Introduction
Before presenting my next booklet, I want to acknowledge that the subject matter is direct and may be offensive to some. Yet it concerns a singular passion that has wounded countless young men and women, and the path it leads to is theft of God’s plans, blessings, and sanctification for the Christian life.
My next blog post addresses the sin that is arguably the most pervasive and deadly in the American church and culture today: lust and its expression through pornography enabled by women and men who show no modesty nor strength. Scripture is clear about this sin: it is the killer of kings (Proverbs 31:3), the thief of strength (Proverbs 5:9 to 11), the robber of discipline (Proverbs 6:32 to 33), the path to Sheol (Proverbs 7:26 to 27), and the enemy of love and self sacrifice. It is a sin that destroys not only purity, but ambition, relationships, and the ability to love rightly.
Our culture is flooded with pornography, from social media pushing it in our faces, to ads about ai erotica, and prostitutes and performers on platforms such as OnlyFans selling their bodies and souls for money, exposing both the wounds and normalization of whoredom in our day. In many ways, America is worse off then Sodom and Gomorah, we have not only normalized and accepted sodomy, but some have accepted the radical act of cutting off body parts for the purpose of future impure use. What was once recognized as moral disaster is now accepted as the norm, what once protected from young minds now infiltrates their every day life. What once was illegal is now legal and celebrated. This normalization has not only crept into the church, but has taken root within it, and beyond it.
The Stats
Recent studies show that 54 percent of practicing Christians view pornography at least occasionally, with 75 percent of Christian men and 40 percent of Christian women consuming it.¹ ² Not only this, but 62 percent report being comfortable with their use of it, and only 10 percent of churches offer any help, leaving roughly 82 to 90 percent without support. Roughly 11 percent of men admit to outright addiction,⁴ and on top of this, nearly one in five pastors currently struggles.
The devastation extends beyond the church. Secular research links frequent pornography consumption to higher rates of depression, anxiety, and loneliness; damaged relationships (with 45 percent of users reporting harm to real intimacy, and studies showing doubled risk of breakup or divorce); and reduced motivation and ambition, as excessive use alters the brains dopamine reward system, lowering drive for real world goals and contributing to emotional detachment. In other words, the passion once condemned as the destroyer of kings now destroys common man and woman.
I am presenting this to expose the reality that sexual sin has destroyed lives and continues to do so. It drains ambition, sabotages relationships, and kills purity of heart. The Eastern Fathers spoke with radical and uncompromising force about this passions destructive power, not out of prudishness but because they understood its power to enslave the flesh, darken the mind, and suffocate the soul.
St. John Cassian writes:
“We will not be granted true spiritual knowledge so long as the passion of unchastity lies hidden in the depths of our souls.”
(The Philokalia, Vol. 1, On the Eight Vices, p. 80, Faber and Faber ed.)
Cassian teaches that the mind cannot encounter God while lust remains unconfessed and unrepented internally.
St. John Chrysostom writes:
“All within him is filled with disquiet and turmoil, and most grievous the pain… no captive nor person in chains can be worse off than a man in this state of mind.”
(Homily 17 on Matthew 5:27 to 28, section 3, NPNF1 10)
Chrysostom describes lust as a more profound imprisonment than literal slavery or political bondage.
St. John Climacus writes:
Do not imagine that you will overwhelm the demon of fornication by entering into an argument with him. Nature is on his side and he has the best of the argument. So the man who decides to struggle against his flesh and to overcome it by his own efforts is fight in vain. The truth is that unless the Lord overturns the house of the flesh and builds the house of the soul, the man wishing to overcome it has watched and fasted for nothing. Offer up to the Lord the weakness of your nature. Admit you incapacity and, without your knowing it, you will win for yourself the gift of chastity
The Fathers also warn that lust is fueled not only by internal temptation but by women who provoke sexual desire by their immodesty. St. John Chrysostom writes:
“You carry your snare everywhere and spread your nets in all places. You allege that you never invited others to sin. You did not, indeed, by your words, but you have done so by your dress and your deportment… When you have made another sin, how can you be innocent?”
(Homily on modesty and womens adornment, widely cited from teachings on Matthew and 1 Timothy 2:9)
The Fathers and the Scriptures teach that The mind that has been darkened by sinful passions cannot receive divine. Lust makes the strong weak cowards, and makes free man a slave to his own desires.
All of this raises serious questions for the modern Christian. How do we confront this extremely potent and addictive passion? How do the Scriptures and the Church Fathers instruct believers to mortify it? And how do our Fathers in the faith guide us in fighting against it?
These questions and more will be addressed in my next booklet, The Pandemic of Lust and Pornography: “Why It Kills and Why Killing It Matters.”
Bibliography
Answers in Genesis. “54% of Christians Admit to Viewing Pornography—Over Half Are Okay with It.” Accessed [n.d.]. https://answersingenesis.org/christianity/christians-admit-to-viewing-pornography-over-half-are-okay-with-it/.
Barna Group. “Over Half of Practicing Christians Admit They Use Pornography.” Barna Research. Accessed [n.d.]. https://www.barna.com/trends/over-half-of-practicing-christians-admit-they-use-pornography/.
Cassian, John. On the Eight Vices. In The Philokalia, Vol. 1. London: Faber and Faber, n.d. Accessed at Orthodox Church Fathers. https://orthodoxchurchfathers.com/fathers/philokalia/st-john-cassian-on-the-eight-vices.html.
Christianity Today. “More Christians Are Watching Porn, But Fewer Think It’s a Problem.” September 2024. https://www.christianitytoday.com/2024/09/pornography-use-christians-study-barna-research-pure-desire-ministries/.
Chrysostom, John. Homily 17 on Matthew 5:27–28, section 3. Accessed at New Advent. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/200117.htm.
Chrysostom, John. Homily on Modesty and Women’s Adornment. Accessed at Classical Christianity. https://classicalchristianity.com/2011/03/21/chrysostom-on-immodest-dress/.
Climacus, John. The Ladder of Divine Ascent. Accessed at Anglican Way. https://anglicanway.org/lust/.
Covenant Eyes. “5 Big Questions About Christians and Porn.” Accessed [n.d.]. https://www.covenanteyes.com/blog/questions-about-christians-and-porn/.
eCare Behavioral Institute. “25 Porn Addiction Statistics for 2025.” Accessed [n.d.]. https://www.ecarebehavioralinstitute.com/blog/porn-addiction-statistics/.
For The Church. “The Pornography Pandemic.” Accessed [n.d.]. https://ftc.co/resource-library/articles/the-pornography-pandemic/.
Mission Network News. “How to Overcome Porn Addiction Through Christ.” Accessed [n.d.]. https://www.mnnonline.org/news/how-to-overcome-porn-addiction-through-christ/.
Public Square Magazine. “Faith-Based Solutions for Pornography Addiction.” Accessed [n.d.]. https://publicsquaremag.org/sexuality-family/faith-based-solutions-for-pornography-addiction/.
Remnant Counselor Collective. “Pornography Addiction: The Trauma Connection & Faith-Based Healing Solutions.” Accessed [n.d.]. https://www.remnantcounselorcollective.com/resources/93127/pornography-addiction-the-trauma-connection-faith-based-healing-solutions.
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Create in Me a Pure Heart: Statement on Pornography. Washington, DC: USCCB, 2025. https://www.usccb.org/resources/Create-in-Me-a-Pure-Heart-Statement-on-Pornography-2025_0.pdf.
