Often we at the Canberra Declaration write to you with good news. Today is not one of those days, and to call this a Good News Update like we normally do would be false and deceptive, just like the news headline that has prompted this Call To Battle.
Playboy has
announced this week that
as of March 2016, they will no longer be publishing nude images in their print magazines. You would think that this is good news, but for the reason why they are making this change:
they see no point publishing nude images when pornography is available easily and freely on the internet to anyone of any age who seeks it.
We have moved from an age where images of nude women were kept in print and away from families, to one where the
average age of first exposure to pornography is 11 for boys, and 13 for girls.
Considering the veritable buffet of evil that is accessible at the fingertips of our children without any barriers to protect them is cause enough to drive us to our knees to pray, and to our desks to write.
This is not to mention the effect of pornography use by men and women in marriages today,
which most researchers associate with reductions in intimacy, communication, body image (both of self and others), and overall relationship health.
Today the rates of pornography use by men and women varies from 45% to 99% of the adult population depending on which survey you look at. Pornography is evil, an attack on the traditional family, and so we must fight it.
You may be asking, what can I do about this? The worldwide pornography industry is estimated to earn over $100 billion dollars annually, and if its use is so wide spread, how can we fight it?
There are three ways we are calling for you to join the battle.
1. PRAY: Our first response to evil should always be to look to our creator for His will and His support, and ask Him to empower us to be the hands and feet and mouthpieces of change, as well as asking for His intervention.
2. WRITE: Internet Service Provider Filters, or
ISP Filters, can be used by internet providers such as Telstra and Optus to stop children and adults accidentally accessing pornography.
Currently these are not in place in Australia, but we can change that. In 2005 the
Sexual Integrity Forum called for their introduction, but there was not enough public support. Here's who you can contact about ISP Filters to change that:
- Family Voice Australia have previously advocated for the installation of these filters, and they need our support and encouragement to bring this before parliament again.
- Your Federal Representatives, whether it be a local member or a senator. These are the men and women who will vote on the introduction of such devices, and so they need to hear our voices loud and clear.
- Your Internet Service Provider has the capacity to install an ISP Filter without government legislation, but few in Australia do (one that does is listed below). Make sure that they know what you want, and why.
3. WORK: We need to raise awareness of this issue in our families, in our churches, and in our communities. Speak up about it, and make sure people know that there are resources we can use to fight against the evil of pornography.
- Covenant Eyes is a computer program that helps men and women to develop discipline in their purity by emailing on their behalf a chosen contact with a list of the websites that they have accessed.
- Guilty Pleasure, Porn Harms and Fight the New Drug are websites that offer information and resources to help those who are struggling with pornography, and those who are involved in raising awareness, whether in their own homes, or in their church or community.
- Collective Shout is a movement that opposes the hyper-sexualisation of our culture, and helps to raise awareness of the issues relating to it.
- Valiant Man is an online course offered by Life Keys to help men stay sexually pure, or to help those who are struggling with sexual purity.
- Webshield is an Internet Service Provider who provide internet to homes and businesses, with an ISP Filter installed. You or those you know can arrange to switch from your current provider to Webshield, should you so desire.
- Sexaholics Anonymous is a self-help group for those struggling with sexual purity.
- The Oak Centre offers counselling either over the phone, or via Skype (a free video conferencing program) for those with sexual addictions.
Yes, we are in a battle for sexual purity and for traditional marriage, but we don't have to do this alone. Let's work together, brothers and sisters, to fight the good fight, and take back this nation for the good of all.
Yours for the good of our nation,
Ben Pratt and Warwick Marsh
