To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul,
in You I trust, O my God.
Do not let me be put to shame.
Psalm 25:1&2
Is this really a church matter?
When someone comes to their faith leader for advice on this, how are they received? Will there be enough knowledge behind their response? Would it be totally random, depending on the pastor’s own experience or research rather than a coordinated approach from the higher echelons to deal with what is an actual cataclysm occurring in our society? When I see families being broken apart because of pornography addictions that either destroyed a relationship or led into offending behaviours, I wonder where is the church, that surely is the body of Christ who came to bring truth and goodness to this broken world.
What is the point of church? I don't mean that flippantly. I believe that church is a group of people who come together for the common purpose of finding out about God and how to relate to Him; how to live lives according to what He desires of us. What is it that He desires of us?...
"And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly, and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God". Micah 6:8
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In order to act justly, we need to have wisdom and discernment, to know what is wise and what is not, or, when we do have that knowledge and act against it, how to get on the right track. My hope is that write I write assists either you or someone you advise.
“I am come that they might have life, and have it abundantly”
John 10:10
Jesus’ mission was about our living life unhindered by sin, by which I mean the distance from what God would like us to aim at and where we tend to be. Pornography is not something that leads to fulfilment, quite the opposite. Could anyone say that using pornography puts them on the path to fulfilling potential?…to solving problems?…to being all that God knows they can be?
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How appropriate is it to be discussing this in church?
Saint Paul did not shy away from talking about sexual indiscretions. In his first letter to the Corinthians, he is very clear about his intolerance towards porn’e (meaning prostitute and usually a slave). He saw the way people relate to each other as a matter for discussion and it is important to see our faith as cutting across all the layers and areas of our lives. Christ healed and taught not just on the subject of salvation, but on how to live righteously. By ‘righteously’, I don’t man in a holier than thou sense, but in terms of living wisely in a way that promotes health and meaning.
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God is essentially interested in and involved with our lives. He truly cares whether we live lives that are joyful or not. Let’s look at what God wants for us. He came to this Earth in human form. He didn’t have to. He could have set the whole of Creation in motion, sat back and watched the strangeness and cruelty unfold. Why didn’t He? He loves us, so He intervened, and through his Holy Spirit, He has given us the means to make the absolute most of what we have. Through this Spirit, we have wisdom and insight in the Bible, prophets who said what would happen as natural consequences of stepping away from God’s ways of being, and, through the Son, we have redemption even after we fall away. Noone but a loving God who wants a relationship with us would do this.
Unpleasant Truths
A quick internet search for any UK clergy involvement in pornography showed me that there are some who have been involved in indecent image offending and worse. There appear to be no statistics on UK clergy's use of pornography but the US has research...
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According to the Barna research group (2016), 57% of US pastors and 64% of youth pastors say that they have struggled with pornography at some point in their lives, with 14% and 21% respectively saying that this is a current issue, and 5% and 12% stating that they feel addicted. They admit that their struggles affect their ministry. Youth pastors have teens coming to them for advice on how to deal with the issue. Married men come to their clergy similarly. How many of you have seen your churches offer to address this issue?
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Less than helpful responses
Some priests have been known to state that pornography can be useful for helping people gain relief when living a celibate life (National Catholic Register, 16.11.22). What is the effect when this worrying advice is given by someone seen as an authority on matters spiritual? It strikes me as a clunky and ill-thought response to the problem. It is also one that only serves to make the issue last, due to the biological processes involved.
On 24th October 2022, Pope Francis said that pornography was something that could “weaken the soul” of priests (National Catholic Register, 26.10.22). In considering that a priest might be engaging with something that has as damaging consequences both to viewer and performer, his statement makes perfect sense.
Sex Is a Problematic Issue for the Church​
Look at the church’s recent history. All denominations have their sex scandals, from highly respected preachers like Ravi Zacharias (Barron & Eiselstein, 2021), to the covering up of Catholic priests sexually assaulting children in Ireland (O’Gorman, 2009). If we act like sex is a taboo subject, how does anyone who has been harmed, or even who just has questions, feel about the welcome they might receive?
The Church of England clearly thinks that pornography is not a good thing, as it advocates not investing its funds in organisations that gain revenue from pornography or sexual activities (CofE EIAG, 2011).
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The Roman Catholic catechism (the written beliefs of the church used for teaching) has a specific section on pornography (USCCB, 2023), which I will include here:
“Pornography consists in removing real or simulated sexual acts from the intimacy of the partners, in order to display them deliberately to third parties. It offends against chastity because it perverts the conjugal act, the intimate giving of spouses to each other. It does grave injury to the dignity of its participants (actors, vendors, the public), since each one becomes an object of base pleasure and illicit profit for others. It immerses all who are involved in the illusion of a fantasy world. It is a grave offense. Civil authorities should prevent the production and distribution of pornographic materials.”
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James, who wrote a letter whose beginning indicates he hoped it would be sent across the world, says (1:14&15, KJV).
‘…every man is tempted , when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. When lust hath conceived, , it bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death”.
When was the last time anyone heard the word “lust” mentioned in church? I am literally racking my brain. Yet it is something destroying lives, families and careers across the world. Christians have known about the dangers of falling prey to unhealthy desires for millennia. Desire is fine – it’s the aim of it that leads either to sin or joy. (for a bigger look into what sin comprises, look here...