The Road to Hell is Paved with Porn – How should we address pornography in the church?

I came across this fun two-part video on YouTube recently. Wretched Radio’s Todd Friel gives his take on pornography addiction among Christians.

Things I like about his message . . .

1. He calls porn use what it is: evil – It is easy in our psychology-rich culture for us to amoralize everything into weak choices made by mere victims and wounded people. To be sure, many are emotionally wounded by others, and we are all sinned against. But when we use psychological excuses to neuter the sin’s real nature, we have missed the boat.

I think John Piper’s words on this are most fitting:

“As I look across the Christian landscape, I think it is fair to say concerning sin, ‘They have healed the wound of my people lightly’ (Jer. 6:14; 8:11, ESV). I take this to refer to leaders who should be helping the church know and feel the seriousness of indwelling sin (Rom. 7:20), and how to fight it and kill it (Rom. 8:13). Instead the depth and complexity and ugliness and danger of sin in professing Christians is either minimized—since we are already justified—or psychologized as a symptom of woundedness rather than corruption.

“This is a tragically light healing. I call it a tragedy because by making life easier for ourselves in minimizing the nature and seriousness of our sin, we become greater victims of it. We are in fact not healing ourselves. Those who say that they already feel bad enough without being told about the corruptions of indwelling sin misread the path to peace. When our people have not been taught well about the real nature of sin and how it works and how to put it to death, most of the miseries people report are not owing to the disease but its symptoms.”

2. He gets to the root of porn addiction: idolatry – Friel comments, porn use is “bowing in worship of the flesh.” As I look back over my past addiction to porn, I most certainly see the root of idolatry that drove such sin, the root that still tempts me to sin today.

3. He gets to the heart of our deepest need: the cross – Not just counseling. Not just turning over a new leaf. Friel rightly states that no one can save us from the guilt and power of sin but Christ alone.

4. He accurately describes the deep, never-satisfied nature of pornographic thirst

5. He accurately contrasts pornographic lust and real love-making – I really liked the phrase about godly men who commit to “loving one woman and dedicate their energies to creative living.” Well said.

6. He rightly questions the salvation of the nonrepentant porn addict – It isn’t in vogue today to poke holes in people’s assurance of salvation, but if we think this sort of preaching has no place in the family of God (or on TV) then we should also throw out many of Jesus’ statements and other Bible passages.

Friel rightly identifies one of the marks of a true believer: someone who is battling sin in “DEFCON 5 mode” around the clock. The apostle John says something very similar in his first letter.

7. He is right that it is not the wife’s fault – This is a needed word for hurting wives, for sure. Many women naturally ask, “What’s wrong with me?” when they see their husbands return to porn again and again.

8. He doesn’t take himself too seriously – I think most people would agree with Friel’s comment about his show being a bit “dopey.” I like that he doesn’t think so highly of his program that he is blind to its somewhat cheesy quality.

9. He rightly addresses the seriousness problem of porn in the military – Pornography in the military is rampant. The Military Honor and Decency Act is one senator’s attempt to ban the sale of porn on military bases. From a pastoral angle, Mark Driscoll’s free e-book, Porn Again Christian, addressed head-on the problem of pornography in the American military, and his church even sent hundreds of copies of this book to soldiers serving in foreign lands.

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Things I’m not sure about . . .

1. I’m not sure about his use of biting language or sarcasm – I’m not against sarcasm or strong language outright. For some, this name-calling may seem un-Christian: words like pervert, disciple of the devil, sicko, and dog. But again, if we denounce this sort of language, certainly many of the hard-hitting statements of the prophets and Jesus are even harder to hear. How do you think Friel comes off in the way he talks? Thoughts?

2. He might be condemning the true believer – Friel says Christians fall into sin from time to time, but “if you’re continuing in sin, you’re of the devil.” He says this three times and assumes that people will clearly understand the difference between falling into sin and diving into it (to use his terms). This contrast may not be so clear to the Christian who feels the strong pull of porn on his heart.

3. Is nothing more damaging than porn? – Perhaps this is merely a poetic statement, but it bears examination. Michael Pearl writes the porn addict is “falling further” than our father Adam. He amplifies this,  saying porn addiction drives us as far away from God “as we can possibly get.” Friel states that there is “nothing more damaging” to a soul than porn addiction. Given my past, I would probably be the first person to shout a proverbial “Amen” to these statements, but in reality, I wonder if this sort of language is warranted. Thoughts?

4. He’s not clear why porn in the military is a violation of church and state doctrine – This sort of flies out of Friel’s mouth. It isn’t really clear if he’s sarcastic or serious, and it isn’t clear what it would mean either way.

Any thoughts on these video clips?