New Consequence of Online Porn

I wanted to share this because it continues to have a HUGE impact on both male and female, young and old:

One of the most devastating repercussions of pervasive online porn use by young men is its distorting effects on relationships. Men are finding that "real life" women are not as sexually satisfying to them as digital women. Some women feel pressured to act like porn stars to meet expectations. Damian Thompson, author of The Fix: How Addiction is Invading Our Lives and Taking Over Your World, writes about this 21st century malady:

Some women are finding it increasingly difficult to satisfy men, particularly those under 30. It's not their fault. Short of digitizing themselves, there's no way they could fulfill the needs of their porn-obsessed partners. Why? Because, to put it bluntly, their boyfriends [or husbands] no longer want to have sex with human beings. Their brains have been conditioned by fantasy. Sex with another person can no longer produce the same rush of dopamine and endorphins that [come from looking at online porn]. This is the logical endpoint for both sexes of an addiction to internet pornography ….

In ???? We Trust

Once again, Gallup has examined who Americans regard as the most honest and ethical person in their lives—and found that the answer is not their pastor...

In fact, recorded public trust in clergy has now reached an all-time low, with only 47 percent of Americans rating clergy highly on honesty and ethics (compared to 82 percent saying the same about nurses). The previous low since Gallup began asking the question in 1977: 50 percent in 2009.

In 2013, Americans rated six professions more trustworthy than clergy: nurses, pharmacists, grade school teachers, medical doctors, military officers, and police officers. Meanwhile, engineers, dentists, and college teachers—three professions which surpassed clergy in 2012—dropped below clergy in 2013. (Grade school teachers and military officers rose above clergy from 2012 to 2013, while nurses, pharmacists, medical doctors, and police officers topped clergy in both years.)

However, clergy members were nowhere near the low rating of members of Congress, with only eight percent of Americans vouching for lawmakers' trustworthiness. Congress ranked second to last behind lobbyists (6%), while car salespeople ranked ahead of both groups (9%).

The Goal of Preaching

Last Sunday I said that the whole goal of preaching was transformation. That understanding came to me in my Preaching Class at Hesston College while we were studying material from Rick Warren (author of the Purpose Driven Life). In a recent blog, here is what Rick wrote:

"If God’s objective for every believer is to transform us into total Christlikeness, then the objective of preaching is to motivate people to develop Christlike convictions (to think like Jesus), Christlike character (to feel like Jesus), and Christlike conduct (to act like Jesus). Every other objective of preaching is secondary. At the end of the sermon, if people aren’t being transformed in how they think, feel, and act, I’ve missed the mark as a preacher."

"To put it another way, the ultimate goal of preaching is not information. In fact, giving people a greater knowledge of the Bible can cause pride to develop in our hearers rather than humility if that information isn’t translated into obedience. And the goal if preaching is not merely instruction either. Preaching certainly includes instruction, but there is more to preaching that mere behavior modification. The goal of well-rounded preaching is transformation and obedience."