What This Deadly Creature Teaches Us About Pornography
How is pornography paralyzing the church?
Like venom from a blue ringed octopus, it leaves men alive but unable to move or speak. With over 68 percent of church going men viewing porn regularly, guilt and shame convince them they are unworthy to lead and afraid to admit anything, so they avoid ministry and suffocate spiritually. Dr. Ted Roberts warns that telling a man to try harder only tightens the noose, because this is a brain problem, not just a moral one.
Paralysis is a frightening concept; to be alive but unable to speak, unable to move. Growing up in Australia, I remember, as a young boy, being terrified when I first heard what happens to humans when they are bitten by a Blue Ringed Octopus.
Blue Ringed Octopus
This slimy, slithering creature produces venom that completely paralyses its victim.
You can’t move, you can’t speak, you can’t even breathe. And that’s how most victims die, unable to tell those around you that you are suffocating.
Most victims don’t know they have been bitten until it’s too late. One reporter explained, “You hear the doctor pronounce that you’re dead and there is nothing you can do to tell them you’re still alive.”
Related Article: 3 Reasons Why Churches Remain Silent About Porn
Paralyzed By Porn
Pornography is having much the same effect on the Church right now with over 68% of churchgoing men viewing porn on a regular basis. When men view porn, they become stricken with guilt and shame which leads to feeling unworthy to lead and afraid to speak out. Their secret sin becomes a dead weight in their life. They avoid ministry opportunities and begin to suffocate spiritually.
Related Article: Why 68% of Christian Men Watch Porn
Chris Ogden is the Adult Ministry Pastor at Orlando First Baptist Church. He also runs a support group for men at his church using a powerful cinematic curriculum called the Conquer Series. Ogden recalls what guys are like when they first enter his Conquer Group, a support group for men who struggle with porn;
“For a lot of guys that have struggled in the area of sexuality, the lie becomes ‘This is just who I am. This cannot change. This will never go away. I might enjoy a week or a month [of sobriety] here or there but ultimately this is embedded in my soul, I can’t get free of it.'”
Related Article: Who Am I? Knowing Your Identity Brings Freedom From Porn
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.
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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.”
Related Article: Trying Harder Doesn't Work
Related Article: The Church’s Typical Response To Porn Isn’t Working
Fresh Air
Recall for a moment the Blue Ringed Octopus. While there is no antivenom, if the victim is placed on a ventilator and receives ongoing respiratory treatment, he can survive long enough for the paralysis to subside.
In the same way, the Conquer Series has provided a breath of fresh air for millions of men in more than 100 countries around the world as they are trained with biblical principles and proven strategies to conquer porn and walk in freedom.
Related Article: How These Men Are Getting Over Porn
Ogden recounts what happens to these men as they go through the Conquer Series:
“As the guys in our church walk through that, you could just see that flame of hope kind of rekindle, and them saying, ‘I not only believe what they’re saying is true, but I think it could be true for me.’ And I think when that switch happens, that’s when God unleashes the power in the guy’s life.”
Larry Tormey leads the Conquer Series at the First Presbyterian Church of Lake Placid in Florida.
“We have been using the Conquer Series for over a year, showing this to hundreds of men. It has been not only a God-send for these men, but for me personally,” says Tormey.
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
How many churchgoing men watch porn?
More than 68% of churchgoing men view porn on a regular basis. That is not a fringe problem at the edges of the congregation, it is most of the men in the room on a Sunday morning. It includes men who serve, men who give, and men who love Jesus sincerely, which is exactly why the silence around it is so costly.
Why don't men in church admit they are struggling with porn?
Because guilt and shame convince them they are disqualified. A man who views porn quickly feels unworthy to lead and afraid to speak out, so his secret sin becomes a dead weight he carries alone. He starts avoiding ministry opportunities and begins to suffocate spiritually, and no one around him knows anything is wrong until something breaks.
Is porn addiction a moral problem or a brain problem?
It starts as a moral problem and quickly becomes a brain problem, which is why the church’s usual answer keeps failing. "We tell men to try harder, pray harder, love Jesus more," says Dr. Ted Roberts, host of the Conquer Series. He 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."
What lie keeps men stuck in sexual sin?
The lie that this is simply who they are. Chris Ogden, Adult Ministry Pastor at Orlando First Baptist Church, hears it whenever a new group starts: "For a lot of guys that have struggled in the area of sexuality, the lie becomes ‘This is just who I am. This cannot change. This will never go away.’" That belief does more damage than the behavior does, because a man convinced he cannot change will not fight.
Can a man really get free after years of porn?
Yes. Millions of men in more than 100 countries have been trained with biblical principles and proven strategies to walk in freedom. Chris Ogden, Adult Ministry Pastor at Orlando First Baptist Church, describes the turn: "you could just see that flame of hope kind of rekindle, and them saying, ‘I not only believe what they’re saying is true, but I think it could be true for me.’ And I think when that switch happens, that’s when God unleashes the power in the guy’s life."
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