A seductive struggle
men of faith
Porn and pastors – the two aren’t mutually exclusive. At the request of the Pastoral Relations Committee last year, Rev Ashley Davis investigated the extent of pornography use in Australian society, its effects on users and the implications for the Church. “Porn is pervasive in nature, which is supported and purported by its industrial desire for economic gains,” says Ashley. A significant worldwide industry, porn is taking in revenue greater than the combined returns of the top technology companies: Microsoft, Google, Amazon, eBay, Yahoo!, Apple, Netflix and EarthLink. “Though we’d like to believe Christians are immune to the prevalence of pornography, it has inveigled its way into most of our culture – including our churches.” Pastors agree. In March 2005, Christianity Today published the results of a study called ‘Christians and Sex’ in their Leadership
Journal. Out of 680 pastors surveyed, 57% said addiction to pornography is the most sexually damaging issue in their congregation. One local expert has even stated that more marriages are concluded because of the use of pornography than adultery, often because viewing porn can be done, mostly, in secret. The effects of massproduced porn on our culture are only just beginning to emerge. The Internet generation—those who have grown up with online media in the home—are now entering adulthood. Today, consuming Internet pornography is a weekly, or even daily, affair for many young men and women, many of whom saw pornography for the first time
when they were very young. As pre-teen children are exposed more regularly to porn, the trend of frequent, normative use appears to be increasing, says Ashley. “The extensive and early use of pornography has skewed people’s understanding to the point that many today argue that porn is entirely normal and has no deleterious affects on anyone,” Ashley continues. “In-depth research, over many years, continues to demonstrate that this is not the case.” Such research has concluded that watching porn has the following affects on its viewers: decrease of sexual satisfaction, disconnect from real relationships, lowered view of women, desensitivity to cruelty and an increase in the desire for more porn. This last finding is what is being expressed as porn-addiction and is said to lead to the increasing desire to discover other forms of sexual deviance. And it’s not just for those beyond church walls. Ashley is concerned about how congregations and clergy are being trapped in the silent seductions of porn - and he isn’t alone. In their article in the Alban Weekly in August 2011, ‘The pastor and pornography’, Mark Sundby and Susan Nienaber note: “While most clergy and congregational staff never suffer the humiliation of getting caught, the psychological toll of conflicted feelings, self-doubt,
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and shame remains. These conflicted feelings are often compounded by a looming sense of hypocrisy about being the chief moral leader in their community of faith. At such points, many people in ministry will attempt to ‘go cold turkey,’ believing that if they only steel themselves then they will make better choices next time. But the psychology underlying such behavior suggests that the odds may be stacked against them. It’s simply not by chance that the porn industry is the number one business on the web.” To educate and resource the Uniting Church SA on this concerning issue, the Pastoral Relations Committee is running a seminar called “Stop Porn”. The seminar will feature Rev Dr Peter Powell, who is arguably the Uniting Church’s foremost speaker on this issue. This seminar is designed to equip ministry leaders and practitioners to address this issue within their congregations and communities – and perhaps even to confront their own struggles.
Stop Porn Seminar: At a glance Speaker: Rev Dr Peter Powell Date: 14-15 September Location: Adelaide West Uniting Church Cost: $100 For more information, contact Ashley Davis on: p. (08) 8236 4274 e. adavis@sa.uca.org.au