PORN and the Bible Student

2009-06-06T11:47:00.000-07:00

By Walter Vaughn

I once heard a Rabbi say, "we all have a dark side." The soul is a composite of wants and desires that rely upon the mind to navigate and control our moral character. Our life can be likened to a puzzle of many pieces. The first piece of the puzzle begins at birth, adding piece by piece as we grow into adulthood. Every aspect of our life is a working component that shapes who we are and what we are to be.

The first few years of life is most important as far as childhood development. The early environment will inspire feelings, perceptions, and thoughts that make up permanent pieces of the puzzle. Much of who we are, we didn't choose, but yet it is. Many who use the Internet to grow in spiritual wisdom also have access to other sites that pulls at our natural primal disposition.

The word "SEX" is the most popular search term on the web. It is said that there are 1.3 million sites serving up about 260 million pages of erotic content. The financial success of these sites are dependant upon average everyday people, and yes, even the religious. From the time a male child is born, he will be constantly bombarded by sexual advertisement or should I say adverteasement. Television, radio, as well as the print media are tools that advertisers use to seduce the customer by playing upon their genetic inclination to reproduce. It doesn't matter if there selling shampoo, automobiles, or a hamburger, the use of sexually suggestive words and images are often used as a tool to sell any given product.

In our society it's not uncommon for women to wear short skirts, or tight jeans with slightly unbuttoned shirts. Whether it's t.v., billboards, music, or women's provocative dress, the Bible student is constantly surrounded by sexual imagery. All these various enticements are played over and over again like a broken record, day after day. We all have within us the (Hebrew-yetser ha ra) or selfish nature. This is the impulse to satisfy ones excessive desires without regard to moral consequences. When the Bible student succumbs to temptation by viewing and or masturbating to pornography his spiritual life is torn apart. Some may try to justify their addiction when there is no partner or a less than willing companion. Many married men may reason that this is a better alternative to actually committing adultery. Great guilt and promises to God that it will not happen again, are repeated over and over in quite whisper. Depression and frustration follow from day to day with seemingly no hope for recovery. Rabbi Yehoshua Shapira, Dean of the prestigious Ramat Gan Yeshiva, "estimates that amongst religious men with home Internet access, 80-97% will occasionally seek out pornographic sites."

First, it's important that you know that your not alone and many religious men suffer with this addiction as well. Most will hide, conceal, and deny their dark side, but never the less, they are among us.

Perversion is a uncontrollable dark energy that is never satisfied and seeks to heighten its desire by new lows. Powerful politicians and respected religious leaders have surrendered years of public service and brought great shame upon themselves as well as their families by living a life of porn and sex addiction. In the book of Proverbs it is written,

"For as a honeycomb the lips of a strange women keep dripping, and her palate is smoother than oil. 4 But the aftereffect from her is as bitter as wormwood; it is as sharp as a two-edged sword. 5 Her feet are descending to death. her very steps take hold on She'ol itself." Proverbs 5:3-5

This poison was not given to us overnight or in one dose. It started with the first piece of the puzzle and will continue until the final piece is placed. For more than a few, this will be a on-going war that will last throughout out their life time.

There are some who wish to wage war with the porn industry. However, the war begins and ends with us. The porn industry is simply providing a product that people want and are willing to pay for. The porn business is all about making quick money and lots of it. In order for any business to be successful there must be clientele. In reality, it is are own diseased hearts that allow this industry to succeed and grow. The war is within and we are responsible for their continued success.

Pornography promotes women as sex objects that can be used, abused, and thrown away when finished. These women are someones daughter, sister, mother, and grandmother. Many are run aways, drug addicts, and the very poor who have no other way to support their families. Bad times have put them in a bad place. Everytime you visit one of these sites, you unknowingly share in their abuse. You are not an invisible by stander. Everytime time you click the mouse to these sites, your saying YES to their continued abuse.

The Bible encourages us to,

"Cast away from you all your transgressions, wherein ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit;" Ezekial 31:31

The Hebrew "new heart" is לב חדש leib kadash, which literally means renew or more specifically to make ones heart young again. This fits which was previously written in that ones early development lays the foundation that shapes us. The Bible is encouraging us to renew, start over, to become as a child, to make our heart, the seat of motivation young again.

There is secular help for those who wish to be released from this powerful addiction. Below you will find a list of links that may be helpful in your treatment. My hope is that one day God will remove this poison that sickens us and in His infinite wisdom and mercy will understand that man is a composite of many pieces of a puzzle he did not choose. Below are several articles as well as free filters that may be of assistance to you.

An Internet Pornography Junkie Comes Clean

Rabbi sex-abuse cases roil the Jewish community

Pornography Addiction Among Muslims (Stories & Tips)

Christian,“Because I’m addicted to pornography.”

Internet-Filters

Sexual Recovery Institute

The Bible Student and Pornography

PORN and the Bible Student