I would like to share some interesting links I found via ChristDot. You will find links to the corresponding Christdot page instead of the article itself (in case I am talking about a news story or similar) because in this way you can also see the discussion at the ChristDot site. I think this greatly adds to our study of the Church’s pastoral attitude towards pornography.
Some of the stories link to old news that are no longer online, but I put those here anyway because the discussion is highly relevant, in my opinion.
Group helping Christian men fight sexual addiction: A note about Pure Life Ministries. On principle, I thorougly reject any approach to sexual sin as an addiction, and this includes any approach to porn as “an addiction”. Sin is sin and is addictive and attractive in and of itself as a necessary corollary for all depraved beings. But the discussion is a good read.
Porn, The Web, and Church: An introduction to the well-known XXXChurch.com ministry. This is a great ministry and in my opinion is the “less flawed one” in its pastoral approach to pornography. The guys running this show deserve our sincere kudos and thanks. However, it still suffers from problems common to a flawed pastoral attitude towards pornography. Great discussion and testimonials in the ChristDot discussion page.
Billboards Target Christian Porn Addicts: Again the wretched “addiction” fallacy. The original news story was an informational piece for Pure Restoration, a worksop run by a ministry.
Christian… nudes?!?: A story discussing some of the points on artistic nudity that I also covered in my two last articles on porn. I would like to note this mistaken, all too common notion in one comment:
As far as I understand, nudes in old statues (Greek, Roman, later European art) were not made with the calculated intent to arouse sexual desire in the audience […] I don’t think most people looking at statues such as Michelangelo’s David or old European statues and paintings of nude women (usually chubby by modern standards) get sexually aroused. (If you have, I don’t know what to say.)
This is what most people think. But I am afraid they are wrong. Many great nude art masterpieces were made with the intent to arouse; not perhaps like a hardcore porn flick of today, but more in a “teasing” sense. But after all is said and done, I think it is almost impossible not to feel the overpowering and arousing erotic atmosphere on works such as Ingres’ The Turkish Bath.
Pornstar Vampires: Confessions of a sinner: This is a moving testimony that could seem to many a little over the top; but I believe the guy is sincere. As a sidenote, this quote would be interesting to those who say that women in porn are poor objectified victims of evil men who use them to satisfy their basest desires:
The girls that do [pornography], and I’ve met quite a few, most of them have NOT been “suckered into it by friends or lovers”. Most of them willingly chose this lifestyle. Thats not to say that there arent girls out there who DO get suckered or forced in to it, there sure are!! But every single one I ever met, lived it, loved it, and wanted more. and the sick part about all of it, the more twisted you get, the sicker you get, the darker and more twisted the things your willing to do, the more you get paid. […] These people WILLINGLY choose to be in this lifestyle, and have this mindset.
I’m running out of time, so I will put more links later. I will appreciate any comments and relevant discussion.
If sin is addictive as you say, why reject approaches to sin that treat it as an addiction?
I appreciate what the folks at XXXchurch are trying to do, but at the same time their theology seems to be a little too postmodern/emergent. It seems that they are also quite passive when it comes to encouraging people to change their lifestyle. This has included past references by them that to the effect that (paraphrasing) “porn may be good for some” and that sort of thing. I was also less than impressed with their immediate run to the media to blast the American Bible Society over their decision not to print the bibles with the covers that they wanted. At the same time though, this group does seem to reach where others do not.
Dave: Thanks for commenting!
I would like to restrict my outlook to porn consumption for now. Having that said, I don’t really think that current “addiction approaches” are correct for dealing with porn consumption, or any other spiritual matter. The “addiction approach” —even if the sin is addictive— is too shallow. We consume porn because there is an unyielding hunger for something meaningful deep inside our lives, and no addiction approach will answer that. We must treat sin as sin, an offense to God worthy of His wrath, and this is essentially different from any “addiction” recovery approach. In other words, I think that the teachings of C.S. Lewis are far more relevant for porn consumption, yea, even habitual and continuous porn consumption, than any approach modeled after Alcoholics Anonymous.
About your comments on XXXchurch, I concur with you totally. But I appreciate what they say. They are the people who got closest to “getting it right” in my opinion. While other “anti-porn” groups got only a yawn from me, XXXchurch got my full attention; and this makes them deserving a lot of kudos.
Thanks again for stopping by. Please come here often! 🙂
If you look at the Alcoholics Anonymous’ 12 step list, it seems that they emphasize that they have done wrong and focus on confession, as well as dependence upon God for restoration (albeit not explicitly the God of Christianity). There seems to be in such a program an admission of sin, and also a dependance upon God. I’m not sure how much this comes out in practice though, or how other “addiction” recovery programs might differ in their approach.
“But every single one I ever met, lived it, loved it, and wanted more.”
I find that attitude a little sickening actually. That’s exactly the line the p*rn industry spins.
I’ve ministered to prostitutes over many years, including some in thee p*rn industry. They are different reasons why they get involved. Of course they will come across to a man who is a consumer as liking it – that’s part of the play acting and denial involved.
In ministry situations talking to another woman the truth is dfferent however.
I’ve also worked with people in addiction and can speak from a professional basis on that. Yes, it is quite possible to use an addiction approach and deal with something as sin. Many Christian ministries do. I’ve worked with people that way and it doesn’t need to be an either/or situation. Dave’s general point is correct – AA does allow for confronting one’s own sin. AA doesn’t use that terminology, but a Christian can use a 12 Step approach that is based on their relationship with Jesus.
I never made a major effort to deal with addictions in my ministry, but you can’t avoid them. I must confess a general hostility to AA only because I’ve never seen it without the element of pecking order and intrusive control. I see the need for that in a few cases very early, but most mentors don’t know when to let go (a replacement addiction). Whatever the theory, it’s not being done right anywhere I’ve seen it. The best programs do require consistently meeting with others who are recovering, and only work so long as the individual has the desire. However, without a specific spiritual rebirth with Jesus Christ, no program has real power. Admitting your sin is merely the first hurdle. Addictions are inherently about control in the first place, and the primary element of recovery is learning to live fearlessly under God’s control.
I concur Eduardo’s assessment the porn issue is best not treated as an addiction, but as mere conditioning. The appetite is a gift from God; the problem is in how one seeks fulfillment. Attack the sin effectively, require a renewing of the mind by the Holy Spirit, and the problem does go away.
I don’t disagree with you for the most part Ed, however I have seen a Christian 12 step approaches that do work for people. And no, they don;t stay meeting with people in groups forever. So I don;t think it can be dismissed.
But yes, it is about the work of the Holy Spirit – and if he chosses a program to work through then that’s up to Him. He may do it another way.
Dave, Catez and Ed: Thanks for your kind and generous comments. I was about to answer here but I decided to answer in a different post instead. Thanks again, and I look forward to see your reactions.