Christian Porn?

Thank you, David, and thanks for the opportunity to comment here. Perhaps the conventional wisdom that forbidding something only makes it more attractive, and that sexual repression and hypocrisy go hand in hand is true.
Having encountered just enough pornography in my life to realize how boring, repetive, and unsexy it is, I have absolutely no interest in it. I've also read recently that many of the young Christians who have taken the "abstinence pledge" took it with their fingers crossed, apparently.
Personally, I would like to less emphasis on "sexual purity" and more emphasis, from both conservative and liberal Christians, on resisting the commodification of human sexuality and resisting the ways in which our culture pushes young people to become sexually active prematurely.
It is not necessary to believe that sex outside of marriage is wrong to believe that young teens and pre-teens should have their innocence protected for as long as possible, and should be given the tools to enable them to resist "going along to get along" with their more sexually active peers.

Well said, Alicia. I would also raise the point that for generations, indeed since the dawn of man, people were expected to marry and have kids by the time they reached their late teens or early twenties. Our bodies reach their peaks then before starting their long, slow (hopefully) decline. It's only in recent history that young people have been expected to wait, advance their education, get a good job, and so on, before marrying. reddopto makes some good points but then tosses a large wet blanket. Men who like to watch the female form have lost their state of grace? Who among us...? Women who admire the bare chest of Hollywood actors are doomed to perdition? Are we not hard-wired for just such eye-catching attractions? There may be some oversimplification here as well. I'd like to see the polsters' definition of porn, which for some would include a picture of Brittney's cleavage on the cover of People magazine. I'd also like to see their definition of addiction. I do not doubt that there are problem cases. I do, however, believe that all too often, when it comes to the topic of sex, that mountains are made of molehills (no innuendo intended). I also agree that churches should take a greater role in advancing these topics once considered unfit. The Song of Solomon should be required reading, especially in pre-marriage counseling. And then, if the husband and wife are in agreement, what they do or watch is none of our business.

Intensified puritanism has always been accompanied by increases in hypocrisy. It's not really more complicated than that.

Both the 50% and 20% seem high though I'm more inclined to believe the 50 than the 20. Sticking up for my church and pastor, he preached a sermon on pornography earlier in the year and is currently doing a series called, "Sex in the Suburbs". On Sunday morning no less. Excellent stuff that you can podcast as well. I think this indicates, even if the numbers are inflated, that it is a huge problem within the Christian community which has always been more concerned with what people believe or say they believe rather than what their actions are.

Sounds like there might be a good market for Christian Porn out there.>

Chuck - can I be PrayMate of the month?>

I think the most you can say about the data itself is that there is a lot of porn out there and a lot of people looking at it. The comments below about the exact population surveyed and the definitions of pornography are on point. What is substantively lacking in this whole area is the church's failure to embrace sexuality and help those of us in the pew to understand the sacredness of sex, desire, fantasy, and pleasure. Until we help each other internalize and own our own sexuality, porn will have an extravagently large audience.
I grow weary of my Christian brothers and sisters who get so distracted by porn that they miss the sexual/theological issues behind why we look at it.

What a Christian website considers an "addiction" to pornography may well be different from the clinical defition of addiction.>

I have to add one more thing to what I said above.

Going to your pastor about a porn addiction, will probably not cure you. It might be one aspect of your healing (accountability,if you have a very compassionate pastor), but I think that it could also intensify the shame involved.

Most Pastors arent trained Psychologists, and when they try to step into that role they can do so much damage. Beware of pastors trying to do psychological counseling, ive seen some horrible damage done.>

I didn't realize how big a problem it was until my church had a "men only" Bible study that focused exclusively on pornography and how to fight it. I was literally shocked at how many men showed up. I also found that men are looking for competent blogs that address men's issues, not just pornography, but all areas of Christian life. I've recently started my own blog. Check it out at confidently-christian.blogspot.com
I enjoy your posts here. Keep up the good work!
Blessings....

My brother was introduced to porn by the neighbor kid at age 8. Over 20 years later it hurts him and his marriage- and he has tried to get free. I agree that the real issue is the church's failure to explain the worship and spiritual aspects of sexuality in the congregational setting. I am so glad to have some sources to share with him, and good stats to help "wake up" the leaders who can make a difference in my local congregation. Here are some things I have shared:

According to the XXX church: The porn industry is a $97 BILLION industry- larger than the revenues of Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Ebay, Yahoo!, Apple, Netflix, and Earthlink combined.11,000 porn video titles were released last year in Hollywood verses 400 movie releases from Hollywood. One-quarter of total daily search engine requests are for pornographic material (68 million), where 40 million Americans are regular visitors. 70% of American hits on Internet sex sites occur between 9-5 on business computers. The largest porn viewing age group in the U.S. is ages 12-17!

(their website for more info is: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/219129/the_internets_1_christian_porn_site.html?page=2

I also would recommend a short video about why porn is not "just a piece of paper, or a picture on a screen...." it's a great way to begin sharing info with people (men and women) who may be having a problem, and not really in touch with why it is destructive. Check out David Eckman on porn. http://iquestions.com/video/view/392?over18=1

I am a 27 year old christian wed for 7 months (yep thats all) to a man who I thought was more of a Christian and good man than he is. Tonight by accident I found that he has been looking at porn sits pics for months all while I am sleeping (we work opposite shifts). I am soooo upset and angry i want to throw his computer out the window. Lastnight i was cuddling and comming on to him and he said no honey I'm just not feeling sexual lately. This has been going on for a while and he actually tried blaming it on me. Well now I realize that not only was he lying to me he was watching all this sick stuff when he will barely touch my body at all. I am hurt and destroyed beyond belief. I am ashamed. Can't wait for him to get home tonight. Please keep us in your prayers we are gonna need it.