Category Archives: Sexuality

Purity in the age of mobile porn

Up front

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Until recently, I’d not owned a mobile phone. But I was aware of the growing need for one: as the kids get older, my family seems more and more reliant on using mobiles to keep in touch. It was inevitable; resistance was futile.

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Sexual immorality: Some thoughts from Corinth

Thought

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Pornography, sexual temptation and sexual failure are one of the great issues for God’s people as we learn to live in the always-connected age. It’s a problem that’s not about to go away any time soon. In the face of such a massive challenge to Christian living, it is important for us to learn how to talk honestly with each other about our struggle to live pure lives. Our churches need to provide places for Christians to support each other in this struggle. That’s the essence of what James Warren’s excellent article is about. But instead of running it as the first feature in this issue, we decided to start with Gordon’s piece on lessons learned from Corinth. The final and ultimate solution to dealing with our sexual sins is not community (although that is vital), but the death and resurrection of Jesus. As you spend some time thinking about these problems, don’t jump straight to the second article; we need to hear everything both articles have to say—over and over again. (more…)

The naked truth about porn

Life

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Pornography is an extremely important and complex issue, but it isn’t easy to talk about, even though it’s now a part of mainstream culture. In this insightful article, James Warren opens up the topic and asks “What is porn?”, “Why is it a problem?” and “What can we do about it?” (more…)

Walking with Gay Friends

Review

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Walking with Gay Friends
Alex Tylee

Inter-Varsity Press, Downers Grove, 2007, 160pp.

Suggesting that homosexuality is a sin is unpopular. Going further and suggesting that change and healing from homosexual sin is possible is always going to be a tough sell. Nevertheless, this is exactly what Alex Tylee manages to achieve in Walking with Gay Friends. (more…)

Censorship, art and pornography

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In May 2008, a Sydney art gallery featured some nude photographs of 12 and 13-year-olds by artist Bill Henson. The papers were flooded with unflattering images of police action against the artist. The intelligentsia rushed to the barricades, all chanting the same mantra. The politicians and other community leaders were caught expressing popular, but indefensible sound bites. As usual, the question of censorship arose. How should we think about it as Christians? (more…)

The porn problem

Life

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It’s official: smoking in films influences teens. Newspapers around the nation on 11 June 2003 reported a new study—published online that day in The Lancet—that surveyed 3500 adolescents who had never smoked, and assessed their exposure to smoking in movies. A follow-up survey some time later found that those who had watched ‘hard-smoking’ movies were up to three times more likely to take up the habit themselves. Health groups have called for an ‘R’ rating on all films with frequent smoking scenes.

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Ministry and pornography: some practical help

Everyday Ministry

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As Tony Payne mentioned in his ‘Couldn’t Help Noticing’ column, the Australia Institute has published a report—Youth and Pornography in Australia—the first survey of Australian teenagers’ exposure to pornography on the internet. It shows that 84 per cent of boys and 60 per cent of girls aged 16 and 17 have stumbled onto sex sites on the internet. In addition, 38 per cent of boys and 2 per cent of girls say they have sought out sex sites. For boys, 73 per cent report that they have watched X-rated videos, with 20 per cent accessing these monthly. 11 per cent of girls have watched an X-rated video.

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Why I hate pornography

Life

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I hate pornography!

I hate it for all the sorts of reasons that you might have guessed. I hate the exploitation of women and the cheapening of sexuality. I hate the cheap label it places on love. I hate it because I love women—I have a mum and a sister; I have dear female friends and sisters in Christ; and if I can one day convince someone to marry an old sinner like me (25, single, good-looking, likes walking and romantic dinners), I will have a wife.

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