The Church is soft on porn. Okay, now I’ve got your attention, it’s unlikely any self-proclaiming Christian would publicly support pornography. But for a Church that began campaigning against slavery, advocated for temperance and prohibition, and then pioneered anti-smoking programs, we are doing very little to address the modern addiction of pornography.
Ellen White was a champion of temperance and porn could easily fit under the temperance banner in this comment she made:
“The advocates of temperance fail to do their whole duty unless they exert their influence by precept and example—by voice and pen and vote—in favour of prohibition and total abstinence. We need not expect that God will work a miracle to bring about this reform, and thus remove the necessity for our exertion. We ourselves must grapple with this giant foe, our motto, No compromise and no cessation of our efforts till the victory is gained” (Gospel workers, 387).
For an issue that affects so many people, how is it that the Church is not doing more about porn? We should write, speak, campaign against it.
Statistics show the widespread nature of porn use and how early children are being exposed to it. And we know Christians, even pastors and youth leaders, are not immune and experience high rates of use. Unfortunately, while in society someone might be open with their use or desire to escape porn, in the Church it is a secret shame that we avoid talking about.
That makes the problem of porn even more damaging for the Church. And the problems porn creates are myriad. Broken marriages, objectification of women, violence, unhealthy expectations and standards, traumatised minds, exploitation . . . the list goes on. Researchers who analysed content from more than 300 popular pornography videos found that 88.2 per cent of the most popular scenes contained aggressive acts.
For a group that says God’s standards for marriage and sex are the very highest ideals, we are doing a very poor job of sharing a healthy, biblically-inspired alternative that is wholistic and balanced. Sex should be a joy, something that brings life, connection and intimacy. In contrast, statistics indicate that porn use makes sex less enjoyable.
The Church does try. There are programs to raise awareness, encouraging program participants to stop the habit by using an accountability partner, software or just giving it up cold turkey, using prayer, Scripture etc. These things are fine but often these attempts lead to relapse and getting trapped in a binge/purge cycle. Like putting a bandage on a cancer, some of these solutions don’t address the root cause of the problem.
Author and Christian counsellor Jay Stringer describes this situation in his book Unwanted: How sexual brokenness reveals our way to healing. In a study of more than 3800 people struggling with unwanted sexual behaviours, it was found that most were attracted to situations and behaviours that addressed some wound or hole they had in their life. He has found that by helping to heal that brokenness first, people have more success, not needing to seek out porn and thereby escaping the binge/purge cycle.
His research also reveals 59 per cent of people struggling with unwanted sexual behaviour did not feel as though they had someone to talk to and only 20 per cent of respondents diligently pursued someone they could talk to when they were struggling with sexual behaviour. Shame and isolation fuel the problem. This is another area where the Church can help by inviting people into safe relationships where they can heal and transform.
As a Church we must advocate to make porn less accessible and the industry more regulated. We must preach and teach, not just a message of abstinence but a message of healing from brokenness. We must understand the problem and the solutions so we can offer appropriate help, including pointing people to professionals. And we must be more open about the problem.
In the March 18 issue of Record, you’ll find two important articles that highlight the problem. And if you’re looking for help or resources to help others, the General Conference-developed online course Gateway to Wholeness is a good place to start.
