{"id":22017,"date":"2019-03-07T19:40:57","date_gmt":"2019-03-08T03:40:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=22017"},"modified":"2019-03-07T18:52:24","modified_gmt":"2019-03-08T02:52:24","slug":"help-for-those-of-us-who-have-struggled-with-pornography","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/help-for-those-of-us-who-have-struggled-with-pornography\/","title":{"rendered":"Help For Those of Us Who Have Struggled With Pornography"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In our previous readings, Charles Taylor notes in A Secular Age<\/em>, “In almost all Western Societies during the 1970’s, the legal privatization of our sexual lives occurred through the legalization of abortion, divorce reform, authorization of pornographic films, and so on.” [1]<\/p>\n

I was only 7 years old when the 1973 Roe V. Wade decision legalized divorce nationwide, so I really don’t remember a thing about it. The taking of innocent life in the name of “women’s reproductive rights” still baffles me. A nurturing mother, carrying a precious life in her womb, however inconvenient or difficult, choosing to terminate her pregnancy? I cannot fathom it!<\/p>\n

California was the first U.S. state to pass a no-fault divorce law (California, what a big surprise). Its law was signed by Governor Ronald Reagan, a divorced former movie actor, future President of the United States, and came into effect in 1970. [2] I was only 6 years old in 1970, again no memory for me.\u00a0Today, I understand every state in America permits no-fault divorce, though requirements for obtaining a no-fault divorce vary.\u00a0At its convention in 1947, the National Association of Women voted to draft and promote a bill that would embody the ideal of no-fault divorce and describes its efforts to promote the passage of no-fault divorce laws as “the greatest project NAW has ever undertaken.” [3]<\/p>\n

Not at all letting men off the hook, Josh McDowell, international speaker from CRU (formerly Campus Crusade for Christ), recently told me there were 29 million pornographic websites currently available on the web. He lamented that in his estimation 57% of Pastors currently view porn, outlining that of the 120 pastors I lead, potentially 65 of them might be in jeopardy of moral failure. Thankfully, he helped me formulate a redemptive plan for restoration of those who will fail. Not if they fail, but when they fail. The beginning of that plan is outlined below:<\/p>\n

1. It takes 3-5 years to be completely free from pornography addiction because of our brain chemistry
\n2. You must cut it off at the source–Covenant Eyes is a program that helps!
\n3.\u00a0Accountability\u00a0is\u00a0a\u00a0must,\u00a0where\u00a0confession\u00a0occurs, and we do NOT automatically fire those addicted
\n4.\u00a0A\u00a0series\u00a0called\u00a0“Conquer”\u00a0is\u00a0helping\u00a0local\u00a0churches
\n5. Porn is the biggest issue facing the local church, marriage and counselors
\n6.\u00a057%\u00a0of\u00a0current\u00a0Pastors\u00a0are viewing porn
\n7. Porn is not the problem, it is only a coping mechanism for deeper hurts in a person’s life
\n8. Women also view porn and are the fastest growing segment of porn viewing
\n9. Don’t go it alone, announce it to someone you trust, admit “I have a problem” and own it
\n10. Christ’s victory can and does sanctify–don’t believe the lies of the enemy<\/p>\n

This brings me to the so called phenomenon of “private sexuality” described by this week’s author Jonathan Grant in\u00a0Divine Sex: A Compelling Vision for Christian Relationships in a Hypersexualized Age.\u00a0<\/em>[4]<\/p>\n

“The all-conquering narrative of modern freedom has driven a wedge of confusion into the sexual lives of Christians as they find themselves increasingly caught between two scripts: a cultural one and a Christian one.” [5]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Freedom? Seems to me the Bible talks a lot about freedom. Jesus did, too. In Luke 4:18, he said he had come to the earth to proclaim freedom (and to set the captives free), and on another occasion in John 8:36 he said, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” [6] I don’t think he said we would be free from the consequences of that freedom.<\/p>\n

Personal freedom? I thought we gave up our rights when we chose to follow Jesus. I am weary of using the excuses of consumerism, individualism, enlightenment, postmodernism, utilitarianism, expressivism, and whatever other isms Grant wants to cite. Our freedom was and is extremely costly. Jesus died for it. Why is it so easy to forget this?<\/p>\n

Now, let’s fast forward to our modern age, using the most dangerous word describing our current challenges of sexual immorality. This word is a faulty bridge between “private sexuality” and misguided “Freedom”. \u00a0I personally think this word is a bane for both women and men. \u00a0What is the word I am beginning to abhor? \u00a0It is CONSENT.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have often heard this word surrounding the Me Too movement (which I am not trivializing, because there has been terrible abuse to both women and men). Supposedly the\u00a0Shades of Grey<\/em> movies properly explain what consent means. Are you kidding me? Another form of the word consent is “consensual”. Can’t stand that word any more, either. Politicians often use it as rationalization for abhorrent behavior. I even heard of a new app bragging about its ability to provide legal consensual sexual promiscuity. Consenting adults involved in promiscuity? It’s wrong! Consensual sex outside of marriage is costly, for as Scripture says, “All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.” \u00a0I thought we were supposed to flee from sexual immorality!<\/p>\n

Our author, Grant, thankfully unveils the hypocrisy of consent. He says,<\/p>\n

“…there is nothing new about people seeking degrading sexual experiences. The problem is that this is becoming increasingly acceptable and even mainstream because our society now lacks a coherent moral framework within which these desires can be identified. On the basis of the modern principal that consent is king, it is difficult to challenge sexual immorality because everyone was a willing participant and left feeling “happy”. Yet this demonstrates the deep inadequacies of our cultural vision of freedom and sexuality.” [8]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I am going to finish reading our book for this week. This blog was finished before reaching page 65. There seems to be some very helpful information to follow, so I am going to read every word this time…<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

[1]\u00a0Taylor, Charles. A Secular Age<\/i>. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2018. 485.<\/p>\n

[2]\u00a0Wilcox, W. Bradford. “The Evolution of Divorce.”\u00a0National Affairs<\/i>. 2009. Assessed\u00a020 December\u00a0<\/span>2017<\/span>.<\/p>\n

[3] Baskerville, Steven.\u00a0Taken Into Custody: The War Against Fathers, Marriage and the Family.\u00a0<\/em>Cumberland, KY: Cumberland House, 2007.\u00a0234.\u00a0<\/cite><\/p>\n

[4]\u00a0Grant, Jonathan. Divine Sex: A Compelling Vision for Christian Relationships in a Hypersexualized Age<\/i>. Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, a Division of Baker Publishing Group, 2015. 54.<\/p>\n

[5] Ibid., 55.<\/p>\n

[6]\u00a0Barker, Kenneth L. Zondervan NIV Study Bible: New International Version<\/i>. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008. Luke 4:18, John 8:36.<\/p>\n

[7] Ibid., I Corinthians 6:18.<\/p>\n

[8] Grant. 63.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In our previous readings, Charles Taylor notes in A Secular Age, “In almost all Western Societies during the 1970’s, the legal privatization of our sexual lives occurred through the legalization of abortion, divorce reform, authorization of pornographic films, and so on.” [1] I was only 7 years old when the 1973 Roe V. Wade decision […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":96,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1477],"class_list":["post-22017","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-grant","cohort-lgp8"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22017","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/96"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22017"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22017\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22103,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22017\/revisions\/22103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}