The Church and Porn, part 3

This is the last of a three-part series: here are the links to part 1 and part 2.

Okay, to summarize my two previous posts: Paul Byerly, of Generous Husband, started a discussion among CMBA bloggers about pornography and the efficacy of the Church’s response. This is something I’ve been thinking about, and so did my first post on making the main thing the main thing, and not wandering off on crusades. My second post was a brief (for me, anyway) look at some examples of how Christians have affected society in the past.

Today, I want to try to tie those two posts together in a suggestion/rant (take your pick.)

A Quick PSA

I don’t normally tell my readers about something that is for sale, but this calls for an exception. However, I just received notice in my inbox that an excellent marriage resource is available at a bargain price.

All too often, one of the partners in a marriage is occupying the place of a doormat for the other. Unable to say “No” and desiring to be “a witness for Christ,” they carry the burdens of the marriage in an unequal relationship. One of my recommendations for new readers is to join The Marriage Bed forum (see sidebar for link); one of the most recommended books on TMB is Boundaries, by Cloud and Townsend. It tells how to set proper boundaries in marriage in order to restore normalcy to relationships.

If you use either a Kindle reader or iBooks on an Apple device, the book is available from just $2.99. I am buying it for my iPad and I highly recommend readers get it, as well. 

One final note, I do not have any affiliate programs going, so this isn’t something that I do for support. (This post will stay up as long as the book is on sale.)

CSL

The Church and Porn, part 2

This is the second of a three-part series: here are the links to part 1 and part 3.

Members of the Christian Marriage Bloggers Assn. are in the process of discussing the damaging effects of porn on marriage, and how the Church is responding to it. I have been thinking about the issue of porn and the Church’s response, and I’ve come to the conclusion that much of our response, while not necessarily ill-advised, is merely ineffective. In my previous post, I presented the idea that when we choose to come against a sin, we do two things: we approach the fight in our own strength and not in God’s spirit, and we change our identity from Christians to Crusaders.

My thought is that we need to “make the main thing the main thing” by downplaying what we are “agin” and emphasizing the evangelism of our society. In essence, as some might deride it, return to that old time religion. It’s worked in the past, so why do you think that mankind is too sophisticated for God’s good news?

The Church and Porn, part 1

This is the first of a three-part series: here are the links to part 2 and part 3.

This is going to be another departure from what I usually try to address on my blog, but I want to respond to something that Paul Byerly asked of the members of the Christian Marriage Bloggers Assn. Without giving the text, I will say that Paul B. wrote of his concern about the damage that pornography is doing to marriages in our country, and asked if the Church’s message and approach in responding to porn should be changed.

“It’s Y’ALL’S Sex Life”

Just a quick-hitter this week.

If you’ve read much of my blog, you will have come across the above title any number of times; it’s become one of my mantras. Just a few minutes ago, I read an article that came out last week from the Chicago Tribune, telling of a survey done by the Pew Research Center.

The take-away from the Pew study was supposed to be that shared chores was that the key to a happy marriage. The survey of 35,000 adults showed that 56% of the respondents said that “shared chores” were very important to a happy marriage. In fact, that was the headline of the Pew Center’s article.