Wednesday, 16 December 2009
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Christian Groups Strike Back at Porn Industry
Los Angeles, the city of angels, has its fair share of demons. As the group Strike LA could tell you, the city suffers from a number of problems, from human trafficking to the porn industry. Last weekend, the group held one of its spiritual “strikes” to pray for God to heal the city of its porn problems. This is one of a series of “strikes” held by Strike LA; the events involve participants “fasting and praying for God to intervene and release the city of Los Angeles from the bondage of the 'enemy'.” According to The Christian Post, the strike “culminates in a prayerful march at a specific location that represents a sector that needs God's intervention”. The group's website says that the event held this weekend was located at The Playboy Mansion on a date that commemorates the magazine's first publication.
Jonathan Ngai, director of Strike LA, explains that pornography is a problem among Christians, stating that “nearly half... of Christians say pornography is a major problem in their home”. Clearly Christians need to be devoted to prayer for those who are suffering with porn addictions and for those who are involved in the porn industry.
There are other means to go about praying for and striking out against the porn industry that are not so visible. When I was in college, I went to a church that was located two minutes away from a very popular strip club. The church had a women's ministry with the girls who worked at that strip club, and many of them left the business and became Christians because of the ministry. While the ministry wasn't holding signs and asking for attention, it was very effective and had a powerful impact on the porn industry, at least locally.
Perhaps maybe the Strike LA group could have a more effective impact on the porn industry in Los Angeles by implementing a similar program. While prayer, fasting, and petitioning God to intervene are all necessary to fight the spiritual war against porn, this should not be the extent of our outreach to the industry. Christian activism shouldn't be just about getting attention; it should be involved in the lives of the people we wish to see changed for God.
A great example of a Christian activist group that is making a difference in the porn industry is XXXChurch. While the name sounds almost sacrilegious, XXXChurch is an organization that is actively seeking out members and addicts of the porn industry and ministering to them. The group goes to porn conventions as often as it goes to churches to talk about the addiction of porn and the help and peace found through a relationship with Christ.
They go to porn shows and pass out Bibles to support those seeking to leave the industry. They also develop relationships with “porn stars” and even created a fund to provide counseling, insurance, financial aid and mentorship to those who wish to leave porn stardom. Many of those who have taken part in this program discuss their pasts, decisions, and future hopes in a podcast called Dirty Little Secrets, which seeks to give hope to those who are addicted to or involved with porn.
Christian activism takes on many shapes and sizes. Some groups seek to strike, pray, and fast, while others seek out individuals and minister to them. Neither group is wrong in their motives or actions, but the response they receive will be vastly different.
What do you think is more effective in terms of Christian activism? Have you been involved in a ministry or organization that sought out the porn industry? Do you believe the porn industry can be saved?
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Comments (25)
Can the industry be saved? No. But, people can be redeemed from it.
Relationship is always better than sign holding, protesting, or any such thing. Jesus didn't walk around with a sign saying sinners repent and follow me. He ministered to them and then called them to come follow Him.
I've never heard of "Strike: LA", but do they "only" strike? Or do they also do other things (such as you mentioned above)?
xxxChurch, however, is a fantastic organization. I think their approach is absolutely necessary and something that I wish would be done more often.
To me, it appears that the "demonstration" or "strike" is not as much for outreach or evangelism as it is for Christians-- to remind them visibly that porn is not accepted among Christians. While that is totally obvious to most people (although not all believe it is even wrong), sometimes it is very important just to get a visual reminder that you're not alone, and that others are fighting for the situation as well.
Equally admirable is the fact that they're praying over the city and the area. Prayer is our most important calling; if you're not praying intensely over whatever you're doing-- whether it's personal evangelism like that Church you mentioned ministering to the strip-club, or a public demonstration-- then you will not be effective because you've not asked for the guidance of God.
As far as the question Goes;
Yes-- I've done limited work with helping people addicted to porn and have, myself, gone through that struggle. I think there is a time and place for both methods-- but personally reaching out to people is more effective by and large.
No-- the porn industry can't be saved. There is absolutely no place for pornography in the Christian.
Porn stars and porn addicts can be saved out of that industry by the mercy and grace of God IF they're willing to deny their old ways of life and live in the life God offers.
Sometimes, I think protesting does the exact opposite of what one hopes for. I think this is a hard question. We are called to stand up for what we believe without being nasty about it. I think there's a place for protesting and then there's one for relational ministry as a means for reaching others. It depends on the person and the circumstances I think.
Props, I love this article. I agree whole heartedly that many Christians just want to put other down and protest against things they believe are wrong, but need to do more to minister to that body of people.
i was gonna say the same thing as @MagisterTom@xanga said... u can't redeem porn itself... but the people addicted and enslaved to it can be...
I doubt as a whole it can be saved. There will always be a market for it and there will always be people willing to provide that and create that kind of market and the products therein.
I do think both types of Christian activism are important. But, I think that when you actually seek out and minister to the people you are trying to save, you are helping the most.
Also, just a personal thought, I don't think that temptation should be removed. I think that the entire point is to resist temptation. There is no effort or purpose in resisting something that is not there. Those who can't can't, obviously should be prayed for and ministered to if they are willing to accept ministering. An important thing is that they have to be willing, as well. They have to want it. And they have to come to you themselves for that.
However, that doesn't mean that you can't inspire someone to do so. :)
Can the porn industry be saved? *haha*
I don't want to be a Debbie Downer on this whole 'movement', but I would just like to point out that while, yes, porn probably *is* a "major problem" in a lot of Christian households, this is because Christians tend to make porn a problem (as opposed to most others who don't).
In fact, the ONLY people I know that suffer from true addictions to porn are Christians. I'm not entirely sure why this is, other than perhaps the "forbidden fruit" mentality. Since they don't feel comfortable accessing porn whenever they want it, they start to treat it like Halloween candy, and get into it at any time they're alone (which people soon discover is more than they first realized).
That aside, no, I don't think the porn industry can be 'saved', because there's nothing that modern-day Christianity appreciates about pornography. There's nothing salvageable.
A little perspective here. I saw the movie "Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves" 3 times in 3 different theaters. (Don't ask) At the end of all 3 King Richard shows up on his white horse each time the girls in the theater broke out into screams. I felt like I was in the middle of one of those old Beatles' concerts. King Richard in the movie is a cameo role played Sean Connery. No he wasn't naked. In fact he was wearing all the garb you would imagine a King to wear and yet the female hormones in the theater were at full throttle. I thought it was funny and quite entertaining but maybe these protesters you speak of should be trying to save theaters from movies having the audacity to show Sean Connery.
Porn and sex in general are topics that seem to befuddle some religious groups the most. People tend to condemn sex and the sex industry outwardly while behind closed doors or secretly in their minds they act quite differently. I wonder how many Christians would consider, as many (not all) Muslims consider, that a woman showing her hair and face in public is a sin perhaps comparable to some degree to showing a porn film in that it is considered to be public enticement? Porn and sex in general are such hot buttons in most religions and yet porn remains the biggest industry on the internet. I had to pause to think when my German wife scoffed at how Americans are so outspoken against sexuality while at the same time there are girlie magazines displayed at practically every corner of our city sidewalks because they sell like hotcakes. She does have a point.
Men (supposedly) think of sex every 7 seconds or so but I've known women who seem to do the same although you'd never know it because society tends to condemn and fetter women more than men so they have to veil that part of themselves. Being horny is not "lady-like". I always heard that men get themselves off watching porn while women do the same by reading "steamy romance novels" but I've come to know women who view porn that makes me blush and if a woman gets off reading those novels don't those novels then qualify as porn? And all those romantic movies women pack theaters to see. I think there is a very perverse and unrealistic view of sex in the U.S. and much of the world. Women are condemned for being sexual even more than they are condemned for not being thin enough and as a result there is a lot of sexual binging and purging. If you stop to think about it the condemnation of female sexuality is probably more the successful attempt to control women than anything else.
As for walking around protesting and carrying signs to purge the industry...sure a few people might jump on board who were going to anyway but it's going to galvanize people in far greater numbers against those who are making a spectacle of themselves by carrying around signs condemning people.
I think that if half of Christian homes have a problem with porn then we need to clean house before we even think of hitting the streets. God says that when the people called by his name will humble themselves, pray and seek his face then he will heal their land. The healing of our land is in our hands.
am i the only one who has a problem with thinking that human trafficking and porn (something that happens between two consenting adults, for the viewing pleasure of consenting adults) are equally wrong?
Satan knows his time is short and he is looking to whom he can devore. Porn is a extremely strong addiction. I feel like I have freedom from it thru massive time sent in prayer and also going through a class called Cleansing Stream. Wooo what a lifted burden. Praise the Lord. I believe satans grip on this industry is so strong that no amount of pray will change it. Not that God can't.... I frimly believe we are like in the last days. I feel at most of will be out of here in 5 years or less. SEE_YA
Ok hold on.
First of all....I am actually from Los Angeles and I really hate the idea of people trashing this city. It's a fun place to live and we have awesome weather and beaches! So let's get that out of the way first. Angelenos don't need to be prayed for.
Second, while all this work against porn is fine and dandy, what I disagree entirely with are the reasons behind the actions. Never once did you mention that porn (a lot of it, at least) is misogynistic and violent in nature. They promote unhealthy sexual relationships, unnatural or forced views of human sexuality and denigrate women into objects (which, if Im not mistaken, religion does to a certain degree as well?). It's bad, but not for religious reasons.
Point being, I applaud the effort but don't support the reasoning behind it. It should be more about eradicating the last bits of sexism and misogyny left in our society.
Finally! People fighting out against porn!
@too_pretty_to_die@xanga - No, you're definitely not the only one. That's ridiculous to me.
@too_pretty_to_die@xanga - Yeah, that seems a bit skewy to me as well.
@coolmonkey@xanga - A big majority -- 70% to 80%? can't remember the exact number -- of cellphones confiscated in Saudi Arabia from young males have porn on them. So which society were you talking about that has no porn?
@TheHiddenRose86@xanga - It is very common when porn is discussed among Christians that a big problem with it is the way it hurts women (objectifying at the least, and the sex trade & slavery at the worst). And not just discussion. I recently heard of a Vineyard pastor who's been threatened with death for his work in trying to rescue women from the sex slave trade.
@Shy___Away@xanga - Maybe the only people YOU know personally who suffer from porn addiction are Christians, but it is absurd to suggest that this addiction is just a problem for Christians. Dr. Laura Berman, a sex therapist who was interviewed on MSNBC, said "Sexual addiction is not considered a formal psychiatric diagnosis, but anyone who's out there treating, you know, in the world of sex therapy or even treating couples is seeing this. It's becoming a pandemic, in terms of the clinical experience of it, because couples are coming forward with this all the time." Pandemic! This is not something isolated to one group of people, such as Christians.
Second, you're just splitting hairs here. The fact is that porn is banned out there. You can see the repression caused by the morality police. I am willing to wager that the 80% that watch porn are not terrorists.
@too_pretty_to_die@xanga - Yeah, I don't get that.
I don't think very highly of the porn industry, but it is certainly not to be compared to human trafficking.
@coolmonkey@xanga - "I am willing to wager that the 80% that watch porn are not terrorists." I can agree with that, though probably not for the reasons you are thinking.
Shouldn't christian groups be going after pedophile priests??? Professional football after that since that causes even more divorce. Better yet I think we should just start shooting these worthless heathens and unbelievers, why mess around, they are too hard hearten anyhow.
Its late but good that people are fighting against the porn industries.