Posted on 01/09/2002 7:29:19 AM PST by truthandlife
Pornography – the written and/or graphically portrayed uncovering of nakedness, especially in acts of fornication – grips the hearts and lives of many Christian men and, according to recent surveys, twenty percent of ministers. It tempts potential patrons from its store shelves and by mail, and it champions over three million websites, enticing over twenty percent of online viewers.
Porn appeals to an undisciplined culture (both inside and outside the church) that refuses to mature mentally and sexually. Specifically, many Christian men of all ages find it easier to view porn than to fulfill their God-given responsibilities to glorify their Lord and to love their spouses, their children, their estates, and their congregations.
As Christians, we would expect unregenerate men, who are in bondage to the sin of their Adamic nature, to embrace no conviction against viewing pornography. These men, as are all men before coming to Christ, are corrupt by nature and in need of spiritual rebirth, needing to call upon Christ Jesus for salvation. These men will only curtail or cease viewing porn when they are threatened civically (being jailed or imprisoned), professionally (getting fired), or domestically (being sued for divorce).
To the Christian, porn appeals to the workings of sin in the flesh (Rom. 7:23) that must yet be submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. It is unbiblical for the world or the church to think that a Christian cannot be tempted to view and to succumb to the viewing of porn during a time or times of weakness. Yet, having yielded to the beguiling temptation of viewing porn, the Christian must realize, as spoken by Christ Jesus, that he has sinned by committing fornication (in the case of the unmarried) or adultery (in the case of the married) in the heart – sins which Jesus says will deprive one of eternal life.
For the Christian minister, porn can be alluring as he manages his pressures to serve others, his solitary work environment, his mental exhaustion, and perhaps, his frustrations resulting from his entering the ministry as a novice not fully disciple himself. If he also has relationship and sexual difficulties at home, then porn becomes for him an easy, seemingly victimless escape. However, when he views porn, he jeopardizes the ministry that his God has entrusted to him. 1 Timothy 3:4-5 is clear that the minister’s household must be in order for him to retain his ministry, and, thus, his admitting his habitual porn use exposes problems in his own household, which he must correct lest he be ministerially disqualified. Often, the tremendous guilt that follows is difficult to jettison because the minister is supposedly required to be not only “perfect” but is also forbidden to confess his faults to his brethren (contrary to James 5:16), which would aid in his repentance and restoration.
All Christians: Shall you risk bringing reproach upon the name of our Lord Jesus for a season of lust-filled escape? Shall you risk destroying your own Christian reputations, marriages, families, and estates? Shall you risk jail or prison to fulfill your potentially illegal lusts before calling upon the name of our Lord to save you from yourselves? Do you realize that your viewing Internet porn can be and most likely is being monitored, if not by your bosses at work, then potentially by credit card companies and by porn sites themselves? Furthermore, have you considered that the hardness of your heart and your refusal to repent of this sin may prove indeed that you are no Christian at all, and are, therefore, in danger of eternal damnation? “I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?” (Job 31:1).
Never forget that all men will eventually appear before the judgment seat of Christ to give an account for the deeds done in this life. We, therefore, strongly urge both Christians and non-Christians to repent of this heinous sin and to beg God’s gracious pardon. Christians, if you confess your sin, God is faithful and just to forgive you of your sin. Get rid of your porn regardless of its form or format. Don’t place yourself in a position to view porn. Don’t allow your mind to be idle and filled with pornographic fantasies and thoughts. On the contrary, plan to stay mentally active and to replace pornographic thoughts with pure, holy, and natural thoughts (see Philippians 4:8). Pray for God’s grace to deliver you from the desire to view porn for His name’s sake. Pursue spiritual maturity and love (toward your wife, your children, your church, and your Lord) instead of gratifying your selfish, sinful desires.
Those of you who are spiritual are to restore, with a spirit of meekness, those who have fallen into this sin lest you also be tempted. God will forgive the sins of those who truly repent and turn from their sin.
Yes. And God takes a very dim view of much of what appears in modern-day pornography.
It might be interesting to fast forward your life and see what becomes of your marriage in say, 10 more years, but that would only make a point for your particular case. The larger picture is
Of course you would volunteer your daughter on your altar now wouldn't you ?
It's only software, substantially different
Is slavery relevant anymore ?
Yes I have and have studied it in detail and usually the person who is offended about what the true message of the Bible is or does not believe in the Bible and not a Christian uses this tired old argument "hard core pornography could not ever hope to hold a candle to the sexual, political, religious, real life, historical soap opera we call the Old Testament of the Holy Bible."
It is ridiculous to compare the Old Testament to pornography on the internet.
She told me when we married she wouldn't put up with "none of that stuff", so when a scantily clad woman crosses the screen she covers my eyes and we joke about it. When I was younger I thought she was nuts, but as I aged I saw the wisdom in her actions. I take it as a compliment...that my love and fidelity are so important to her after 30 years.
Personally, porn is something I can take or leave. I delete all the porn spam I get immediately without opening it. That's the way to handle porn - ignore it, and DON'T MESS WITH AMENDMENT I.
Yea right. That's what you want us to think, but if that was true, then God would have sunk Hollywood into the ocean over 20 years ago.
Why don't you control freaks quit using the Holy Bible to push your elitist views on the rest of us.
It is not working anymore because we know better than to believe you.
I picked the handle "Gerbil" back in the days when I was posting messages on various BBS and FIDOnet groups. I wanted something other than what seemed to be the typical choice of tough-sounding nicknames like "Doom Bringer", "World Destroyer", "Flaming Dragon", etc.
So I picked the name of a small furry desert rodent that many people keep as pets in a cage at home.
Little did I know then that I would be forever being asked if I was gay. Took me a while to figure it out...
The Screaming_Gerbil handle is because the image I had in mind was this cute furry little rodent screaming at the top of his little lungs...
Not that he's screaming because he's being inserted into some place dark and foreboding...
Bwaaahaahahahahhhaaaaa!!!! LOL. You may be right about never hearing about it, but it DOES happen. If you have an AOL email address your mail will be flooded with porn mail pretty quickly. Even quicker if you have a user "profile" or go into chat rooms. If you use a free email service such as Juno, you will also recieve unsolicited porn mail (I guess they sell their member lists).
I have NEVER visited a porn site, signed up to be a member of one or asked to be emailed information on one and have deleted thousands of porn solicitations in the 7 yrs I've had an email address.
Ah yes, the ever popular blanket statement based on nothing. Sure, some people don't smut responsibly, much like some people don't drink responsibly, others don't read responsibly (twice Patton had to take medical because his constant reading in poor lighting caused his eyes to swell shut). Any of these (or the infinite other things that people can obsess on) can ruin a person's life or marriage. But you can't apply it universally. Some people can partake of porn and move on.
Full disclosure: my wife got me my first subscriptions to Penthouse and Playboy as wedding presents. I let the PH one lapse, never really dug PH that much. I intend to keep the PB subscription as long as I keep the wife. Watching PB take up more and more bookshelf space (much as my marriage takes up more and more personal history space) is cool because of the linkage. See some folks can make it work and others can't.
Really? Would you mind quoting chapter and verse please? And then be prepared to defend what you say, for what you say is out of the mouth of one who has never read the Bible, old or new, and is ignorant of the Word of God as well as the word of God.
Alas
I'm just stating that real life (the Holy Bible) is than stranger and more twisted than fiction (porn).
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