Pornography in the Church
A reason to Sound the Alarm.
We are raising up a battle cry, sounding the alarm, for all of us, not just men, but for the women as well, to choose and contend for a healthy sexuality. Why? Well, in a national survey conducted over a five year span, 68% of Christian Men reported viewing pornography & 11-17 year old boys reported being it's greatest users. - National Survey Church
This is a reason to sound the alarm because of the progressive, harmful effect of pornography on one's sexuality.
Understanding the Harm of Porn
“The viewing of porn is linked to a harmful/toxic sexuality, because, 'In real life, real love requires a real person.' Research has found, that after men are exposed to pornography, they rate themselves as less in love with their partner than men who didn’t see any porn. On top of that, another study found that after being exposed to pornographic images, people were more critical of their partner’s appearance, sexual curiosity, sexual performance, and displays of affection."
- FightTheNewDrug
Many porn users find themselves getting aroused by things that used to disgust them or that go against what they think is morally right. For example, child pornography.
"Porn is truly an assault on man. The enemy understands that the father made man in a way that he is enamored by his counterpart and he uses this as a weapon to attack mans spirit. Not only is it a direct attack that causes man to lust, but it plants seeds and spirits that linger in the hearts and minds of men creating discord in relationships. Lust has been a lifelong battle for Me and for most men I know. This is an assault that takes what is sacred and makes it commonplace. It plants insecurities and dissatisfaction. One of the enemies greatest weapons and his favorite tactic is to take what is sacred and make a mockery of it."
- Luis A.
So, how could porn lead one to purchase another for sex?
The truth is, a man does not just wake up one day and decide to purchase a child or woman for sex. Lust is truly never fulfilled. Understand, there has been a conditioning, a dehuminzing, progression of lust occurring in the mind, which can often be found through the viewing of porn. Desensitization is a worrisome element that can profoundly impact the way an individual views another person.
“God designed oxytocin as the glue for human bonding. During sexual release, oxytocin, along with other neurochemicals , are released and cause us to emotionally bond with our partner. When you watch porn, powerful neurotransmitters such as dopamine are also released, which bond you to those images. This is why satan attacks our sexuality so much, because in attacking human sexuality it actually interferes with human bonding.”
- Terry Cu-Unjieng
The real world consequences of a harmful sexuality across our culture are such things like pervasive infidelity, manipulation, rape, child abuse, divorce and sex trafficking. The stakes are too high to remain uninformed & uneducated on this necessary topic.
Pornography is used by traffickers to train sex trafficking victims about various sexual acts and situations buyers prefer. Do you want to fuel the demand for porn knowing this? It is commonly known in the anti-trafficking field that 80% of survivors report that their customers showed pornography to illustrate the kinds of sexual acts they want preformed. Besides being forced to watch pornography, victims of sex trafficking often have a much more violent and personal interaction through forced performance in the industry.
So, will you take a stance to protect yourself, your own daughter, your own home and say no to a toxic sexuality where you are being influenced by the Porn-Culture?
Will you decide not to partner with the very same spirit that is fueling the sex trafficking industry?
Here are the statistics:
Thank you to PornScar for the Statistics.
Sex is the #1 thing people search for on the Internet
There are over 420 million Pornographic Internet pages
12 to 17 year olds are the largest consumers of Internet pornography
42.7% of Internet users view pornography
The pornography industry is larger than the revenues of the top technology companies combined: Microsoft, Google, Amazon, eBay, Yahoo!, Apple, Netflix and EarthLink
70% of women keep their cyber activities secret
Women, more than men, are likely to act out their behaviors in real life, such as having multiple partners, casual sex, or affairs.
68 million porn search engine requests daily
2006 Worldwide Porn Revenues = $97.06 billion
7 of 10 lay leaders in the church admitted to visiting adult Web sites at least once a week. 4 out of 10 pastors said they did the same.
50% of all Christian men and 20% of all Christian women are addicted to pornography. 60% of the women who answered the survey admitted to having significant struggles with lust 40% admitted to being involved in sexual sin in the past year; and 20% of the church-going female participants struggle with looking at pornography on an ongoing basis.
Leadership starts in the uttermost hidden parts of our lives.
- Dr. Ted Roberts