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.
