Biblereader
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Desire to be a vessel of honor unto the Lord Jesus Christ?
Join For His Glory for a discussion on how
https://christianforums.net/threads/a-vessel-of-honor.110278/
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Taking the time to pray? Christ is the answer in times of need
https://christianforums.net/threads/psalm-70-1-save-me-o-god-lord-help-me-now.108509/
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why does it happen all the time
- Thread starter Biblereader
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Biblereader
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Gabbylittleangel
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Biblereader said:
I have not met too many men, married or single, that has not had some experience in viewing porn. The producers of the garbage are working very hard to see to that.
Porn has the same addictive effect that drugs have. Addicts justify it in the same way alcoholics and druggies justify their sins.
Why do you ask?
A-Christian
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Depends what your definition of porn is :-D
Gabbylittleangel
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A-Christian said:
Really? So, what is your definition?
A-Christian
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I would say that most men do not make a concious effort to look at porn. However, we live in a world where pornaghraphy in many different levels bombards us in many differnet ways. I think there is a differnece between the guy that regularly feeds his porn addiction with websites, magazines and videos and the guy that catches a glimps of a Victorias Secret ad as he peruses Sports Illustrated.
Gabbylittleangel
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It doesn't need to happen all the time.
Things that I have discovered in my Christian walk:
It is not about never falling into the mud. It is not about never having mud slung at you. It is not about climbing up onto a pedestal so high that the mud will never reach you.
It is about knowing when you need to get cleaned up. Knowing how and why. Knowing who does the cleaning. Knowing that one needs not distinguish between the mud that was splattered on you by someone else, and that which you willfully jumped in.
It is about wanting to be cleansed. Showing others that they too can be pulled out of the mud. It is about forgiving them when they fall into it.
It is knowing that we have a God that is able to keep us from falling, and learning that we must be willing to ask Him to lift us up.
It is knowing that we can go to God and tell him whenever there is a bully on the playground pushing His kids into the mud, and asking Him to do something about it.
Things that I have discovered in my Christian walk:
It is not about never falling into the mud. It is not about never having mud slung at you. It is not about climbing up onto a pedestal so high that the mud will never reach you.
It is about knowing when you need to get cleaned up. Knowing how and why. Knowing who does the cleaning. Knowing that one needs not distinguish between the mud that was splattered on you by someone else, and that which you willfully jumped in.
It is about wanting to be cleansed. Showing others that they too can be pulled out of the mud. It is about forgiving them when they fall into it.
It is knowing that we have a God that is able to keep us from falling, and learning that we must be willing to ask Him to lift us up.
It is knowing that we can go to God and tell him whenever there is a bully on the playground pushing His kids into the mud, and asking Him to do something about it.
I'd be suprised....
Maybe because their is so much potential in a loving relationship between a man and a woman who have promised their lives to eachother, who have become one, and expressed that so beautifully. Wherever the greatest potential or greatest beauty lies, there also lies the greatest downfall, and the greatest devestation to the mind and soul.
...Thank God there is a Healer...
...and Gabby, that was an awesome post... I'm going to take that to heart.
Vic C.
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- Mar 16, 2003
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Concerning the OP... I'm beginning to think it really goes back to the beginning, The Garden and the great Deceiver. The moment I started reading this thread, a good ol' song by a fave band of mine, The Band" ran through my head. Yeah, it's called, "Forbidden Fruit".
High and lonesome out on Times Square
Haven't got a dime, ain't got a prayer
Deliver us, Lord, from this golden calf
People only want what they cannot have
* Forbidden fruit
That's the fruit that you'd better not taste
Forbidden fruit
You've got one life that you'd better not waste
How can I walk with this ball and chain?
How can I land in this hurricane?
Or is this part of man's evolution
To be torn between truth and illusion?
* Forbidden fruit
That's the route that you'd better not take
Forbidden fruit
Just watch out for the sign of the snake
Little brother got caught in the web
He ran off to join the living dead
Been through the mill, seen the cross on the hill
He sold his soul just for a thrill
* Forbidden fruit
In hot pursuit out on a limb
Forbidden fruit
Your whole world is closing in
You got the picture but missed the drift
About me workin' the graveyard shift
I never went in for no burglary
But there's a stranger inside of me
* Forbidden fruit
Don't you shoot the whole works away
Forbidden fruit
It's too high of a price to pay
How can you hear with a bad connection?
You can't see when there's no reception
Keep your distance, don't fool with taboo
'Cause it'll overtake and undertake you
* Forbidden fruit
That's the fruit that you'd better not taste
Forbidden fruit
You've got one life that you'd better not waste
* = chorus
High and lonesome out on Times Square
Haven't got a dime, ain't got a prayer
Deliver us, Lord, from this golden calf
People only want what they cannot have
* Forbidden fruit
That's the fruit that you'd better not taste
Forbidden fruit
You've got one life that you'd better not waste
How can I walk with this ball and chain?
How can I land in this hurricane?
Or is this part of man's evolution
To be torn between truth and illusion?
* Forbidden fruit
That's the route that you'd better not take
Forbidden fruit
Just watch out for the sign of the snake
Little brother got caught in the web
He ran off to join the living dead
Been through the mill, seen the cross on the hill
He sold his soul just for a thrill
* Forbidden fruit
In hot pursuit out on a limb
Forbidden fruit
Your whole world is closing in
You got the picture but missed the drift
About me workin' the graveyard shift
I never went in for no burglary
But there's a stranger inside of me
* Forbidden fruit
Don't you shoot the whole works away
Forbidden fruit
It's too high of a price to pay
How can you hear with a bad connection?
You can't see when there's no reception
Keep your distance, don't fool with taboo
'Cause it'll overtake and undertake you
* Forbidden fruit
That's the fruit that you'd better not taste
Forbidden fruit
You've got one life that you'd better not waste
* = chorus
N
nomoreillusions
Guest
I'm sure there are married men out there, somewhere, who don't look at porn.
The problem isn't men, marriage, or even Yeshua's condemnation of lust. It's the pervasity of porn. But then, of course, porn is only a booming industry because of supply and demand. Everyone is out there looking for it, so it's available everywhere..
There wasn't the internet or the Playboy channel, or penthouse magazine back when... even in the Victorian era, these were mostly underground and 'secretive' kinds of materials.
But just because times have changed doens't mean our requirements have. Yeshua was fairly clear about forbidding lust and even if that can be argued not to include porn, I can't imagine porn being anything other than looked down upon. How can 'uncovering their nakedness' be something acceptable by G-d's standards?
We all sin. Even if every last man and woman on earth have had some exposure to porn, they are still full-well capable of receiving forgiveness and grace. I don't know of any man or woman alive that hasn't sinned by lying at some point in their lives, or by being angry without cause at a fellow, etc. These are sins just as grave. The idea is to overcome the sin, not merely shrug and say "oh well, guess I can't help it."
The problem isn't men, marriage, or even Yeshua's condemnation of lust. It's the pervasity of porn. But then, of course, porn is only a booming industry because of supply and demand. Everyone is out there looking for it, so it's available everywhere..
There wasn't the internet or the Playboy channel, or penthouse magazine back when... even in the Victorian era, these were mostly underground and 'secretive' kinds of materials.
But just because times have changed doens't mean our requirements have. Yeshua was fairly clear about forbidding lust and even if that can be argued not to include porn, I can't imagine porn being anything other than looked down upon. How can 'uncovering their nakedness' be something acceptable by G-d's standards?
We all sin. Even if every last man and woman on earth have had some exposure to porn, they are still full-well capable of receiving forgiveness and grace. I don't know of any man or woman alive that hasn't sinned by lying at some point in their lives, or by being angry without cause at a fellow, etc. These are sins just as grave. The idea is to overcome the sin, not merely shrug and say "oh well, guess I can't help it."
Gabbylittleangel
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Veritas said:
Thank you.
Having lived the life that I have lived, watching the beast either devour people, or chew them up and spit them out, I had to come to the conclusion that the enemy is the beast. Not it's victims.
Biblereader
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[quote=
Biblereader
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[quote=
Biblereader
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vic C. said:
WHY though? Why sell your soul for a cheap thrill? Why even pursue it?
Why do men look at porn? Especially if they're married?
Yes, even the bible says the road to the prostitute is an open grave.
When does a man feel the hurt of pornography? Does a man have a conscience, does
he care that these dirty books, lewd stories, and filthy photos, are the product of
someone else's pain? Someone else's bad times in life?
Does a man suspend his conscience when he looks at porn?
What happens, spiritually?
Biblereader
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A-Christian said:
If more men spoke out against the ads, the victoria's secret ads, and said they thought it was inappropriate, and un Godly, the ads would stop.
Why don't men tell porn makers, porn writers, Victoria's secret ad makers, calvin klein ad producers, that they are offending the senses of men?
Are men so whipped by the devil that they don't notice their minds are owned and operated by the destroyer?
Biblereader
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WHY is adultery or fornication a sin?
A-Christian
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How about this: Because the bible says so and the apostle taught it, not to mention the human soul also senses it to be wrong, especially after the fact. Did that cover all the bases?
Vic C.
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LOL, I was going to suggest rereading the first three chapters of Genesis. I'm certain the answer is there. I think the key word is... beguiled. 8-) BR, figure out why Eve was fooled and all your questioned will be answered, including the need for a Savior.A-Christian said:
Rudimentary question: why did Eve and Adam eat from that particular tree?
Drew
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- Jan 24, 2005
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This is a slightly modified version of a post I recently made:
I cannot speak for women (I am a man) or even for other men. But, and I expect I am "typical", even at the age of 49 (and married), images of attractive females elicit an involuntary, visceral, gut-level response of arousal. This is simply the way we are - I do not believe we have control over this. An analogy: You are hungry, reallly hungry. You enter the kitchen and see and smell a fresh pizza. There is an instantaneous reaction - your mouth waters and desire for food wells up inside you.
I hold it as self-evident that "gut-level" reaction to sexual stimulation is no more sinful than the arousal induced by the delicious pizza.
But I do worry that the church has unwittingly collaborated in fostering the lure of pornography. Someone referred to pornographic images as "filth". Well, I think this might be part of the problem. Depending on the actual content of the image, characterizing it as "filth" may be part of the problem. Is the image of a naked adult woman "filthy"? Of course not. If we think of it as "filthy and forbidden", the illicit attraction becomes stronger, perhaps irresistable.
I would be willing to bet that if we allowed ourselves to "feel" the instinctive sexual arousal we get in daily circumstances - and not try to suppress it - we probably would be far less inclined to mystify sexuality to the point where it gains an unhealthy grip on us (e.g. via pornography).
Sexuality is a God-given positive creative force. We suppress it at our peril. And please remember, I am specifically talking about the suppression of gut-level instinct-driven sexual arousal that occurs in the context of living a normal life, nothing beyond that.
At the risk of seeming crass, I will illustrate with what I hope you will see as a humorous illustration of what I think is a very serious issue. If you take a 16 year old boy and tell him that feelings of sexual arousal are sinful, including, perhaps, fleeting mental images that come almost unbidden to mind in the course of everyday life - if you encourage that boy to suppress those feelings, to not let them "enter and leave on their own terms" as it were, then you are creating (24 years from now) a 40 year man cruising downtown in his car, wearing women's lingerie, and looking for transvestite prostitutes.
Perhaps some will say that my position is too liberal - that is their right. I just think that overly harsh censure against "feeling one's sexuality" is partly responsible for creating a monster. In other words, the young man who can see the pretty girl in the revealing attire at the mall, feel aroused and not be ashamed of that, and then let the feeling die on "on its own" as he wanders through the rest of the mall - that young man may not be driven to pornography in the first place.
I cannot speak for women (I am a man) or even for other men. But, and I expect I am "typical", even at the age of 49 (and married), images of attractive females elicit an involuntary, visceral, gut-level response of arousal. This is simply the way we are - I do not believe we have control over this. An analogy: You are hungry, reallly hungry. You enter the kitchen and see and smell a fresh pizza. There is an instantaneous reaction - your mouth waters and desire for food wells up inside you.
I hold it as self-evident that "gut-level" reaction to sexual stimulation is no more sinful than the arousal induced by the delicious pizza.
But I do worry that the church has unwittingly collaborated in fostering the lure of pornography. Someone referred to pornographic images as "filth". Well, I think this might be part of the problem. Depending on the actual content of the image, characterizing it as "filth" may be part of the problem. Is the image of a naked adult woman "filthy"? Of course not. If we think of it as "filthy and forbidden", the illicit attraction becomes stronger, perhaps irresistable.
I would be willing to bet that if we allowed ourselves to "feel" the instinctive sexual arousal we get in daily circumstances - and not try to suppress it - we probably would be far less inclined to mystify sexuality to the point where it gains an unhealthy grip on us (e.g. via pornography).
Sexuality is a God-given positive creative force. We suppress it at our peril. And please remember, I am specifically talking about the suppression of gut-level instinct-driven sexual arousal that occurs in the context of living a normal life, nothing beyond that.
At the risk of seeming crass, I will illustrate with what I hope you will see as a humorous illustration of what I think is a very serious issue. If you take a 16 year old boy and tell him that feelings of sexual arousal are sinful, including, perhaps, fleeting mental images that come almost unbidden to mind in the course of everyday life - if you encourage that boy to suppress those feelings, to not let them "enter and leave on their own terms" as it were, then you are creating (24 years from now) a 40 year man cruising downtown in his car, wearing women's lingerie, and looking for transvestite prostitutes.
Perhaps some will say that my position is too liberal - that is their right. I just think that overly harsh censure against "feeling one's sexuality" is partly responsible for creating a monster. In other words, the young man who can see the pretty girl in the revealing attire at the mall, feel aroused and not be ashamed of that, and then let the feeling die on "on its own" as he wanders through the rest of the mall - that young man may not be driven to pornography in the first place.
Gabbylittleangel
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- Jul 20, 2006
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Would it help to understand the filth of porn by getting an inside look at how it is produced?
If those who think of it as a victimless crime knew that the photographer has a camera in one hand and a gun in the other, and that the model had some unknown drug injected into her, would it matter?
What if someone were to admit that they recognized a little girl in their magazine as one that was in the news a few weeks before, reported to have gone missing while walking home from school?
The folks that photograph, print and mail out the magazines are simply rapist with cameras. They buy and sell children with less compassion than a pet store owner sells goldfish.
Would knowing the details of the industry take some of the romance out of it?
If those who think of it as a victimless crime knew that the photographer has a camera in one hand and a gun in the other, and that the model had some unknown drug injected into her, would it matter?
What if someone were to admit that they recognized a little girl in their magazine as one that was in the news a few weeks before, reported to have gone missing while walking home from school?
The folks that photograph, print and mail out the magazines are simply rapist with cameras. They buy and sell children with less compassion than a pet store owner sells goldfish.
Would knowing the details of the industry take some of the romance out of it?