Pornography
 

I will be teaching tonight and part of the content is about the damage that pornography can do.

It is possible that two of the people that may be coming have had some problems in this area. However, they both think it is ok. Says it is normal for men to do this.

I am hoping this doesn't become a discussion point tonight as it is NOT the main focus of the meeting.

IF for some reason it is address how would you respond?

Normal?

If they are or were married, would they approve of their wife posing so other men could be normal?

They are both married.

What about the scripture that says that he who looks after a woman and lusts after her has committed adultery with her in his heart?

Better yet, would they approve of their daughters posing so other men could be normal? :sos

What constitutes a man having a problem in this area?

It is unrealistic to think there are men (or perhaps even women?) that have never veiwed pornography.

The bottom line is... pornographic material is unacceptable, and should have no place in the life of a Christian.

I would remind them that the girl they are watching or looking at is either someone else's daughter, sister and such. How would they feel if it were there sister or daughter that were being degraded for the cheap pleasure of other men.

I have given away some 15 copies of a book called "An Affair of the Mind" to Pastors who are fighting pornography among some they Pastor.

Great book. I promotes the fact that it is not a 'victimless' act.

Esther,

not that it helps right now, but I would encourage you to point them toward Stephen Arterburn/Fred Stoeker's book Every Man's Battle. It is focused on more than just what we consider porn and breaks it down to the daily ordinaries that men can battle against. Things as simple as Victoria's Secret or the Sears and Sawbuck or JC Penney Santalogs. There are versions for younger men as well as workbooks. It will open a man's eyes and convict their hearts!

The title is so on point. But it is even worse in that when many men who are involved in porn are with their wives there are others in bed with them. It is a very tragic and dangerous thing to accept and even embrace. It reminds of the man who put the snake in his breast pocket to warm the snake only to have the snake sink his venomous fangs into the man's chest. As the man lay dying, the snake simply said... "quit crying! you knew I was a snake when you first picked me up!"

You have all posted some great thoughts.

Thanks!

It is normal....so is murder, fornication, stealing, lying and going to hell. It's normal for the fallen nature.

What kind of teaching is this anyways? Bible? Secular?

There are a lot of studies done on how harmful pornography is. I would start there on the net, but be careful how you search of course.

Porn is highly addictive. And like many drugs, doing it for an extended period of time changes you. A crack head associates his high with the crack and so he craves it more more....his neuro pathways are changed to respond to the crack. Same with porn, which is why some men go on to harder and harder stuff.

I think most men want to convince themselves it's normal because they are men looking at women. I remember TL saying once why he went to strip bars, because he was a normal healthy male....they send normal healthy males into space too but of course you don't see all males doing that just because they are normal healthy males. That's really just an excuse to do what their flesh desires

That is a very helpful book. However, I think at the end, they divorce, which I hope isn't the normal solution.

That is surprising given the Deans endorsement.

Is divorce not a primary goal of porn and the lust of the flesh?

I could be wrong about this book; it's been a long time since I read it. It's a true story from the woman's perspective (wife), and if I'm not mistaken, the marriage fails at the end. But it is a very insightful book at how this problem affects the wives. In reality, porn does cause some divorces, so I guess it's realistic. Just not the way I hoped it would end.

My gleanings from the book had nothing to do with a divorce. I just thought the vast majority of book had things you simply never think of with pornography. For instance, it opening with her going to an AIDS test when she wasn't at fault in the least.

Divorce? Nope. Confront the lies that porno is a victimless issue? Absolutely.

I have owned, loaned, and given away this book. I agree with The Dean. There are points in it that you do not think of with pornography and you cannot understand unless you've lived it.