Disturbing report: Comments on a report showing how many pornographers are reaching out to kids. Disturbing, indeed.
ChristiaNet Poll Finds That Evangelicals Are Addicted to Porn: Shocking! (not really). The poll itself is not all that much of a news story; however, the comments are very interesting.
Minister who was addicted to porn says case not rare: From the Lawrence Journal-World of Lawrence, Kansas (USA) comes this story where we see the usual spin: porn is an addiction, porn makes you a worse pervert, and so on… but there is a priceless quote at the end: “Most churches are too terrified to deal with this.” There is a good discussion afterwards, but some comments are too mean-spirited, in my opinion. Use your caution.
American Christian Romance Writers: Excuse me, ladies, but this sounds like an oxymoron. If the Church go down on porn consumers because “porn projects a wrong image of women”, then you must know that romance novels also project a wrong image of men; but romance writers can be “Christian” while porn… never (and rightly so). Double standards, anyone? The story page has great comments; and some amusing ones too, including the ones from romance writers expressing outrage at having their work being compared to pornography…
Hugh Hefner’s Hollow Victory: This is a story commenting a Christianity Today opinion piece that criticizes Hugh Hefner as the chief person responsible for the ‘mainstreaming’ of pornography into American culture. I find that piece mostly right, except where the author discusses the effects of pornography, where he (or she? I don’t really know with a name like Read) is predictably simplistic and rather naïve. There are some good links at the bottom of the CT page.
“Most churches are too terrified to deal with this.” How can fight the Enemy if you avoid his stronghold? As my friend, Jason Franklin says of himself, I am a salty preacher. I’ve actually been driven out of a couple of churches because I was willing to confront things they’d rather ignore. The Lord does not give us a spirit of fear.
That’s right, Ed. That was one of my motivations in writing up this series.