Secret Sin: Looking at Pornography’s Impact on Pastors, Christians, and Churches

(Alert: This is not for the McDonald’s Drive-Thru Crowd who want a 300 word article that they can cram into their minds and run to the next headline or video. If you’re in a rush, save it, or print it out and read it when you have time to give serious consideration to what’s said here. You might be saving someone’s life. You might be helping someone escape utter chaos and devastation to their physical, psychological, mental, spiritual and marital well being.)

Porn is a dark cloud that is creeping over the moral landscape of Christianity. It’s raising serious questions as to what it all means for Christianity as a whole and Christians in particular. As a side-note, this is a moral plague that troubles the Muslim world, as well, and many leaders have spoken out against this moral decay.
Let’s start this out with these three questions:

• 1. When was the last time you heard a sermon or a warning from the pulpit of your church in which the pastor warned people against the dangers of pornography?
• 2. Do you believe pornography poses any kind of threat to the Church and Christians in particular?
• 3. What would you do, as a church member, if you knew your pastor indulged in the viewing of pornography?

SOME STARTLING STATISTICS ABOUT CHRISTIANS & PORN

• 89% of Christian college men watch porn at least occasionally
• 61% of Christian college men view porn weekly
• 24% of Christian college men watch porn daily or multiple times a day
• 51% of Christian college men said they were addicted to porn

PORN IS A MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR BUSINESS ( 1)

It is difficult to estimate the global porn industry revenue but estimates on the lower end are around $100 billion. That’s not Million–it’s BILLION. And, that’s an estimate that is on the low end. This includes revenue from video sales and rentals, internet sales, cable, pay-per-view, and more. The United States is a significant producer of this societal cancer-like malignancy, churning out over $13 billion annually of its addictive material. It like having a machine that prints money (2).

PORN FEEDS THE HUMAN TRAFFICKING INDUSTRY

Historically, the porn industry has had alleged connections to organized crime, particularly during the pre-internet era when the Mafia had a very substantial investment in the distribution of pornographic films and magazines. Once the internet went big, there was a huge shift to that digital platform and the dominance of organized crime waned. However, gangs stepped into the industry in some rather unique ways. A kind of spin-off of porn erupted as dark forces came to realize that porn was the perfect magnet for an even older industry: prostitution. However, it was prostitution with a modern twist.

EPSTEIN’S BUSINESS: A BUSINESS BORN FROM THE SEEDS OF PORN

As the porn industry created a huge hunger for “the real thing,” men like Epstein, the Ultra Pimp, took advantage of the market demand. Epstein created a very unique business. He created a recruiting service targeting minor girls that devolved into what we now call “sex trafficking.” Porn created his customers.

He was eventually arrested and charged with molesting a 14 year old Florida child in 2006, but due to some very powerful connections and some very high-powered and very well connected and smart lawyers, he managed to get off with the proverbial slap on the wrist (3). There was an attempt to charge him on a federal level but again, due to connections and some undeniable good “lawyering” the federal efforts mysteriously evaporated.

We know Epstein’s business involved the rich and famous. These were men who wanted to indulge in their sexual fantasies brought to a boil by their porn addictions. However, because of their positions and fame, their ability to do what the ordinary man does, i.e., visit a local prostitute, was fairly limited. Epstein’s clientele dared not even use the services of some of the “high class” prostitute services that abound in our cities.

Epstein’s services were designed exclusively for such men. He provided everything from a private jet, a secret island, and nameless women of Jeff Eall ages (including minors). The services were guaranteed to be “secret” (unfortunately for them, flight logs turned out not to be so secret). That brings instantly to mind the following words of Jesus: “For there is nothing hid which shall not be manifested; nor secret which shall not be exposed” (Mar 4:22).

THE PORN INDUSTRY FEEDS THE DEMAND FOR SEX (4)

There is a huge market for prostitutes in our world, today. Pornography has fueled the urge of men who consume it to experience the real thing. That’s one of the things porn does. It leaves one unsatisfied and feeds a growing desire in men to actually meet women like the ones they see on videos. One man, a former purchaser of sex from prostitutes said: “The relationship I had with pornography was definitely progressive. It came to a point where it was like, ‘Ah, I need to experience what I’m seeing.'” (5)

Epstein’s business satisfied that desire for many of the very rich and famous. But, there are thousands of businesses who, like Epstein, have come to recognize what the Mob learned over a hundred years ago: Sex is a huge business. The problem is in supplying the demand. Thus, porn has created a market for prostitution on a level that has never existed in the world. The market is so huge that those supplying services have difficulty providing those services.

The reason for the difficulty in fulfilling the demands of that market is (a) women age and many women come to their senses and leave the industry, so there exists a constant turn-over of “help;” and (b) as the number of young men who have grown up consuming porn, they convert into a steady stream of customers.

THE TOP 5 DISTRIBUTORS OF PORN

The porn industry is dominated today by mostly corporate entities. While there is no clear and convincing evidence connecting these companies to gangs or criminal enterprises, an argument still exists that they are creating a market that involves the recruiting and kidnapping of humans who are taken in order to satisfy the desires in millions of men and women that they have, with their materials, created.

1. MINDGEEK – Canada
2. Vivid Entertainment – Los Angeles, CA
3. Wicked Pictures (subsidiary of MindGeek) – Los Angeles, CA
4. Digital Playground – Burbank, CA
5. Evil Angel – Los Angeles, California

HUMAN TRAFFICKED VICTIMS FEATURED IN PORN VIDEOS (6)

Some major porn sites like Pornhub have been implicated in hosting videos of underage trafficking victims and other victims who were either coerced or defrauded into performing sex acts on camera. The GirlsDoPorn case in 2022 is a perfect example of that. The founder, Michael Pratt was arrested for sex trafficking charges. He is just one who got caught. Tens of thousands have and are actively engaged in providing porn material featuring children and women kidnapped for the sex and porn industry.

As a result of the case and a New York Times exposé which found Pornhub hosted videos of child sex abuse and even rape, major credit card companies cut ties with the site in 2020. Pornhub quickly deleted millions of videos in its haste to stop any further investigations into its videos and whether or not there were children or other criminal videos in its collection.

HUMAN SEX TRAFFICKING IS BIG BUSINESS FUELED BY PORN (7)

The National Human Trafficking Hotline shows that as early as 2020, pornography was the primary venue for kidnapped women and children for the sole purpose of trafficking these victims as sex slaves (8). The porn industry is known to fuel demand for buying sex, which, as previously stated, increases the demand for prostitution, making tens of thousands of men who frequent prostitutes complicit in the sex traffic trade. The likelihood of a man using the sexual services of a prostitute who was kidnapped or is held against her will in the industry is extremely high.

THE PORN INDUSTRY CREATED A BLACKMAIL INDUSTRY

But, the evil doesn’t stop there. Once in the industry, whether by forceful kidnapping, coercion, fraudulent actions (such as conning young, ignorant girls into believing they were going to become “movie stars,”) or ignorant I-just-need-a-job “volunteers,” these sex-trafficked children become victims again even if they want out. They are now open to blackmail. Some women and young children who somehow manage to escape the never ending horror-story in which they’ve been featured are often blackmailed. A young woman marries, has children and attempts to live a normal life is suddenly confronted with demands to either return to the industry or pay the criminals to not expose their past life. (If there’s a way to make a buck, these monster who prey on humans will find it.)

KIDNAPPING CHILDREN TO SATISFY THE LUSTS FUELED BY PORN

In an effort to satisfy the demand, gangs have learned that they can earn tens of millions of dollars selling women…and children. What fuels the demand? The porn does. Because porn creates a desire in millions of men to experience more than just “ordinary” sex, i.e., sex between a man and woman, these men whose normal sexual desires have been perverted, now want something new. They want strange sexual adventures. They want younger women.

And, they want children.

Georgia Has over 7000 Perverts Who Regularly Molest Children

In a state that has been in the headlines of late, Georgia has another claim to fame. A study found that 7,200 Georgia men professed to having monthly sex with minor girls 8,700 times (9). It is generally believed that Georgia is representative of most highly populated states statistically.

Statistics suggest there is nearly 50 million in slavery worldwide. Of that amount, 35% are children. The vast majority of the child trafficking victims are girls, which is estimated to be nearly 70%, and most of those are for sex trafficking, not just labor. Sometimes, they end up being sex slaves and are then turned into slave labor (10). The data suggests that over half of trafficked humans end up as sexual slaves somewhere in the world and that most of them are under the age of eighteen (11).

HUMAN TRAFFICKING FILLS THE DEMAND FOR PORN & SEX INDUSTRY

Thousands of businesses have been started to fill the demand and each year, new ones spring into existence, ranging from wealthy individuals to small-time operators using their girlfriend. Most of these businesses cater to the ordinary male. Some cater to the rich and famous. There’s a business to satisfy every perversion and every level of our society that exists. Thousands of businesses cater to every whim and sexual fantasy of every segment of society, from the rich and famous, to the ordinary “joe,” supplying the weird, the bizarre and the kinky.

The sex industry will vomit whatever pleasure the consumers demand. But, the one thing common to them all is the need to replenish the workforce. The trafficking of humans is a necessary evil to this business. Thanks to pornography and the total absence of restrictions by governments, our world has birthed, by our governments’ refusal to acknowledge and recognize the inherent evil in this industry, the business of Human Trafficking. You can that all the lawyers, judges and politicians who helped make it happen.

IS THE US GOVERNMENT IN THE HUMAN TRAFFICKING BUSINESS?

The suppliers of this sex-traffic workforce range from the casual to the dark side, to wit, volunteers to kidnapping and/or force.  They range from family members, to spouses, even parents, to the inevitable, the kidnappers. It’s long been known that gangs regularly recruit and forcibly take young women and children and walk them across the border into America where they become part of the sex industry work force.

In the pre-Biden days, when the border had greater protections and the ability to legally get into the country was not the proverbial “walk in the park,” the methodology of the gangs who prey on immigrant women and children crossing the border was different. Then, they would usually give assistance clothed in smiles and assurances of work, helping them in various ways, in order to get a targeted woman or child into America. Sometimes, they’d act as “advisors” and sometimes, they’d even do direct smuggling. Once across the border, the gang would take direct control of their victim. Today, they’ve managed to reduce their overhead and the costs and manpower have been drastically cut. Now, they can simply walk their targets across the border, never losing sight of them. And, because of the huge influx of illegal immigrants within the borders of America, they can prey on the women and children from within US borders.

Conclusion: The current administration and those politicians supporting the present policy, who controls the US government, by its absolute refusal to enforce laws regarding illegal immigrants, can be said to be actively participating in human trafficking.

And, that raises questions. Serious questions.

Some have argued that the purpose of the current political powers in control have adopted the “let everyone in, even the criminals,” policy because they view them all as prospective voters that will become wedded to their party.

Perhaps. But, now I’ve got some doubts.

Given the evidence and given the billions of dollars and the rising power of the gangs politically and their connections, politically, is there another, more sinister motive at play? Is there serious money being made by someone who has serious political power to effect the “hands off” policy with our borders? It’s a legitimate question. We are all too jaded to be shocked or surprised at what some politicians will do for money.

While I’m not suggesting our current President is doing that, I do have serious concerns that someone, or several “someones”  in the current administration or party, is making money from the gangs (whose incomes are in the billions, more than some nations). And, if that isn’t true, then the needle points to somewhere deeper in the bowels of our government.

Bottom line: The gangs (or China?) are paying big money to have open access to America. They are paying it to facilitators. That means there are high level government individuals   involved at various levels.

There is some support of elements of the US government being involved in human trafficking. Some credible evidence, most of it kept under wraps by the “Confidential” stamp that every Congressman has in a desk drawer,  suggests  the existence of some very dark and sinister forces buried within our own government.  That’s pretty scary when you get to thinking about it. The old saying of “where there’s smoke, there’s fire” is appropriate here. While this writer isn’t in a position to do any serious investigation of that, there are no doubt some good investigative journalists out there doing just that. And, perhaps some of the good elements within our own government, FBI, etc., are doing it. Regardless, the evidence has dots that seem to  connect to  elements within our government being engaged in human trafficking.

(See the video at the end of this article.)

ANCIENT ROME: A PORN SITE CHRISTIANS FORCED TO VIEW

Porn is not a new evil. In Rome, porn was the norm. Athletes regularly practiced in the nude. Men and women bathed together. It was common for slaves to serve food at banquets in the nude. Prostitution was rampant. It was not uncommon for the elite, “high society” women to have male prostitutes brought to them on a regular basis. (Something the very rich in today’s world no doubt have done for a long time.)

It was expected that married men would have multiple sexual encounters with different women during the course of a marriage. Rome was as corrupt as America.

Christians who walked around in Rome had to purposely guard their eyes. Women were as undressed and immodest then as they are today. They did not have a choice about changing a channel or choosing not to click on a porn site. Walking outside their door brought them to the home page of a porn site.

MANY CHRISTIANS ARE REGULAR CONSUMERS OF PORN (12)

Today’s walk-through of our version of Rome is different. There’s little need to see porn just by walking down the streets or going to the bath houses. In today’s world, watching dirty movies is not exactly something that someone is likely to share with you unless you’re involved in watching it with them. Now, there is a growing segment of the population who have no hesitation about watching such material openly. But, that’s not true of the Christian community. For the Christians indulging in the viewing of pornography, it is a hidden vice. They all know it is not something Christians should do.

Men who are not Christian and have no business or other associations that could make it an issue for them in their careers or at home, tend to be more open about their participation in the viewing of pornography. Other men, particularly professionals, tend to hide the fact they watch porn since it could have an impact on their careers or with their immediate superiors who could be a stern opponent of pornography.

MOST COLLEGE CHRISTIAN YOUNG MEN WATCH PORN (13)

• 89% of Christian college men watch porn at least occasionally
• 61% of Christian college men view porn weekly
• 24% of Christian college men watch porn daily or multiple times a day
• 51% of Christian college men said they were addicted to porn

Think about what those numbers are really saying. These nearly 90% Christian young men are professing Christians. These are young men who are our future leaders, our future pastors, future husbands, future fathers and leaders in our churches. These are young men who have, for the most part, participated in church activities in Church youth departments. They have sat and listened to years of Bible lessons, some almost all their lives. And yet, over half of them are addicted to porn. Half! And, nearly 90% still watch it…occasionally.

OVER HALF THE TEENS IN YOUR CHURCH WATCH PORN

The stats get worse. Here are some rather startling statistics gathered in the Barna survey funded by the Proven Men’s Ministries. In 2022, The Conquer Series wrote that 68% of church-going men view porn on a regular basis and 76% of young Christian adults ages 18-24 do regular online searches for pornography. In a 2022 article from Beggar’s Daughter only 13% of self-identified Christian women say they never watch porn, meaning 87% have viewed pornography. Think about those numbers.

Look at it this way: Let’s say you have a youth group of 50 teens in your church. Assume there are 25 boys in that group. That means in this Christian church youth group, 19 of those young boys are doing internet searches for porn on a regular basis. Josh McDowell Ministry reports that 94% of children will see porn by the age of  (14).

Looking back to 2014, in surveys done by the Barna Group (14) and Proven Men Ministries (15), it was shown that 77% of Christian men from 18-30 looked at porn at a minimum of once a month, while another survey showed 36% of Christian men in that age group looked at porn daily and 32% of the admitted that they were addicted to pornography.

Barna revealed in 2016 from their research that 41% of male “practicing Christians” as young as 13, to the age of 24 searched for and watched porn multiple times a month, which 13% of Christian girls sought out porn from the internet at least once or twice a month which young women up to the age of 24 watched porn at the same level of frequency. Josh McDowell Ministry (16) reports that 94% of children will see porn by the age of  fourteen.

If this were an addiction to alcohol, we’d be screaming from our pulpits about the harm alcohol was doing to our young men. Imagine a third of your young men showing up in church with the smell of alcohol on their breath and when speaking with them, slurring their words and clearly under the influence of alcohol.

But, one cannot see a porn addiction. So, the ignorance of the church members and the pastors remains.

CHRISTIAN PARENTS & CHURCHES  IGNORE THE PORN PROBLEM BUT THEIR KIDS DON’T IGNORE THE PORN

Sitting in the pews of your church are men and young boys who, according to statistics, have a likelihood of being actively engaged in watching porn. And, although they do it in  a lesser degree, so do some of the girls in your  church.

If you are a parent, ask yourself this question. Would I be okay with my daughter marrying a man who watches pornography? Or, flip the question if you have a son. Would you be accepting of your son marrying a young girl who watches porn? If not, why not? What would be your problem? What misgivings would you have?

Would you worry that your son-in-law would one day seek to fulfill his fantasies and instead of the actress sexually arousing him via the internet will seek the real thing? Would that worry you?

It should. Statistics suggest that eventually, a man who watches pornography will want to quit being an observer and instead, become a participant. He will look for someone he hopes will act like the women he sees in the videos. So yes, you should be concerned.

And, if it is your son who is going to marry a girl engaged in watching porn, the same thing is applicable. She is going to want to satisfy her sexual fantasies with another man, eventually. Additionally, she is vulnerable to men who are constantly seeking a new sex partner. By watching pornography, your daugher-in-law is more vulnerable to seduction by a man other than her husband–your son.

So, once again: Should you worry about who your son or daughter is going to marry? Or, perhaps the better question is: Are you bothered by the fact that your son or daughter might be indulging in the viewing of pornography? If you take the typical, “Oh, my Johnny would never do something like that!” declaration, you’re being extremely nieve.

CHRISTIAN PASTORS IGNORE THE PORN SNAKE SLITHERING UNDER THE PEWS. WHY?

Pastor, are you looking at the young men sitting in your church and realizing the struggles they are having with this issue today? You had sexual temptations as a young men. But, you did not have the deluge of material available to you, growing up, that young children have today. You didn’t have the horrific load of pornography so easily available to these young people today.

Where did the church go wrong? Where did the parents go wrong? Why would this particular sin manage to ensnare their children (and themselves) in such a huge proportion? And, how can we protect against this venomous attack on our churches, on Christian men and women, on our children, and even on our pastors? What’s the reasons for our huge failure and how can we correct this failure? There are questions that must be addressed by the Body of Christ today.

ADULT CHRISTIAN MEN STRUGGLE WITH WATCHING PORN

Nearly two decades ago, in the early 2000’s, around 50% of Christian men said in a ChristiaNet poll, said they were not mere observers of pornography, but admitted they were actually addicted. According to a report by Focus on the Family done in 2000, 63% of the men attending “Men, Romance & Integrity Seminars” admitted to having a struggle with pornography. Two-thirds of that group were church leaders while 10% of them were pastors (17). These men are now parents and sitting in a pew somewhere. Some of them are leading churches, directing activities, going on Missions trips, conducting Bible studies, etc. The question arises: Are they still addicted? Did they repent? Did they seek and get assistance? Where can they get help? (At the end of this article, you will find a link to a valuable resource by Focus on the Family.)

CHRISTIAN WOMEN WATCH PORN

There is a growing number of Christian women who admit to watching pornography. That number, as well as the ones with the men and the pastors are no doubt higher  than those given in this article. Most Christians who commit this sin would are unlikely to admit to indulging in this sin.

Since there is enormous evidence of the propensity of today’s female population to wear clothing that is often seductive, and is often very revealing of the body, it should be no surprise that women would also indulge in watching porn. And, since they are an integral part of the pornography industry, logic alone should tell us that there would be a significant portion of women who would watch porn.

While the numbers of Christian women watching porn regularly do not match that of the men, there still is a large number of women who watch it or are addicted to porn. Today’s Christian Woman in 2003 wrote that 34% of all Christian women struggled with an addiction to pornography (18).  ChristiaNet.com wrote in 2006 that 60% of women answering a survey struggled with viewing pornography on a regular basis (19).  In 2003, Today’s Christian Woman noted that  one out of every six women, including Christians, struggled with an addiction to pornography (20).

It is clear that as the online access to porn has grown, so have the numbers of women admitting to having a struggle with this sin.

CHRISTIAN PASTORS WATCH PORN

Christianity Today wrote in 2001 that 51% of pastors admitted that “cyberporn” was a temptation while 37% said it was a “current struggle.” They also wrote that 4 in 10 pastors had admitted to visiting a porn site. Convent Eyes and other studies done in the early 2000’s showed that 30% of pastors had viewed pornography within the last 30 days (21).

Those are startling statistics. This degenerate, aberrant behavior is so far off the scale of acceptable Christian behavior that it staggers the mind to think that any man who calls himself a pastor would indulge in this behavior.

But, it is reality.

Pornography is not only in our church pews. It’s in our pulpits. Men and women sit in the pews after having gone through their week viewing multiple pornographic images, listening to a pastor telling them about Jesus and His teachings, after having gone through his week viewing multiple pornographic images and movies.

There should be no surprise that so many of our churches have lost their moral influence on the world. And, it is no wonder that so many churches do not address the issue of porn. It’s hard to preach against pornography and warn the people when its a wicked pleasure in which the pastor indulges his flesh.

Some will raise the argument that “Well, we’re all human.” Or, they’ll defend it by some inane argument that sounds like “Sin is sin. Some are addicted to coffee, some to sweets. We’re all struggling with something.”

The simplest, direct and most authoritative response to such nonsense is the biblical admonition that says: “But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints” Eph 5:3 (KJV). And, in case it wasn’t clear, the Apostle Paul wrote: “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. (12) For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret” (Eph 5:11-12).

There are no reputable Christian churches or reputable Christian leaders who would deny that pornography should never be a part of a Christian’s life. Nor would any argue against the declaration that pornography should not even be once named as a habit or a sin that has a pastor in its grip. Those would would seek to justify a pastor indulging in such behavior are fringe Christians (those who stay as close to the edge of sin as they can) at best and at worst, are participators.

PASTORS WHO WATCH PORN ARE DISQUALIFIED

The mere fact that a pastor has watched porn in the past is not something that should cause him to resign his office, as long as it is a sin from which he has repented, i.e., apologized to God and turned away from practicing.  A pastor needs to absolutely close the door on that sin.

However, if a pastor is unable to control his sexual lust, then we know for a fact that such a man is not close to God. Such a man is not qualified to serve as a pastor. Scriptures tell us “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh” (Gal 5:16). The converse of that is this: “If you do not walk in the Spirit, you WILL fulfill the lusts of the flesh.”

A pastor has to have a “good report” amongst not just the congregation he serves, but amongst “them which are without.” In the book of Romans, the Apostle Paul, in writing about those who “did not like to retain God in their knowledge” went on to describe the things these people did. One of those things was “fornication” (Romans 1:29).

Jesus equated viewing porn with committing adultery (Matt. 5:28).

Such a pastor (one who watches porn) will become a “talking head.” He will be a man giving pep talks and speeches to a congregation. There will be little spiritual value to his words. Oh, he may be a very effective and powerful speaker and may be a motivating speaker. But on a spiritual level, he will be a talking head with little spiritual value.

In short, if a pastor does not walk in faith, to wit, does not walk with God, does not walk in the Spirit, then he is walking in the flesh. We know this: flesh produces flesh. It is an axiom that is absolute. It is the work we do in the Spirit, by the Spirit, that becomes a “good work.” Therefore, when a pastor who is into porn goes into the pulpit, the message he preaches is not a good work done in the Spirit. The value of such “talks”  while not worthless, does not have the spiritual value it could have had  were it a work done under the power and inspiration of God’s Spirit.

TALKING HEADS NOT WANTED IN THE CHURCH PULPITS

Our churches do not need talking heads in the pulpit. We do not need men who are saying one thing and doing another. We do not need fake Christians in our pulpits. We do not need men who have no control over their flesh. Our churches are filled with such men.

For those who would argue that this reasoning would cause all fat pastors to have to resign because, “sin is sin, blah, blah, blah,” they need to blah recognize that there are degrees of sin. Not all sins are equal. While gluttony is a sin and a man should work to control that, there are medical reasons this could be a problem. And, there are reasons that reach all the way back into childhood and how the parents, particularly the mother, fed her children.

Sexual sins are different and have different consequences. Overeating will not cause a man to have an affair with another woman, nor is it likely to cause a man to seek out a prostitute. A Christian man (or woman) who struggles with weight is not likely to seek a divorce over that issue.  A father or mother who has a weight problem isn’t something that could derail a child and turn them away from God.

Pastors who commit this sin and are unrepentant and cannot stay away from it permanently, needs to stay away from the pulpit permanently. The Apostle Paul said: “But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not be once named among you as becomes saints” (Eph 5:3).

ALL CHRISTIANS ARE VULNERABLE TO THIS SIN

Just because a man or woman is a Christian does not make him or her immune to this sin. This author once decided to do a book on the subject tentatively titled “The Dangers of Pornography.” However, after doing some preliminary research on the subject, including reading through some of the President’s Commission on Obscenity and Pornography Report (22) done in 1969-70, and viewing some   typical material, he realized he could not continue with the project.

Porn has a drug-like power to it and every Christian man and woman should be frightened at its power. Indeed,  a well known Christian man who’d accepted an invitation by the President to be part of the Commission, said that he had to have counseling afterwards because of the barrage of pure evil that he had to view. It disturbed him tremendously. The viewing of porn has a profoundly deep  psychological and spiritual impact on the viewers. As one Christian man said to me, “I felt the evil in it pulling me and gripping my mind.”

THE REAL IMPACT OF PORN ON THE CHURCH IS DISINTEGRATION

Churches are made up of people: men, women, boys and girls of all ages. Every church member has a home environment. Christians know that there is an evil being that in fact exists and its primary mission is to destroy God’s creation, particularly humans, and more particularly, Christians.

This alien creature cast from the heavens is called The Tempter by some, but known in the Bible as Satan. His weapons are many, but among them is a primary weapon: deception. This alien being has convinced many Christians that they can watch “a little porn” and it’s all right. He has whispered the lie into the minds of many men (as one man once admitted to me) that “it will help my marriage.” There are thousands of excuses one can make as for reasons to watch porn. However, not a single one is valid. And, the evidence is conclusive on that one. It does not help. It is an acid that disintegrates  a marriage.

MORAL DISINTEGRATION WITHIN MARRIAGES & THE CHURCH

We are seeing disintegration of morals amongst Christians on a horrific level. It’s causing a disintegration of marriages. It’s causing men and women to become adulterers. It’s creating dissatisfaction in the bedroom for men. The poor wife, ignorant of her spouse’s addiction, is unaware that she is competing with an image, an actress against whom she can never measure up to because she’s competing against a fantasy, against fiction, against her spouse’s imaginary sex partner. As a result, many marriages fail. And men, too late, learn that while the movies they watch are fiction, his marriage and his home and the disaster that he brought to it were not fiction. It’s all too real, and usually beyond repair.

Men also learn that their hunger for the “real thing” is a deadly desire in many other ways. Too late, they find themselves doing things they’d never have dreamed they’d ever do.

Porn often ruins a man’s relationship with their children as the children watch their father’s marriage dissolve before their eyes. Moreover, it is often the case that the “sins of the father” often trickle down and we see that it is a sin repeated in the life of a child. It not only can kill a marriage, it kills their spiritual effectiveness for Christ. It also kills such men and women of their ability to effectively perform spiritual “good works” as required by scripture (see Eph 2:10; Titus 2:7, 14). It kills their zeal, their desire to serve God and replaces that with a shame and feeling of degradation and unworthiness. They often become worthless insofar as being faithful workers in the church.

BE CAREFUL LITTLE EYES OF WHAT YOU SEE

There’s a timeless children’s song that says, “Oh, be careful little eyes, what you see…” that has been sung for many decades by Christian children in their Sunday School rooms or other church gatherings. Tens of thousands of those children are now grown and the words and the warning of that song has long since left their minds.

Will you, Pastor, remind your congregation of those words? And parent, will you take the time to put your children on your calendar to have some candid talks with them?

Here is a little lesson on FAKE CHRISTIANS that might be of help.

RESOURCES TO HELP YOU

Copyright 2024 Voyle Glover

END NOTES

1. https://theexodusroad.com/porn-and-human-trafficking-the-facts-you-need-to-know/
2. https://gitnux.org/pornography-industry-statistics/
3. https://apnews.com/article/epstein-maxwell-timeline-b9f15710fabb72e8581c71e94acf513e
4. https://fightthenewdrug.org/by-the-numbers-porn-sex-trafficking-connected/
5. https://exoduscry.com/articles/porn-and-trafficking/
6. https://www.endslaverynow.org/blog/articles/the-relationship-between-porn-and-human-trafficking
7. https://exoduscry.com/articles/porn-and-trafficking/
8. https://fighttoendexploitation.org/breaking-down-the-connection-between-pornography-and-sex-trafficking/
9. “The Problem of Demand in Combating Sex Trafficking,” “Smith and Vardaman

10. https://ourrescue.org/resources/education/human-trafficking-statistics
11. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10113716/
12. https://www.provenmen.org/pornography-survey-statistics-2014/
13. https://conquerseries.com/15-mind-blowing-statistics-about-pornography-and-the-church
14. https://www.barna.com/
15. https://www.provenmen.org/provenministries/
16. https://www.josh.org/
17. https://enough.org/stats_christians_online_porn_archives
18. https://enough.org/stats_christians_online_porn_archives
19. https://enough.org/stats_christians_online_porn_archives
20. https://enough.org/stats_christians_online_porn_archives
21. https://enough.org/stats_christians_online_porn_archives
22. https://archive.org/details/reportofcommissi0000unit_x3i9/page/n3/mode/2up