Conversations

So awhile back I was sitting with a pastor and we were talking about the struggles men face. Now, I have a past, as I firmly believe that most men do, but this pastor said something that struck me. He told me, "Yet it (sexual temptation) is every man's struggle, but not every man is addicted to pornography (sexual fantasy, masturbation, lust)" I didn't know what to think of his statement, so I thought I'd let some of the statistics speak for themselves...

This is from the Barna Group website:
In a survey taken 19% of all adults surveyed admitted to intentional exposure to pornography. Bear in mind that this is 1 of 5 adults AND only the ones who would ADMIT it. Also in this particular survey, younger adults are twice as likely as older ones to be viewing it.
Now, my pastor friend would say that Christians are different, but 44% of the admitting people are what we would call religious (comprising Evangelicals, Notional Christians, Catholics and the like. 50% of those surveyed were skeptics (atheists or agnostics.) Remember that all of these were the admitted ones.
In other thoughts of the nation, 59% of adults believe that enjoying sexual thoughts about someone is acceptable and 38% thought viewing pornography was morally acceptable.

"But that only goes to show you how pervasive the problem of pornography is these days. Surveys regularly reveal little difference between the rates of pornographic addictions in Christian and non-Christian men. The Hart Report, a confidential survey taken by Dr Archibald Hart, disclosed that 61% of all married Christian men masturbate regularly. research also reveals that somewhere between 30 and 40% of the pastors standing in our pulpits visit pornographic Web sites each year, depending on which sources you choose. Leadership magazine, for instance, found that not only had more than one-third of the pastors surveyed clicked on an adult Web site, but 75% of pastors still hadn't made themselves accountable to anyone for their Internet use."
-Every Heart Restored by Steven Arterburn, Fred & Brenda Stoeker

And about lust, the root problem Dr James Dobson says this:
"Men are not very discriminating in regard to the person living within an exciting body. A man can walk down the street and be stimulated by a scantily clad female who shimmies past him, even though he knows nothing about her personality of values of mental capabilities. He is attracted by her body itself. Likewise, he can become almost as excited over a photograph of an unknown nude model as he can in a face-to-face encounter with someone he loves.
What Wives Wish Their Husbands Knew About Women

It's funny that whenever I or my wife speak with someone about our past, invariably one of the couple says, "Really? Us too!" So is it really as this pastor says? Is it just a temptation for all men, but few of them are really giving in? I'll let the evidence speak for itself and let you decide...