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I recall a bumper sticker from some time ago that said, "I do what the voices in my head tell me to do." At the time I thought that was somewhat cute; a novel way to poke fun at mental illness. However, as I have worked in the field of mental health for almost two decades, I realize there is more truth to that statement than I would like to admit. Often we do in fact do what the voices in our head tell us to do. And depending upon the nature of that self-talk (negative or positive) our emotions, our performance, our relationships, and our overall mental and emotional healthy will be effected.
What did I say? I said, “We need more porn in church!” More specifically, we need more discussion about porn in our churches. Before I became a counselor, I was a pastor. For 22 years I married couples, buried the deceased, led meetings, preached, taught Sunday School classes, did fund raising, and a multitude of other tasks too numerous to mention. I also provided counsel to many struggling with addictions of various sorts…including addiction to pornography.
In The Anatomy of the Soul, Curt Thompson M.D. combines recent developments in neuroscience with a more classical approach to spiritual growth from a distinctively Christian perspective…good stuff.
The impact of porn on the brain is significant and lasting. While some argue that viewing porn is harmless and those who complain about its use are old-fashioned and closed-minded, neuroscience provides important information to the contrary. This is particularly true for adolescents whose brains are still developing. Consider this:
Recently I was privileged to be part of a conference in which I spoke on the topic of “Avoiding the Spiritual Bypass: Why Solving Sexual Problems is more than a Spiritual Issue.” Here’s a summary of my presentation.