Posted on 09/09/2014 8:56:24 PM PDT by Morgana
In the spring of 2000, Zogby International asked more than a thousand U.S. adults whether they had ever visited a sexually-oriented web site. Only one in five had done so. Among born-again Christians, 18 percent had gone to such sites, just three percentage points less than the general public.
Well, fast forward to today. A group called Proven Men Ministries commissioned the Barna Group to examine current pornography use. You might want to sit down for this—Barna found that 64 percent of American men and 20 percent of women view pornography at least monthly. And for Christian men, that number is 55 percent.
Fourteen years ago, only one out of every three men had ever gone to a pornography site, but now nearly one-third of men under 30 do so on a daily basis. And if you think it can’t get worse, the survey found that 18 percent of men believe they may be addicted to pornography. That’s more than 20 million men in deep trouble.
Friends, take a moment to let this sink in. More than half of Christian men in America routinely expose themselves to sexually explicit lies that shape the way they see sex, love, marriage, and women. I don’t think it’s an overstatement to say that this is a crisis for the Church and certainly for our culture. If these numbers are accurate in any sense, and I believe they are, we’ve reached a time of reckoning.
One of the first things to realize is that rampant pornography use can’t be isolated from its larger cultural context. So many of our social ills stem from the fact that society is losing or abandoning the ability to see people as beings made in the image of God.
With crime, victims are treated as obstacles to overcome or things to exploit. Abortion sees people as disposable because he or she is inconvenient. Pornography treats people as objects in service of self-gratification. We’ve become this “use or be used” society.
And so, if we are to reclaim the sacred dignity of every human person amidst this brutish culture, we must turn inward. We’re all tempted to point angry fingers at those sinners “out there” that we think are degrading our culture. But even as Miley Cyrus flaunts herself on stage in front of millions, tens of millions of Christians are secretly watching pornography while their churches stay silent as tombs about the issue.
It may be that we in the church should revisit the story of the self-righteous Pharisee in Luke 18. If these survey results are true, we can no longer stand in the front of the church patting ourselves on the back for not being like those sexual sinners out there. Instead, together we can lower our face before God and say, “Have mercy on me, a sinner.”
Although this survey grieves me, I remain hopeful that through true evangelism and service, and by praying and seeking spiritual renewal in our churches, we have an incredible opportunity to reach out with the Good News of Jesus Christ to the hidden, the lost, and the ashamed. And right now, there are plenty of folks—millions even—waiting along the highways and byways for an invitation to the wedding feast of the Lamb. And invite them we must.
The Bible warns us many times that the sexually immoral will not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. People’s eternal lives are at stake, including many who we call brother and sister each week in church.
We can keep pretending this isn’t an issue facing our friends, neighbors, and our very families, or we can do something about it. Click here to learn more about how to get started. We have links to all kinds of resources and organizations that can help.
And, above all, pray for our Christian leaders who must begin to address this issue head on. And let me be clear, it won’t be easy. The topic of pornography is so difficult, embarrassing, and painful for many Christians to talk about. But talk about it we must.
Reprinted with permission from Breakpoint.org.
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Got over that 35 years ago. Probably should be praying for those who aren’t so fortunate.
This is one of the root reasons that civilization is teetering on the edge of collapse.
That and many who called themselves “Christians” have not the slightest clue what the word means.
Porn study couldn’t find a man who hasn’t viewed porn
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/252909/scitech/science/porn-study-couldn-t-find-a-man-who-hasn-t-viewed-porn
25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV.
26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as "normal, natural, healthy."
Disgusting.
4 per cent MONTHLY// is that all?
“Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV. “
I’m glad to see there are FReepers here who get it!!!!
bookmark
Stunning numbers.
To simply say that “X” percent of men have seen one of these sites is the equivalent of comparing someone driving 75 mph in a 70 mph zone with the guy going 120 mph. All sin may be equal in the eyes of God but not all crimes are equal on Earth.
There is a difference between someone that has seen it, maybe even looked a site up and those that go there regularly or someone who did but has stopped. There might even be a few legitimate reasons to have looked at those sites
For example, I was tasked several years ago to create a list of porn sites that would be blocked on a university web site. Thus I have spent hours searching for porn on the internet. I created a document that was about three pages long with the various URLS but I doubt you’d say I habitually view porn.
Long article, too impatient to read all of it, however, were do they get the statistics that
among born-again Christians, 18 percent had gone to such sites?
If it is just through surveys, how do they know all those surveyed and answered (as part of the 18 percent) were truly Christian?
Many go to church and yet are not Christian.
At the risk of being called a prude or an old fogey, it does bother me that while Free Republic rightly takes a zero-tolerance approach to the homosexual agenda, the evil promulgated by smut peddlers is oft taken with little more than a smirk. In reality, they are two heads of the same vile monster, a monster that the commies use to undermine the Biblical foundation of America.
I spent half a day using a state government computer searching them because a job-seeking client wanted a job in that field. I was not to judge someone’s preference in that regard and when the higher-ups asked me about it I had the client come in and talk to them. Never heard another peep about it.
What used to be classified as soft porn has invaded the mainstream in so many ways. It’s almost impossible to avoid this medium completely. Even Auto Insurance Commericals will use sex or sexiness to pique your interest. The FEC or whatever rarely fines anybody anymore. Didn’t Colin Powell’s son hold an office in media standards for a while? I believe he, among others became a willing facilitator of looser standards and watered down penalties as to what could be shown or said during prime time.
This is kind of off the topic but why not just use a service like OpenDNS which, with the help of its users, has compiled many thousands of sites with objectional content, keyed by type (i.e. porn, violence, etc.).
You are correct but I think Jim has gotten rid of many of the libertines over the years.
I am surprised the number are that low. Pornography consumption is give or take universal in young males.
Maybe you’ve missed all the “I’d hit that!” posts.
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