Protecting children online

Peter and Lydia (Photo credit: Michael Sarver)

I wonder if anyone has an answer for this: what proportion of people who’ve seen naughty images saw it on purpose? In other words, how many people who have never experienced anything like that actually go out of their way to find them?

I’d be willing to guess that the proportion would be pretty small. Most people I talk to say that the first time they saw a naked lady or whatever was by someone else showing it to them, or a random popup on the internet, or simply searching for something innocent online and finding that it means something entirely different in ‘that world’.

For me, that thing I was searching for was ‘deckchair’. What on earth?

I read an article a couple of weeks ago written by a lady who searched for a Christian video by its exact title, and six of the top ten results were pornographic.

That gets pretty scary when you imagine a child innocently searching for something fun and stumbling across something that will affect them for the rest of their lives. How about when you imagine your child doing that?

That article finishes by saying this:

There are sites dedicated to childhood cartoon pornography, and you know they aren’t for the adults. It brings a new perspective to 1 Peter 5:8, when we are told to be sober and vigilant because our adversary is roaming around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.

If a roaring lion were after you and your child, what would you do?

Please, parents be vigilant, for the sake of your sons (and daughters), be watching. Be involved. Know what is finding your kids.

I’d encourage you to read the whole thing.

Related articles

• What should Christian parents do if they have a prodigal Son or Daughter? (raymondjclements.wordpress.com)

Living by God's Promises by Joel R. Beeke & James A. LaBelle (audio)

This book is a modernised compilation of the works of three Puritans, Andrew Gray, Edward Leigh, and William Spurstowe, all looking at the promises of God, and how to then live life in light of them.

Firstly, let’s just point out that when I say that this is a ‘modernised’ compilation, that doesn’t mean that the content has been ‘dumbed down’. The Puritans often wrote phenomenally heavy, content-rich works, and this is an attempt to communicate that same level of truth but for a modern-day audience. This is still one of those books where every word of every sentence has justified its existence, and that means that in reading it it’s likely you’re being bombarded with challenging truths.

I’m not convinced, therefore, that audio is the best format for this book. On several occasions I heard a sentence and had to skip back to actually listen to it! At some points it felt like every sentence had a new challenge in it, and I would have probably preferred to have this written down instead so I could have paused, and meditated on a particular biblical idea.

That said, this is still an outstanding book. Every chapter looks at a different aspect of God’s promises (such as God’s promises in prayer, in suffering, in temptation), and each time I found myself drawn to seeing things in a new light. It’s worth setting some time aside to focus on the book, because the writing style is hardly one for casual reading, but I’d recommend this in a flash to anyone, Christian or non.

I got this audiobook for free from christianaudio.com. I’m not required to give a positive review.

How to Stay Christian in College by J. Budziszewski

This book is a manual written for current and future university students, designed to give them good preparation for coping with the spiritual battleground that is the uni campus.

I was excited about this book. It seemed to directly address a real problem, talking about real issues and not backing down. It was also really practical, so even though the opening chapters were talking about theology, the application was wonderfully clear.

But that said, I think the book let itself down when it tried to become too practical. In particular some imaginary conversations were recorded to show how certain logic can overcome incorrect worldviews, but it just didn’t seem realistic enough for me.

The two chapters on sex and politics stood out as particularly unhelpful. While I fully agreed with almost everything the author said, the analogies were flawed and talked about things which don’t seem that much of a concern any more. Maybe it’s because I’m from the UK but politics didn’t massively interest anyone I knew when I was at uni!

Overall I think this book’s heart is in the right place. It will certainly encourage Christian teenagers to enter university prepared to discuss their opinions in an informed manner. That said, I don’t think this would do much more than provide ammunition for a teenager who was ready to rebel at 18.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from NavPress Publishers as part of their Blogger Review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Resources for dealing with a porn addiction

I’ve been told off before by non-Christians for talking about ‘secret things which go on in the bedroom’ because that’s none of my business. Fair enough point of view, but it’s clear that pornography has a detrimental effect on relationships, self-esteem, jobs, finances, and the perception of women today.

It seems that there’s been a flurry of activity on a bunch of Christian blogs recently with resources for this, so I thought I’d try to gather some of them here, in case people would find them useful.

A selection of excellent 60-day courses which really work at Setting Captives Free

Thabiti Anyabwile on gypsy moths

A long, but very good scientific article on the addictive effects of pornography

Women and pornography

XXXChurch

Breaking the addiction – parts one and two

Justin Taylor’s list of fantastic resources

John Piper – a sermon, and the ANTHEM blog post

Mark Driscoll’s Porn Again Christian book

Tim Challies’ Sexual Detox for single guys and married guys

30 pages of research on porn’s effects

Randy Alcorn on the cost of pornography

That’s all for now. Hope it helps someone.

A pretty girl

I’m on the tube and a pretty girl sat opposite me and proceeded to begin falling asleep. My sin was not moving to sit elsewhere to flee temptation but after a stop a man in his late 40s-early 50s came on board and simply stared at this pretty girl, who is in her early twenties.
Now normally I would have jumped on the ‘he’s a sinner and needs Jesus’ van but on this occasion my heart went out to this young lady; she doesn’t even know she’s being sinned against but is picking up this filth anyway and needs Jesus just as much.
Thank God that Jesus’ sacrifice was not just to forgive our sins but to remove every penalty and consequence of that sin – if that girl becomes a Christian (and my prayer is that she will, or has!) then she is washed completely clean of that horrible man’s eyes.
Thank God there is no sin in heaven.
I think I’m going to like it there.