In the midst of a culture currently ravaged by sexual brokenness and sin, one would think there’d be more warning signs popping up around the root of most sexual sin: porn.
Behind almost every affair, assault, or deviant perverse behavior – porn can be found close by, almost always a precursor to the physical act itself. Despite the obvious negative and damaging effects porn has on women themselves and how men view women, there seems to be a lack of willingness to address it. Arizona recently pushed a law that would declare pornography a public health crisis, a bold step in a time when more and more people are beginning to view pornography in a favorable light. Republican Rep. Michelle Udall said that porn “perpetuates a sexually toxic environment that damages all areas of our society.” The data makes arguing otherwise a challenging proposition.
Despite technology making porn more accessible than ever before – kids find it as early as 10 years old these days – Millennials increasingly believe there’s nothing morally wrong with porn, and at worst are neutral and don’t view it as a negative thing.
Why is this misconception gaining ground instead of losing it? How can a vice so damaging to women and relationships somehow be gaining in acceptance? It certainly doesn’t help when organizations who purport to be experts in the health field promote porn as something that “Many healthy, caring adults use pornography. Most of them use it to enhance their sex lives knowing that it is much more about fantasy than it is about reality.”
That’s how Planned Parenthood (PP) describes porn in a post on its website when answering the question, “Can you become addicted to watching pornography like you can become addicted to drugs?” The answer provided by PP is simply that addiction is “rare, but possible.” At the same time, PP seemingly understands that porn is unhealthy, as much of the post is dedicated to how porn is a distortion of reality. They summarize the downside, however, with a mild warning that says porn can lead to “unrealistic expectations about sex and sexuality.”
One has to question why an organization such as PP wouldn’t be on the frontlines against pornography. On the outside looking in, if their goal was to indeed promote the general health and welfare of people all across America, especially women, then it’d be reasonable to assume they care about an industry that reduces women to mere sex objects to be used and abused for the pleasure of men.
Hollywood has promoted promiscuity and hypersexualization and the industry, unsurprisingly, became ground zero for rampant sexual assault and abuse of power.
It’s difficult to speculate on what reason PP could have for not speaking out against a clear root issue of unhealthy and illegal sexual behaviors and abuses. Could it have something to do with the fact that the organization profits hundreds of millions of dollars annually while being the premier provider of abortion in the nation? It doesn’t take a genius to see that PP stands to reap massive financial benefits when society is behaving in a sexually reckless manner.
Even in Christian circles, the issue of pornography seems like an issue of yesteryear. What once was a major issue in the 1980’s has been relegated to the bench, despite the fact that thanks to the internet, porn is more accessible than ever before. And it’s not like congregants – pastors and parishioners alike – have solved the riddle and stopped using it. Quite the contrary, a recent study from Barna revealed that nearly two-thirds of Christian men view porn at least once every 90 days.
The SBC sex-abuse scandal is the latest sexual sin to rock the church, and porn is once again taking a front and center role. Yet, according to Barna’s ‘The Porn Phenomenon‘ survey, only 9 percent of churches have resources dedicated to fighting this scourge.
Be praying for God to open the eyes of believers everywhere to re-engage in this fight. Faithwire reported on how our children are being bombarded with sexual imagery and access to porn, and they’re able to leave their parents completely in the dark about it. Perhaps that’s one reason why people aren’t fighting – their heads are in the sand. Out of sight, out of mind.
If you or someone you know is struggling with sexual sin and pornography, Faithwire has created a valuable resource that thousands of men and women have taken either individually or through their church. It’s a program called ‘ Set Free’ that’s hosted by Pastors Toby Sumpter, Douglas Wilson and Jeff Durbin. Click HERE to find out more or visit www.setfreecourse.com.