Anti porn site helps fight
porn on the Internet
CORONA, Calif.-Two youth pastors are combating
pornography in an admittedly irreverent way.
Craig Gross and Mike Foster created XXXchurch.com "to bring
awareness, openness, accountability, and recovery" to people
harmed by porn. They chose their Web site's name because it's
"provocative, memorable, and it combines the seedy and the
sacred." And they chose their tag line, "The #1 Christian porn
site," because "it ticks stuffy old religious people off."
Gross, 28, says he feels a Christian duty to
let young people know that pornography is "not what God has
intended for us." Porn warps young people's sexual expectations
and makes them selfish marriage partners, he says.
A software program offered on XXXchurch.com
tracks all the Web sites viewed on a particular computer. The
computer's user can designate someone to receive an
accountability report listing those sites.
Michael Godby, an 18-year-old who's trying to
stop viewing porn, has his report sent to his mom.
XXXchurch.com receives lots of hate mail.
Comments range from "I personally don't see anything morally
wrong with pornography" to "You must have done untold damage to
Christianity."
The main people who don't like us are from the
church, Gross says. "But we really believe this is what Jesus
would be doing. Jesus was a controversial figure."
Sources: abcnews.com, xxxchurch.com,
foxnews.com
How do you feel about XXXchurch.com? Do you
think Gross and Foster have good intentions? use effective
tactics? Explain. Do you think Jesus would approve of
XXXchurch.com? Why or why not? Is it sometimes necessary to use
provocative tactics to reach sinners, or is it wrong to stoop to
this level? Explain.
Does combining "the seedy and the sacred"
debase Christianity? reach people who might otherwise be turned
off by religion? Explain. What made Jesus so controversial? Do
you think Christians should strive to emulate him in this area?
Why or why not? Do you see anything "morally wrong" with
pornography? Why or why not? Do you think it's harmless? can
have long-term consequences for young people's lives? Explain.
How serious of a sin or problem do your peers consider porn to
be, and why?
What role does accountability play in trying
to overcome a sin? Is it possible to be accountable just to
yourself and to God, or is it important to be accountable to
someone else as well? Explain. If someone received a list of Web
sites you've viewed recently, how would you feel, and why? In
what areas of your life do you currently need to be held
accountable? Who do you trust to help you with this, and why? In
what ways do you hold other people accountable for their sins?
Scripture links: Ecclesiastes 4:9-10; Luke
19:1-10; John 8:1-11; 1 Corinthians 6:12-20; 1 Thessalonians
4:3-8; and James 1:13-15.
|
