Christian Action Commission

Internet porn a wide-ranging problem, even in the church

Editor’s note: This is part of a special four-part series of Baptist Press stories about Internet porn addiction.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Long before the surgeon general issued his 1964 report showing the devastating harm of smoking, much of the nation viewed cigarettes as fun and harmless, even cool.

A new report says much of America today has a similar naive attitude toward Internet pornography and that it needs to wake up and see porn’s destructive impact not only on individuals but also marriages, children and society in general—before it’s too late.

The 53-page report, called simply, “The Social Costs of Pornography,” was released by The Witherspoon Institute in Princeton, N.J., and was signed by more than 50 scholars from a wide variety of backgrounds: conservatives and liberals, Democrats and Republicans, atheists and Christians.

Gone are the days, the report notes, when porn was …

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Help needed to fight porn’s harmful impact

Editor’s note: This is part of a special four-part series of Baptist Press stories about Internet porn addiction.

WASHINGTON (BP)--A new report calls for celebrities, educators, lawmakers and journalists to help reduce the social harms of Internet pornography.

The 53-page document, “The Social Costs of Pornography: A Statement of Findings and Recommendations,” says Internet pornography is not “a harmless and victimless pursuit” but instead is a “social and personal health hazard.” It offers a series of proposals on reducing its harmful effects.

It calls upon celebrities and other influential people to use their social status to discourage pornography usage and the “so what” mentality. There is a particular need for awareness in the music industry, and the report encourages music artists to speak out against the degradation of women.

“If Eminem were to write a song saying ‘pornography is stupid,’ that would …

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Reliance on God leads to healing from porn

Editor’s note: This is part of a special four-part series of Baptist Press stories about Internet porn addiction.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Two women who have dealt with their husbands’ pornography addictions said the key to restoring their marriages was found in their own reliance on God.

Renee Crosse is married to Clay Crosse, who sings the title song for the project “Somebody’s Daughter,” a CD and DVD resource for helping couples heal from the ravages of pornography.

“It was quite shocking to me to find out that this was an issue, a struggle for him, because it was completely hidden. I really didn’t know that this was going on,” Renee told Baptist Press, recounting how she felt when she learned about her husband’s addiction in 1998.

Clay asked Renee to forgive him and to pray for him as he sought restoration and renewed …

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Porn & cell phones: protecting your kids

Editor’s note: This is part of a special four-part series of Baptist Press stories about Internet porn addiction.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Raising children and teens in a sexually charged culture was difficult long before cell phones and the Internet came along, but when technology combined the two into one handheld device—and added a camera—it became, some would say, nearly impossible.

Add to that the mix of social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, all of which allow instant and far-reaching communication, and the task gets even tougher.

Consider the fact that the fourth-most searched word on the Internet for kids ages 7 and under in 2009 was “porn,” according to data by OnlineFamily.Norton.com. For all kids up to age 18, sex was No. 4, porn No. 5.

And, Web-enabled cell phones—which are growing in popularity and are by their very nature …

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Be Careful, Little Hands, What You Type

In the past couple of years, a new method of communicating on the Internet has exploded in growth, particularly among teenagers. Many kids have a blog (short for web log or web diary) and are posting information that is available world wide. Teens use this medium to communicate their feelings, interests, or to just say “hi” to each other. Unfortunately, sexual predators sometimes use this information to get close to the children, posing as children themselves, and try to coax them into revealing inappropriate pictures of themselves or to have an actual face-to-face encounter. Some teens are revealing their first name, age, contact information, location, e-mail addresses, Instant Messenger name, birth date, link to their home page, and in twenty percent of cases, their full name. These blogs and social networking sites are all the rage among young Internet users. Some of these sites are found at http://www.MySpace.com,
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Pornography – The Sin of Choice

Monday, March 18, 2002, federal authorities investigating an Internet-based child pornography ring arrested 40 people in 20 states, including two Catholic priests, youth baseball coaches, a school bus driver, a police officer and a teacher’s aide. FBI has dubbed this effort “Operation Candyman.” This Internet child pornography ring has over 7,000 members worldwide with about 1,400 in the USA. More arrests are expected. www.USAToday.com.

Here are samples of the articles found in the Clarion Ledger daily newspaper over the past several months as they relate to pornography, especially child pornography:
“Police find porn, photos in kidnap suspect’s home,” Clarion Ledger, 4/10/01
”Child porn tops U.S. concern for Internet,” Clarion Ledger, 4/3/01
“100 arrested in child porn investigation,” Clarion Ledger, 8/9/01
“Supreme Court will hear federal child porn law case,” Clarion Ledger, 10/28/01
“FBI joins …

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