Florida Declares Porn A Public Health Risk
Why is porn being declared a public health risk?
Because lawmakers now connect it to measurable harm. Florida joined Utah, South Dakota, Kansas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Virginia, and Pennsylvania in passing such a declaration, citing links to mental and physical illness, difficulty forming intimate relationships, and unhealthy brain development. Jeremy Wiles reports seeing SPECT scans in which the porn addicted brain showed greater deterioration than the heroin addicted brain.
The Florida Legislature has declared pornography a public health risk this week, following eight other States who’ve all made similar declarations. Republican Rep. Ross Spano sponsored the bill which was passed in Tallahassee, Fl on Tuesday morning calling for research, education and policy changes to protect Florida citizens from pornography. There is a “…correlation between pornography use and mental and physical illnesses, difficulty forming and maintaining intimate relationships, unhealthy brain development and cognitive function, and deviant, problematic or dangerous sexual behavior,” said Spano. Utah, the State with the highest consumption of porn per person, was the first state to pass a resolution declaring pornography as a public health crisis back in 2016. Utah has since been joined by South Dakota, Kansas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Virginia, Pennsylvania and this week, Florida. Even the Canadian Parliament has passed a motion to study the public health impacts of pornography. President Trump also signed a pledge during his election campaign to defend the innocence and dignity of America’s children by enforcing the existing federal laws and advancing public policies designed to, “prevent the sexual exploitation of children online and to make the Internet safer for all.” So why the movement to declare porn a public health risk?
Because it is!
Jeremy Wiles who directed a film series that helps men break free from porn, had the opportunity to interview several brain experts in the making of the Conquer Series. “I interviewed a neuroscientist who showed me brain SPECT scans of a normal brain, a heroin addicted brain and a porn addicted brain. The porn addicted brain had the greatest deterioration in brain activity,” says Wiles. When a mother is breastfeeding her child, her brain releases neurochemicals that bond her to her child. When you watch porn, these same powerful neurochemicals such as dopamine are released, which bond you to those images. This is why Satan attacks our sexuality so much, because in attacking human sexuality it actually interferes with human bonding. According to neuropsychologist, Dr. Tim Jennings from the Conquer Series, “Any type of repetitive behavior will create trails in our brain that are going to fire on an automatic sequence.” The result is years of bondage.
Churches should be the hospitals in this health crisis, but only 7% of pastors say that they have a program for those struggling with porn.
In a 2016 Barna Group research study commissioned by Josh McDowell Ministry, church leadership indicated that this problem is much bigger than it was 20 years ago, yet only 7% of Pastors said they have a ministry program for those struggling with porn.
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Thankfully, there is a solution!
Thousands of churches in over 80 countries are beginning to run the Conquer Series, a cinematic study to help men conquer porn and walk in freedom. Dr. Ted Roberts, host of the Conquer Series, who has counseled thousands of men to freedom from pornography, discusses why so many people in the church can’t stop viewing porn. Churches often treat this issue as a moral one, but fail to recognize it’s mainly a brain problem, “We tell men to try harder, pray harder, love Jesus more.” Dr. Roberts adds, “But, what starts off as a moral problem, quickly becomes a brain problem. Telling a man to try harder is only tightening the ‘noose’ of bondage.” Through the Conquer Series, men learn a Grace-based approach using proven principles and biblical strategies. It has become “ground zero” for the movement of men who are conquering porn. It presents the battle plan for purity. Over 1,000,000 men have gone through the course. The Conquer Series is a 10-week course, available to help the men of your church find healing and freedom.
Related Article: Government Declares Porn A Public Health Crisis
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For more on this, take a look at how pornography is poisoning society and how to break free from porn.
Writing at the intersection of faith and neuroscience to help men and women break destructive cycles and walk in lasting freedom.
More articles by Jeremy Wiles →Frequently Asked Questions
What does the Florida pornography bill actually do?
It names pornography a public health risk and calls for research, education and policy changes to protect Florida citizens from it. Republican Rep. Ross Spano, who sponsored the bill, cited a "…correlation between pornography use and mental and physical illnesses, difficulty forming and maintaining intimate relationships, unhealthy brain development and cognitive function, and deviant, problematic or dangerous sexual behavior." Florida became the ninth state to make that finding.
How does pornography affect the brain?
It bonds you to what you look at. When a mother breastfeeds her child, her brain releases neurochemicals that bond her to that child; porn releases those same powerful neurochemicals, including dopamine, and bonds you to the images instead. As neuropsychologist Dr. Tim Jennings, from the Conquer Series, puts it, "Any type of repetitive behavior will create trails in our brain that are going to fire on an automatic sequence." The result is years of bondage.
Which states have declared pornography a public health crisis?
Utah, the state with the highest consumption of porn per person, was first, passing its resolution in 2016. South Dakota, Kansas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Virginia and Pennsylvania followed, with Florida making nine. The Canadian Parliament has also passed a motion to study the public health impacts of pornography. The legislative tide is turning, slowly, in one direction.
Why doesn't telling a man to try harder help him quit porn?
Because it treats a brain problem as though it were only a moral one. Dr. Ted Roberts, host of the Conquer Series, names the church's usual counsel — "We tell men to try harder, pray harder, love Jesus more" — and then the flaw in it: "what starts off as a moral problem, quickly becomes a brain problem. Telling a man to try harder is only tightening the 'noose' of bondage." He needs a grace-based battle plan, not more pressure.
What can my church do about pornography?
Churches should be the hospitals in this health crisis, yet only 7 percent of pastors say they have a program for those struggling with porn, even as leadership acknowledges the problem is far bigger than it was 20 years ago. Thousands of churches in over 80 countries now run the Conquer Series, a ten-week cinematic course, to bring men into healing and freedom.
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