ken Aldrich of Covenant Presbyterian Church (PCA)

Covenant Eyes: Fighting Internet Temptation

Dealing With Pornography and Internet Addiction by Steve Watters

Do Not Commit Adultery (A Sermon by Ken Aldrich)

Facebook Causes: Fighting Internet Pornography

Finding Authentic Accountability

Greater Hope Ministries (Highly Recommended!)

Harvest USA (Highly Recommended!)

Help for My Life - Pornography

Hookers for Jesus

Ichthus Library: Former Homosexual's Testimony

Ichthus Library: Homosexuality

Ichthus Library: Lust, Excuse Me

Ichthus Library: Sexual Promiscuity

Keeping Yourselves From Idols: Living as Men of Integrity... In A Sex-Saturated Culture

Love Won Out

The National Council on Sexual Addiction and Compulsivity (NCSAC)

Overcoming Porn Addiction

The Pink Cross Foundation: Stuck in porn?

Porn Again Christian - a frank discussion on pornography & masturbation - by Mark Driscoll

Porn Again Christian - The Series

Porn Again Christian - Free e-book download

Porn Again Christian - read online @ beacondeacon.com

The Porn Path - a sermon from the Real Marriage Series by Pastor Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church

Pornography and Virtual Infidelity

Pure Intimacy: Recovering the Heart of Sexuality

Sex Addicts Anonymous (SAA)

Sexual Immorality/Idolatry: An Issue of Identity, Relationship, and Worship

Somebody's Daughter

Tim Chambers shares his own words about pornography

Treasures    loved. valued. purposed.

XXXChurch

Avoid Pornography!

Top of Page

 

Oversold ~
"This is a modern day retelling of the book of Hosea. In this version a pastor marries a stripper.

The inside story is incredible. The lead actress, Crissy Moran, was a porn model/actress for six years. In 2006, she dedicated her life to Christ (not sure if it was a conversion or rededication) and walked away from the industry. She also stopped accepting the money from the porn web sites, even though she was still legally entitled to it. More can be found at her MySpace page.

http://www.myspace.com/yourfriendcrissy

This is a powerful, inspiring story. It really gives a clear picture of the pain experienced by the women who are used and abused so that others can make a quick buck. She is a sharp reminder that there are real people with real feelings behind the airbrushed images. I think that her performance in Oversold is going to be phenomenal, since she will be showing the emotions she experienced and not just making it up."

~ Thanks to my friend MWN for submitting his thoughts.


A word about repentance . . .

Repentance is turning your back on sin, but it is more than that. Sin produces death in many forms. For a specific sin, the death could be physical or spiritual (such as in blasphemy of the Holy Spirit or never receiving Christ as Lord and Savior). Sin results in consequences, which bring anguish to the mind, brokenness to the heart, and hurt to relationships with God and with others. Many times, we feel "bad" after we sin, but we "repent" only out of a desire to not feel "bad." We "repent" out of self-centered motives. True repentance is not about finding a quick ticket to not feel bad about sin. I'm not saying God cannot use our feeling bad about sin in the role of repentance. However, true repentance is the pursuit of God's holiness. Do we repent because we hunger and thirst for God or simply so we won't feel bad anymore? We do not naturally desire God. Only His Spirit can give us that desire. It is an act of His grace. We cannot depend on external things to make us repent (not that accountability and measures aren't helpful), but we must depend on God. Repentance is a heart change. Pray to God regarding faith and repentance. He will answer. Bill Leach, Associate Pastor for Ministries at Covenant Presbyterian Church (PCA) said, "Godly sorrow always comes from God and His Word, not our circumstances."

Top of Page


The Temple of God's Spirit

You should know that your body
is a temple for the Holy Spirit who is in you.
You have received the Holy Spirit from God.
So you do not belong to yourselves.
1 Corinthians 6:19

You will live forever in this body. It will be different, mind you. What is now crooked will be straightened. What is now faulty will be fixed. Your body will be different, but you won't have a different body. You will have this one. Does that change the view you have of it? I hope so.

God has a high regard for your body. You should as well. Respect it. I did not say worship it. But I did say respect it. It is after all the temple of God. Be careful how you feed it, use it, and maintain it. You wouldn't want anyone trashing your home; God doesn't want anyone trashing his. After all, it is his, isn't it?

When Christ Comes ~Max Lucado

Top of Page


Questions

  1. Are you setting yourself up for failure by the company you keep, the places you go (in reality or online), the way you spend your time, or keeping a hidden cache of pornographic materials?
  2. Are you repenting so you simply feel better or are you pursuing God in your repentance?
  3. Since idolatry is what's behind lust, what idols do you need to leave behind?
  4. How is your walk with God going? Do you see your need for God?
  5. What situations lead to your falling and how can you trust God to help you cope differently?
  6. Do you think any less of yourself (denying your dignity as a person) for having fallen into this sin?
  7. Do you realize that you are not so bad that you are beyond God's grace nor so good that you don't need God's grace?
    * * * God can reach you and you need Him! * * *
  8. Have you made a covenant with your eyes and taken every thought captive?
  9. Are you meeting with someone for accountability/discipleship?
  10. Are you setting reasonable goals (1 week, 1 month, 2 months…) with an accountability partner keeping you in check?
  11. Are you claiming victory even in the small battles (e.g. "went a week without")?
  12. Are you going to the throne of God in your time of need (Hebrews 4:16) instead of beating yourself up when you relapse?
  13. Are you fleeing even the appearance of evil (as subtle as a celebrity news link to as tempting as a swimwear ad to as blatant as an obvious link to sexualized material)?
  14. Do you think that perhaps God has called you to be on the vanguard of this battle and that is why you may have wrestled with it?
  15. Do you believe that the battle belongs to the Lord?
  16. How might God use your adversity for ministry?
  17. Can you praise and worship God in spite of yourself? With your lips? With your mind? With your eyes? With your body?

Top of Page


Recommended Reading:

When Good Men Are Tempted by Bill Perkins; published by Zondervan Publishing House (Grand Rapids, Michigan); copyright 1997.

13 Ways to Ruin Your Life by Jarrod Jones; published by Gresham Hill Publishing; copyright 2008.

Virtual Integrity: Faithfully Navigating the Brave New Web by Daniel J. Lohrmann; published by Baker Publishing Group; copyright 2008.

"How and Why Pornography Hurts a Marriage" by Nicholas Black, Harvest News, Harvest USA

Porn Again Christian - a frank discussion on pornography & masturbation - by Mark Driscoll

Porn Again Christian by Mark Driscoll - Free e-book download

Porn Again Christian by Mark Driscoll - read online @ beacondeacon.com

Your Brain on Porn - Free e-book download from Covenant Eyes

The excerpt below from "Five Ways to Fight Modern-Day Slavery", RELEVANT Magazine:

Stop using porn.

As evil and degrading as pornography is, here’s another reason to never look at it. Porn is part of the problem. If you are looking at pornography, you are perpetuating the industry of sex trafficking.

I recently read a disturbing article, called “The Slave and the Porn Star: Sexual Trafficking and Pornography," in the Journal of Human Rights and Civil Society, which is a publication of the Protection Project based at Johns Hopkins University. The authors show various connections between pornography and sexual exploitation. Many of the individuals who appear in pornography are slaves. They have been trafficked, drugged, manipulated in some way, and are forced to be part of this wicked business.

Then there are the forces of supply and demand, and the way that pornography creates more and more demand for the commercial sex industry. Pornography is like the gateway drug. People get addicted, and then they want something more. Pornography fuels prostitution (heightening the demand for sex), and a higher demand for sex means more lucrative opportunities for pimps, which means more women and children exploited by them for these purposes. So if you’re looking at porn, even if you’re not paying for it, you’re showing the advertisers and producers of pornography and all those involved in the sex business that demand is high, which then motivates them to shame and exploit even more people.

Think about that the next time you’re tempted to click on that website. Your momentary “pleasure” is contributing to the absolute devastation of women and girls and boys around the world.

Top of Page


Beacon Deacon Home

Top of Page