The Porn Problem

Now and again I use my blog to flag up issues of various kinds that I think people should be aware of, in addition to the multitude of posts that are quite literally my musings - which occasionally interest the wider world. Today's post is one of the first - and I want to briefly examine the issue of online pornography, and a way in which those in the UK can fight its influence on children and others. I rely heavily in this post on the facts that 'SafetyNet' have made available here, though obviously I draw ideas and stats from other sources in addition to this one. I'm also indebted to this article from the Resurgence, and some of the ideas and concepts in this Guardian article, too.


On with the post.

Pornography is a subject that is often taboo in the church - yet there are statistics which show that large numbers of pastors, leaders and churchgoers struggle with it. Pornography is a subject that is 'adult' by nature - but can have and is having a huge effect on young people. Pornography is a subject that is stereotypically associated with the male sex drive - but damages and degrades people of both sexes in a variety of awful ways. Pornography is generally associated with single guys in their bedrooms - but it has damaged and destroyed marriages, and is ultimately responsible for a great deal of relationship problems.

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Pornography is a huge issue.


It's an industry worth £61 billion as of 2006 Globally - and around £1 Billion in the UK.


Every second, 28,000 people are viewing Pornography online.


There are at least 4.2 Million Pornographic websites - representing around 12% of ALL sites on the web.

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It's an issue that Christians should be talking about. Standing up about. Praying about. And, yes, maybe even preaching about. It's an issue that touches on so many parts of the Christian world view. The core doctrine of Imago Dei. The idea of marriage. The value of human life. The value and place of sex. The care and love of parents for children. The 'good'. Pornography is not a small issue.


Pastors, priests, preachers and teachers all seek to teach what God says. And God talks about sex. He made it. He made it good. Pornography is something that is immensely insidious - to the point that it affects anyone, anywhere. From this site, its challenging that 53% of Christian men access pornography - and that 1 in 4 pastors will access it today. The internet - for all its good - has been abused. Christians, we need to pray for those that lead us that they will not succumb to the temptations of internet pornography. We need to pray for ourselves that we will not. There are ways to deal with it. One of the best ways is accountability, honesty and prayer - though tougher cases may require other help - and I was honoured a while back to host a guest post from Simon Fox, who wrote about "Last Man Standing", which is just such a movement, for young men.


Christians believe in the Doctrine of Imago Dei. For every human. My post on it was at the time of the death of Gaddhafi. Imago Dei, simply put, is the radical idea that every human, man or woman, bears the image of God. This makes humanity special - and it means that human beings are worthy of respect. Hundreds of thousands of people 'working' for the Porn Industry are being treated like objects - and one of the awful knock-on effects is that men see women as objects. Women are not objects. Not in sex, not in any way. Women are people - and the Porn Industry often sends the message that they are not. Christians need to be people who speak out for women, as image-bearers. As human beings. Closely related to the sex industry is of course human trafficking and modern slavery. These awful 'systems' are closely related to each other. Again, there are ways we can challenge the status quo. One such campaign, aimed at heightening awareness and raising funds to tackle modern-day slavery and human trafficking, is "Twenty Seven Million". A fully realised, lived out Doctrine of Imago Dei will necessarily result in Christians standing up, speaking out, and living radically.

Christians, historically and in Orthodox belief, have believed that marriage is the place where sex takes place - in the monogamous union of man and woman. Jesus taught it. Creation teaches it. Its always had that core. The debate about the redefinition of marriage has spawned a variety of posts on this blog - thats not the point of this post. If sex is to be for marriage - then any other kind is to be treated differently. Without wishing to be moralistic, sexual acts performed for the purposes of pornography fall FAR SHORT of God's revealed will for sexual expression. The damage that such pornography can have is terrifying. The aforementioned article from the Resurgence lists 7 ways that Pornography has a negative effect. It is worth reading and thinking about.


Christians have long had respect for the family. The Bible speaks often of it - and indeed one of the prime names for God, in his Trinitarian nature, is as Father and Son. The Old Testament has many instances of God showing his parental concern - and reams of advice for bringing up children. The family is important - not least because it is one of the fundamental building blocks of society. But Pornography is having an impact on children. The statistics make for sobering reading. As a sample, 1 in 3 10 year olds have seen pornography online, and 81% of 14-16 year olds regularly access explicit photographs and footage on their home computers. According to one estimate, the single largest group of internet pornography consumers are children aged 12-17. That is a particularly awful number. The harmful impact is sobering too. I'd recommend reading the article here that I linked to above. Particularly concerning is Mary Anne Layden's observation that;

 "it functions as a teacher, permission-giver, and a trigger of negative behaviours and attitudes. The damage is seen in men, women and children, and to both married and single adults. Pathological behaviours, illegal behaviours and some that are both illegal and pathological". 

That something so easily accessible, so part of our culture, so taboo and yet accepted, can have such impact, is an awful thing.

But we can do something. There are methods linked to above. There is always prayer. There are a myriad of charities devoted to fixing the Porn problem. One way in the UK that we can make a difference - Christian or non-Christian - is to sign the 'Safety Net' Petition. It's a great way to make the voice of reason heard. Safety Net seeks to persuade the Government by blocking pornography at the network level - whilst retaining the option for those who want to to 'opt-in'. Sign the petition here, and lets start to make a change!