The pollution of pornography

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8

I recently read in a Christian paper an interview with Ian Henderson, who heads an organisation called Naked Truth. I had never heard of this before, so I know nothing about it beyond that brief article. But I was challenged and disturbed by what I read.

Founded in 2013, Naked Truth exists to make us aware of the effects of pornography in our modern society and, even more, to offer support and guidance to the millions of people whose lives are blighted by it. I’m writing about it today simply because, from what I read, it deserves to be more widely known. (You may yourself, in fact, be someone who needs its help.)

It’s hard to know where to start in highlighting the seriousness of the situation. The statistics alone are alarming enough: one survey reckoned that 49 percent of the UK population had viewed porn on line. Not all of these will be habitual users, of course, but it’s still a figure to stop us in our tracks. And it’s not only men: “33 percent of visitors to porn websites are female”. Another survey found that “56 per cent of divorces cited excessive porn use as a cause of marital breakdown”. (Is there any such thing as porn use that isn’t “excessive”!)

But it’s the issue of availability that is, I think, most disturbing. An MP is quoted as saying, “What is illegal to buy from a sex shop because of UK laws is served up for free every day on line”.

And that, of course, is where children come into the picture – given that so many today have smartphones and other devices, and given that regulation is such a difficult area, who can be sure what they are viewing? The days of “grubby magazines” being passed around at the back of the class are long gone.

Both boys and girls are being fed with utterly false assumptions and expectations about what “normal” sexual experience means, with the result that when they get to adulthood the whole area has been poisoned and nothing in real life is “good enough”. Both boys and girls feel a failure because they don’t measure up. (No wonder other surveys report a rapid rise in mental health problems among young people, especially girls.)

As Christians we might be tempted to say “But of course nothing like that would happen in our church.” Don’t be so sure! Even solid Christians can fall foul of such temptation. We’re all familiar with the grim scandals that flare up from time of time, many involving porn or porn-related issues and often involving high-profile Christian leaders. We shake our heads and say “Who would have thought?”, but it just shows how naïve we are.

I attended a Christian conference many years ago which included a presentation by a small group of women who had experienced abuse of various kinds in their marriages; they were aiming to alert Christians to what was going on. Their husbands were often stalwarts of local churches, if not actual ministers and other church leaders. Very simply, they had a double life – a hidden life.

I wasn’t the only conference-attender whose eyes were opened that day. It happens, and we need to be awake to it.

I also had a friend who worked as a travelling salesman, involving nights spent away from home. He often noticed that the television in the rooms had very few of the regular channels, but several offering porn. He asked at reception why this was so, and was told, “We don’t really like it, sir, but the fact is that people just wouldn’t stay with us if we discontinued this, and business would dry up”. Porn and money are big friends…

Sorry if all this is pretty grim. It’s the sort of situation where we long for good news, and, beyond Christian platitudes, it’s hard to know what we can find. Well, Naked Truth is at least a glimmer in the darkness. Judging by what I read, it’s worthy of our prayers, our support and our interest. Is it something for you to pick up on?

May God help us all to offer the world a model of sexual purity (whatever our personal situation may be) and of marriage as God intended. We mustn’t, of course, panic or despair – God is always sovereign – but prayerful purity and truly Christlike sensitivity are the least we can offer up to him. If nothing more, sheer awareness.

Who knows how many lives might be saved that otherwise would be wrecked?

Perhaps most important of all… If any of us are in need of help in this area, the time to speak up and look for help is – right now. How many years of misery and despair might be saved?

Thanks be to our God that he is a loving, compassionate and forgiving God!

Father, please help all of us as we grapple with issues of our own sexuality. Please have mercy on those who have fallen foul of this corrupt trade – men and women, parents and children, especially those who are far gone in addiction. And please greatly use Naked Truth and other such ministries that are determined to make a difference. Lord, have mercy! Amen.