7 minute read
President's Message
President's Message by Mimi Haddad
Porn’s Complicity in Abuse
When my husband and I were engaged, our pastor guided us through a fairly rigorous premarital assessment and counseling process. While our profile placed us in a category likely to succeed in marriage, our pastor might have addressed struggles so many couples encounter, like porn or abuse. Equally troubling, none of my graduate or seminary courses mentioned porn.
Even now, fifteen years later, Christians hardly discuss the topic. Given the prevalence of porn use among Christians and its abusive impact on marriages, it is stunning that I’ve never heard a sermon on porn. Nor has the topic been raised in adult education or addressed widely in egalitarian resources. Yet porn is one of the most lucrative industries on earth, and for decades it has damaged Christian minds and relationships. This is why it’s time for CBE International, and all Christians, to speak about porn in clear and definitive ways.1 Christians consume porn at nearly the same rates as non-Christians,2 contributing to what may be the “fastest-growing business of organized crime in the world, receiving more visitors each month than Netflix, Amazon, and Twitter combined.”3 Generating over an estimated $6 billion in 2018 alone,4 57 percent of men and 22 percent of women seek out porn at least monthly.5 Studies show how porn undermines intimate, mutually satisfying sexual relationships,6 and users have higher rates of marital infidelity and divorce.7 These are only a few of the surface-level facts about porn use. As we dig further, it gets much worse. Let’s be clear: porn dehumanizes, objectifies, and abuses women and girls. Does porn consumption foster the abuse of girls and women? The short answer is yes. Porn use fosters not only sex-trafficking but also intimate partner violence.8 In porn, male domination, gang rape, strict gender roles, and sexual violence perpetrated on younger and younger females elicits sexual arousal, feeding the market for sex slaves.9 The raping of youth is filmed and sold on the dark web—a massively lucrative industry with a majority of male users.10 Porn users are, therefore, complicit in sex trafficking. Knowing all of this, how can Christians respond? First, we can challenge power and dominance as Jesus did, devoting ourselves all the more to serving (Luke 22:24–27). Second, we can learn from and imitate the powerful male-female leadership teams in the Bible and throughout church history. Third, we can build empathy by listening and giving platforms to people we have historically silenced—the world's women. Fourth, we can appoint leaders not because they are male, but because they demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22–23).
As we navigate a pornified world and church, we keep our eyes open, our minds informed, and our conversations candid and frequent. And we pray without ceasing.
1. Much of this content was published in my chapter, “Human Flourishing: Global Perspectives,” in Discovering Biblical Equality: Biblical,
Theological, Cultural & Practical Perspectives, ed. Ronald W. Pierce, Cynthia Long Westfall, and Christa L. McKirland (Downers Grove, IL:
InterVarsity Press, 2021), 633–34. 2. Penny Starr, “Pornography Use Among Self-Identified Christians Largely Mirrors National Average, Survey Finds,” CNS News, 27 August 2015, https://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/penny-starr/pornography-use-among-self-identified-christians-largely-mirrors-national. 3. Marlo Safi, “The Porn Industry and Human Trafficking Reinforce Each Other,” National Review, 1 August 2018, https://www. nationalreview.com/2018/08/porn-human-trafficking-reinforce-each-other/. 4. Ross Benes, “Porn Could Have a Bigger Economic Influence on the US than Netflix,” Quartz, 20 June 2018, https://qz.com/1309527/porncould-have-a-bigger-economic-influence-on-the-us-than-netflix/. 5. Josh McDowell and Barna Group, The Porn Phenomenon: The Impact of Pornography in the Digital Age (Ventura: Barna Group, 2016), 33. 6. Amanda M. Maddox, Galena K. Rhoades, and Howard J. Markman, “Viewing Sexually-Explicit Materials Alone or Together: Associations with Relationship Quality” Archives of Sexual Behavior 40, no. 2 (2011): 441–48, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-009-9585-4. 7. Samuel L. Perry and Cyrus Schleifer, “Till Porn Do Us Part? A Longitudinal Examination of Pornography Use and Divorce,” The Journal of
Sex Research 55, no. 3 (2018): 284–96, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00224499.2017.1317709. 8. Haley McNamara, “Three Ways Domestic Violence Is Connected to Pornography,” National Center on Sexual Exploitation, 1 October 2018, https://endsexualexploitation.org/articles/three-ways-domestic-violence-is-connected-to-pornography/. 9. Safi, “The Porn Industry.” 10. Dusan Trickovic, “21 Intriguing Dark Web Statistics in 2022,” Website Builder, 28 Feb 2022, https://websitebuilder.org/blog/dark-web-statistics.
CBE INTERNATIONAL (Christians for Biblical Equality)
MISSION STATEMENT
CBE exists to promote the biblical message that God calls women and men of all cultures, races, and classes to share authority equally in service and leadership in the home, church, and world. CBE’s mission is to eliminate the power imbalance between men and women resulting from theological patriarchy.
STATEMENT OF FAITH
• We believe in one God, creator and sustainer of the universe, eternally existing as three persons equal in power and glory. • We believe in the full deity and the full humanity of Jesus
Christ. • We believe that eternal salvation and restored relationships are only possible through faith in Jesus Christ who died for us, rose from the dead, and is coming again. This salvation is offered to all people. • We believe the Holy Spirit equips us for service and sanctifies us from sin. • We believe the Bible is the inspired word of God, is reliable, and is the final authority for faith and practice. • We believe that women and men are equally created in
God’s image and given equal authority and stewardship of
God’s creation. • We believe that men and women are equally responsible for and distorted by sin, resulting in shattered relationships with God, self, and others.
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If your church, seminary, school, or nonprofit agrees with CBE’s Statement of Faith and Core Values, join CBE as an organizational member to receive publications, discounted conference registrations, and more.
Visit cbe.today/orgmembers for more info. CORE VALUES
• Scripture is our authoritative guide for faith, life, and practice.
• Patriarchy (male dominance) is not a biblical ideal but a result of sin.
• Patriarchy is an abuse of power, taking from females what
God has given them: their dignity, and freedom, their leadership, and often their very lives.
• While the Bible reflects patriarchal culture, the Bible does not teach patriarchy in human relationships.
• Christ’s redemptive work frees all people from patriarchy, calling women and men to share authority equally in service and leadership.
• God’s design for relationships includes faithful marriage between a man and a woman, celibate singleness, and mutual submission in Christian community.The unrestricted use of women’s gifts is integral to the work of the Holy Spirit and essential for the advancement of the gospel in the world.
Followers of Christ are to oppose injustice and patriarchal teachings and practices that marginalize and abuse females and males.
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providing quality resources on biblical gender equality cbeBookstore For more resources,visitcbebookstore.org
