Guest Author - Diana Pederson

Recently I’ve heard of several families being nearly torn apart because a son or daughter got involved in making a porn movie for the internet. They only needed a digital camera or webcam to accomplish this. My heart bleeds for these families. How many marriages will be destroyed because of pornography? How many teens will have their lives ruined because they thought it was funny to create a porn movie and post it on the internet for the world to see?

I decided to learn just how widely spread porn addiction was among Christians today. Discovering that some 50% or more of Christian men (yes, including your deacons, elders, pastors, music directors, and youth leaders) admit being addicted to porn has left me in a state of shock. Then I read that 20 percent of Christian women admit to the same addiction. You can verify these statistics for yourself at: Pornography Statistics. The statistics are near the end of that web page.

Several articles at the Focus on the Family website address the issue of teens and pornography. I encourage you to review each of these links and decide what action you need to take because of this information.

Citizen Magazine Feature: Teens at Risk
Pornography and Children
How Safe is MySpace?
Should Parents Let Their Teens Access MySpace.com?
Myspace.com: What a Parent Needs to Know
Talking to Your Child About Pornography

Should Some Romance Novels be called Soft Porn?

Learning the facts mentioned above just highlighted a growing concern I’ve had about “Christian Romances”. For many months, I’ve been very uncomfortable about some of the Christian Romances sent me for possible review. Far too many seem perilously close to being soft porn. It doesn’t matter if the setting is modern or historical. Do all the chapters have to have major sex scenes described in precise detail? Do there have to be constant conversations about sex?

I wonder how many parents would want their teens reading some of these books. Will it encourage teen girls towards purity before marriage? Would it encourage a son to treat women as sex objects or to be respectful towards them? Are the sex scenes even realistic?

Conclusion

Researching and writing this story has left me with an upset stomach and a couple of sleepless nights. It’s hard to think about the members of churches I have attended over my lifetime after learning that 50% or more of the men and 20% or more of the women are now admitting they are addicted to porn. It makes me wonder how many of those wonderful preachers or Bible class leaders I’ve listened and learned from over the years were secretly addicted to porn and possibly, looking at church members with less than pure thoughts. What about those who teach our children? It makes you just a bit sick to think about this, doesn’t it?

Therefore, as your Christian Literature host, I’ve decided to use even tighter guidelines when deciding if I will publish a review of the novel. Although it will have to be a subjective call on my part, if every chapter has at least one sex scene, the book will most likely NOT be reviewed unless there is some redeeming value to the story. I want EVERY BOOK I review to lead my readers towards Christ and pure living, not to impure thoughts.

When I refuse to review a Christian Romance, I’ll also inform the publisher so they know why I made that decision. Hopefully, those comments will get passed on to Christian authors who will rethink their story lines. Maybe it will encourage Christian publishers review their standards to be sure their books are promoting strong Christian lifestyles.

Please share your response to this article in our forums at: Christians and Porno.