Be sure and read the comments at the end of Ed Stetzer’s post on pornography.
A new study done by Patrick F. Fagan examines the effects of pornography on individuals, marriage, family and community. Fagan is Senior Fellow and Director of the Center for Research on Marriage and Religion at the Family Research Council. He specializes in examining the relationships among family, marriage, religion, community, and America’s social problems. This study is important for everyone to read as it demonstrates that it has damaging effects on individuals and families. In the summary Fagan explains,
Pornography is a visual representation of sexuality which distorts an individual’s concept of the nature of conjugal relations. This, in turn, alters both sexual attitudes and behavior. It is a major threat to marriage, to family, to children and to individual happiness. In undermining marriage it is one of the factors in undermining social stability.
Social scientists, clinical psychologists, and biologists have begun to clarify some of the social and psychological effects, and neurologists are beginning to delineate the biological mechanisms through which pornography produces its powerful negative effects.
Some of the findings inside the study include:
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- Pornography is addictive, and neuroscientists are beginning to map the biological substrate of this addiction.
- Users tend to become desensitized to the type of pornography they use, become bored with it, and then seek more perverse forms of pornography.
Read the rest here.
Thank you for posting this. This is not a pretty topic at all, but one that the church cannot shy away from. Kathy Gallagher, co-founder of Pure Life Ministries, said in her book, “When His Secret Sin Breaks Your Heart” “In a sense, it shouldn’t amaze any wife to discover that her husband struggles with sexual sin to some degree. In fact, it’s a wonder that every man in America isn’t a sex addict.” She’s hardly making an excuse, but rather driving home the fact that that sexual sin is rampant in our society, and that includes inside the church! So long as the church is not dealing with this biblically, healing for the world will not come. The only thing with the power to break the back of this is the blood of Jesus. And, only the church has the answer.